Hey everybody, welcome back to Firsthand Globetrotting!
If I asked you what the most famous landmark in the USA was, what would you say?
For me, easy, without a doubt - no questions asked - it's a Statue of Liberty
If a TV show set in New York City you better believe there's gonna be a shot of Lady Liberty at some point during that show.
It's famous, it's iconic, everyone knows about it and pretty much every tourist wants to go and see it.
But it's on an island in the middle of the water - the island's called Liberty Island - and you can't just walk up to it.
So how do you go about getting there?
You guessed it, you've got to take a boat to get there.
Okay, that sounds easy enough right?
Well not quite, because there's only one company that's allowed to take you there.
That's right just one - it's called Statue Cruises and it's the only one the National Park Service lets take people to the island.
It's the only way you're gonna see the Statue not just any old boat can drive up only Statue Cruises.
Remember that - pay attention to that name.
If any other company is telling you they'll take you to the Statue of Liberty they're lying to you, plain and simple.
If any website or street vendor or ticket reseller or anyone else is telling you that they can take you to the Statue of Liberty or sell you tickets to the Statue of Liberty they're trying to scam you.
Don't fall for it! It's a well known scam in New York City and the tickets they sell you won't get you to the Statue.
Best-case scenario you end up paying twice as much for your tickets or you end up on some boring old boat ride that just sails around the island and doesn't even let you off to see the Statue up close and personal.
Worst-case scenario your tickets are complete fakes and aren't even worth the paper they're printed on.
You don't want that to happen to you. So here's what you do.
You go directly to the National Park Service website - I put the link down below in the description to make it easy - you buy your tickets from there.
It's the only way to get real tickets and the only way to make sure you aren't getting scammed.
Okay, that's great you know how to get real tickets now but if you're checking out the website you'll probably see that there are a few options to choose from.
So which ones should you buy?
All of them include the ferry ride to the island. All of them let you walk around the island.
So what's the big difference between them?
The most common ones are the Reserved tickets. You get a pretty good view of the statue with these ones - definitely more up close and personal than seeing it on a boat.
But they don't let you get too close - you have to keep your distance.
So most of the time is going to be spent just wandering around the island, checking out the New York City skyline and looking at the Statue of Liberty from a little bit further away.
But if you want to be able to reach out and touch the Statue then the Pedestal Reserve tickets are the way to go.
You can go right up to the foot of it, look all the way up see how tall it really is, and get the full experience from outside the Statue of Liberty.
And even better, you can climb up to the top of the pedestal so that you can almost touch Lady Liberty's foot.
It's awesome, definitely worth doing.
In my opinion, it's way better than the Reserved Tickets but the one problem is they sell less of the Pedestal Reserved Tickets.
And what about if you want the complete experience?
Do you want to walk around the island, climb the pedestal, and then get to go inside and climb all the way up to the top of the Statue of Liberty?
Right up to the crown?
If that's for you, then the Crown Reserve Ticket is what you want.
It's what I did. It's an amazing experience. I highly recommend it.
Okay, so here's how it works. You go inside at the bottom and then you climb up this tight, winding, narrow staircase all the way up.
You get to check out all of the insides of the statue. It's really neat.
After all those stairs you get to the highlight of it all - a view from inside the statue's crown.
I mean, check out that view. It doesn't get much better than that.
It's an amazing view you get to see everything down below. Really, really neat.
And if you look up you can even get an up-close look at Lady Liberty's torch.
These tickets are super rare since they can only fit a few people everyday inside the statue and all the way up to that crown.
But if you get a chance to get some, jump on that chance. I highly recommend it.
It's the best way to get the full Statue of Liberty experience.
But no matter what type of ticket you're getting, just remember all the tickets sell out weeks or months in advance.
Especially if you want to go during the high season like summer and you want to get some of those Pedestal or Crown tickets.
So make sure to book early so you're not gonna be let down.
And whatever you do don't get scammed by those other companies or ticket resellers.
They're just going to steal your money.
They're just going to waste your time and you're not going to get to see the Statue of Liberty up close like you want to.
They're excellent sales people and will try everything they can to convince you that their tickets are legit but they aren't.
Don't fall for it - you're too smart for it - don't fall for their sales tactics and tricks
Well, that's it for the video.
Now you have all the info you need to get your Statue of Liberty tickets and go on a once-in-a-lifetime tour.
It's an iconic landmark and you don't want to miss it.
Thanks everyone for watching.
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