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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Staten Island
Give Staten Island one full day from Manhattan: the free ferry, Snug Harbor, Historic Richmond Town and the South Beach boardwalk. Sleep here only if you want quiet and cheap space.
Staten Island is New York City's least-visited borough, about 470,000 people across a suburban island in New York Harbor. The free 25-minute ferry from Lower Manhattan is the arrival, and it runs 24 hours. Sights are spread out and buses are sparse off-peak, so plan one or two clusters, not a full sweep. It works as a day trip from Manhattan; as a base it trades nightlife and subway access for space and lower room rates.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (heat and humidity), Jan–Feb (cold, wind on the ferry deck)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60–100 excl. bed · Mid $110–180 excl. bed · High $200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911 · NYC non-emergency city services 311
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $3–6 |
| Slice of pizza | $3–5 |
| Deli sandwich | $9–15 |
| Local bus or railway ride | $2.50–2.90 |
| Express bus to Manhattan | $7.00 |
| Museum or historic-site entry | $5–15 |
| 5 km taxi or rideshare3.1 mi taxi or rideshare | $15–25 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- JFK · John F. Kennedy International
- No direct rail link to Staten Island; taxi or rideshare to the ferry or a bridge crossing, often 45–75 min with traffic.
- EWR · Newark Liberty International
- Closer to the New Jersey bridges; Goethals and Bayonne bridges lead onto the island.
- LGA · LaGuardia
- Reach Manhattan first, then the ferry or an express bus.
Typical fares
- Staten Island Ferry, St. George ↔ Battery Park
- free, about 25 min, 24 h
- Staten Island Railway, St. George → Tottenville
- about $2.90, fares collected only at St. George and Tompkinsville
- Express bus, Staten Island → Manhattan
- about $7.00, mostly weekdays
Get around
No subway reaches the island. The Staten Island Railway runs 24 hours from St. George along the east shore, with fares collected only at St. George and Tompkinsville. Local buses (S-prefix) fan out from St. George Ferry Terminal; express buses (SIM) run to Manhattan, mostly on weekdays. Pay with OMNY. Off-peak waits are long, so check BusTime before you leave a stop.
See and do
Known for
- Free Staten Island Ferry
- Snug Harbor Cultural Center
- Historic Richmond Town
- Staten Island Zoo
- South Beach and the boardwalk
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | Free Staten Island Ferry from St. George to Battery Park, 24 h | About 25 min on the water, plus waiting |
| Brooklyn | S53, S79 or S93 bus from the 86th Street R station, or drive over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge | About 45–75 min |
| Bronx | Ferry to Manhattan, then subway north | About 1.5–2 h |
| Queens | Ferry to Manhattan, then subway, or drive via Brooklyn | About 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- St. George (North Shore)
- Ferry terminal, Staten Island Railway and most buses meet here; the practical base for a car-free stay.
- Tompkinsville
- One railway stop from the ferry; South Asian restaurants along Victory Boulevard.
- New Dorp / Mid-Island
- Commercial strip on New Dorp Lane, railway station, and the closest cluster to South Beach.
- Tottenville (South Shore)
- Southernmost point of New York State; quiet, far from the ferry, best with a car.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Excuse me | Excuse me |
| Thank you | Thank you |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Where is the ferry? | Where is the ferry? |
| Where is the toilet? | Where is the toilet? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Buses are sparse outside rush hours and unreliable on Sundays: build slack into any timed plan.
- The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll is charged westbound into Staten Island only, and it is all-electronic: no cash, billed by mail without a transponder.
- The ferry is free and never runs less than every 30 minutes, but the deck is windy and cold from late autumn to early spring.
- Streets do not follow a numbered grid; carry an offline map, since signal is patchy in the Greenbelt and on the South Shore.
Staten Island is one of the safer parts of New York City for visitors; the real risks are sparse off-peak buses, unlit park paths after dark, and cold wind on the ferry deck in winter.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Staten Island yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Free Staten Island Ferry
- Snug Harbor Cultural Center
- Historic Richmond Town
- Staten Island Zoo
- South Beach and the boardwalk
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Staten Island official tourism site: www.statenislandusa.com/
- MTA — Staten Island Railway: www.mta.info/sir
- NYC DOT — Staten Island Ferry: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/ferrybus/siferryschedule.shtml
- National Park Service — Gateway, Staten Island Unit: www.nps.gov/gate/
- Wikivoyage: Staten Island, revision 5322370 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5322370
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Staten Island
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies on Staten Island; consulates-general and embassies are in Manhattan.
US tipping applies: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/staten-island). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.