sol question

I%26#39;m feeling the pressure now as my 3 sons and I will be there at the end of the month...ok, is Mon. a good day to visit Sol and Ellis island or is that the busiest day? also. we are staying at Radio City Suites, do I tell the cabbie 49th @ 6th? or 49th @ 7th?...will he drop us off at the corner or in front of the hotel? I guess I want to know which corner is closest? thanks, sounds incidental I know.

sol question

I have no idea about whether Mon. is a good day for SOL. It certainly is better than a weekend. The trick seems to be to get there very early, like 8 am. Have you bought tickets online? Do you want to have a tour? If so, you need to reserve in advance.

Your hotel is almost dead in the middle of the block on 49th b/w 6th %26amp; 7th-marginally closer to 6th I think. If you want to be dropped right in front of the hotel (ie with luggage) you say 49th between 6th %26amp; 7th and when you%26#39;re near, say it%26#39;s #142 west at the Radio City apartments. 49th st. runs west, so if you%26#39;re coming from JFK or LGA, the cab will be going in that direction anyway. If you%26#39;re coming from Newark, he%26#39;ll have to go around the block to drop you in front.

When you%26#39;re out and about w/o luggage, if you%26#39;re heading back to the hotel going uptown, you could get dropped off at 6th ave. (which goes uptown) %26amp; 49th and walk in a half block. If you%26#39;re heading downtown to get back, get out at 7th ave.

sol question

Thanks, we are coming from LGA and will only have carryon luggage. We always travel light..I was just on the circline site and plan on purchasing tix ahead of time for the 1st ferry out...is the audio tour worth it? and should we try and get monument passes? My options for sol.ellis island are for Mon or Tue. plus chinatown, nyu, the village and everything else lower manhattan has to offer...we will have done the party shuttle tour so will have seen some sites already...am thinking Mon. may be busier for tourists visiting sol since it is the start of the week. would like to combine Tenement museum , closed on Mon. but think I should come back down another day, as maybe too much for the kids for one day...

It%26#39;s been so long since I was at SOL, can%26#39;t advise from personal experience. Reviews on whether it%26#39;s worth getting a tour are decidedly mixed. Here%26#39;s a positive one from scubadiver5 just a few weeks ago: (June 13)

';TIP- to miss the queues, book tickets online and be at Castle Clinton around 7.45. A couple of people came out 15 minutes before the ticket windows opened with boxes containing all the pre-booked tickets- just loiter around the gates instead of joining a queue.) This meant there were only a handful of people in front for security screening and we were amongst the first onto the first boat. We had prebooked a monument access pass ( how tight is that security?!) and would recommend this.

Ellis Island was slightly spoiled by the large number of school groups, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Would recommend the audio tour.';

Here%26#39;s a negative one from back in April with lots of comments from others.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k548365-鈥?/a>

thanks Whiz, I willplan on being there early...don%26#39;t they send you the tix in the mail? then we just have to hang out for the security line, Correct?

ok, after reading their website, I guess you do have to pick up the tix...now I don%26#39;t know if I should prebuy or wait to purchase the 1st boat out...I%26#39;ve read mixed reports

I would definitely pre book with the monument access pass. We went on a Tuesday morning and I used all the advice from this forum, which helped immensely.

Take the subway and plan to be there for about 7.45am. It is signposted from the subway to Castle Clinton. Once you arrive at Castle Clinton, go to the right of the ticket booths and you will see a table where the people give you the pre-booked tickets. You then head to the security line.

Once you board the boat you can move around and go upstairs for a good view, but as the boat approaches the island, most people are taking photos, take this opportunity to take a quick snap then head to the exit of the boat, so you can get in line quicker for the monument pass. It is signposted to the security line and you then have security again.

You can then spend time exploring the island once you come back down.

We were one of the first people on the pedestal that day, but the crowds started to arrive very quickly and when we exited the queues where very long.

Basically, pre-book, get there early for the first boat, and stay near the exit to the boat so you are one of the first off the boat and fist up the monument.

thanks so much lamedoc, I will do exactly as you suggested...I think I will plan on Tue. also.........