To get to Ellis Island, visitors must take a ferry from either Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Statue Cruises operates the ferry service.

Visitors should note that Statue Cruises is the only authorized concessionaire permitted to sell tickets and provide ferry access to Liberty and Ellis Islands. As such, visitors should avoid street vendors peddling tickets in and around Battery Park. Tickets sold by street vendors will not provide access to the grounds on Liberty Island and Ellis Island and the museums on each island – the Statue of Liberty Museum and Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.