We caught the ferry across from The Statue of Liberty at about 11 am. It wasn’t too crowded and you basically off load straight into the museum We picked up an audio guide to ensure we learnt everything we could and didn’t miss anything. For us this was the end of a longer journey having visited the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp where a lot of the European immigrants bought passage to the New World. We didn’t really learn anything new and to be honest found the museum in Antwerp far more informative. Every American should visit to understand that the Native Americans are the only true real Americans. Everyone else is descended from an immigrant and as such should perhaps have more compassion for those seeking a better life in the current age. We were there for several hours and finished our day by taking the ferry back to Battery Park.

Stepping into the Ellis Island Museum is a step into history. This is a very emotionally engaging place to visit. The pictures are not always joyous and neither are the tales. Be prepared with an open mind and open heart. Kids also may get bored of all the walking as there are lots of words and explanations. There are some interactive places where kids can pull back windows to learn facts. Our favorite was the music wall and to see how much American music has been influenced by the songs and instruments of other countries. Look out the windows. The museum provides curious views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. Take a moment to enjoy the scenery and reflect on the historical significance of the place. Take your time. There is a lot of historical information.

Stop by a see it once after visiting the Statue of Liberty. A quick visit to scroll through some of the grounds and info is all you need unless you have history here from your family that you want to look into yourself. I enjoyed the visit but most of my family came other means, no need to spend a ton of time here.

Would highly recommend the hard hat tour! We got to see the hospital where people were cared for on the island. Irwin was our guide and he was really great. Had so much passion and a personal connection to the island. His knowledge was awesome, he gave us a great overall rundown of the island and afterwards we did a tour of the museum but Irwin had covered most of it in the tour!

Regular ferry service with snack bar on boat. Great way to see New York City skyline. Staff were very nice . The museum well laid out and informative. Nice Cafe on site. Very Interesting place well done.

Visiting here was an amazing and humbling experience. As a descendent of immigrants (some of who came through here), my wife and I loved touring every aspect of Ellis Island, from seeing just how the evaluation process occurred once they got here to learning more about the people who risked everything on the American Dream. The facility is quite large and it has numerous exhibits to view. We came here after touring The Statue of Liberty and it was an amazing day filled with American History. It takes more guts than you can ever imagine to leave everything you know and hope things will work out in a distance and unfamiliar land. We are both so grateful to our ancestors and this place for helping them accomplish that dream.

I’ve always wanted to visit Ellis Island and walk the floors my grandfather walked when he came to the US from Poland. This was very heartwarming and very meaningful and memorable. This museum is extremely immaculate, and so much to see and learn. I could’ve spent hours and hours here. The self guided audio tour was amazing and very informative. I hope someday I can go back again. I highly recommend Ellis Island, especially if you have a family history there.

This island is a stone throw away from Liberty Island. Actually we get there from Liberty, on the same ticket from CityExperiences. The Island is pleasant to walk around, a cafe to take a break and a museum and library to visit.

Excellent museum with a lot of history and great exhibits. Main hurdle is that this is connected to Liberty Island ferries (either New York/Battery Park or New Jersey) so crowds and wait times can be quite high due to limited capacity and need to take ferry. Otherwise an excellent place to visit if you are a fan of museums and local history.

So much to visit on Ellis island: the National Museum of Immigration has exhibits, theaters, café .... The museum's three floors exhibitions explain the immigrants' experiences upon arrival. You can look up ancestors in the American Family Immigration History Center. Interesting and it also affects you very much.