Kids Ride Free on NY Waterway Ferries This Holiday Season!

I'm always searching for the best way to get to New York City during the holidays, especially with kids in tow. If you want to go see the tree at Rockefeller Center, attend the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, or even see the ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square, the ferry from NY Waterway is one of the best options (I know this from experience, believe me). And this season, kids under 12 ride NY Waterway ferries for free! Read on for details and any exclusions that may apply.

Disclosure: this NY Waterway ferry info comes directly from their press releases. I was provided with my own ferry ticket in exchange for sharing this information with you. I totally love the ferry! It's my #1 NYC commute choice. 

Kids under the age of 12 ride free on all NY Waterway ferries between New Jersey and Manhattan from November 29th through New Year’s Day, January 1st.  NY Waterway’s new E-Ticket for ferries between Port Imperial in Weehawken and the West 39th Street Midtown Terminal in Manhattan makes using the ferry even easier. Visit nywaterway.com/KidsFree for more information. 

The ferry is the most family-friendly, traffic-free way for families to enjoy the best of the Big Apple lit up for the holidays with service seven days a week, including NY Waterway’s low-cost weekend service between Weehawken, Hoboken and Jersey City and Midtown Manhattan’s West 39th Street Ferry Terminal and the Brookfield Place / Battery Park City Terminal in Lower Manhattan.

With Kids Ride Free, NY Waterway’s Your Key To The City packages, which includes discounted ferry transportation plus discount admission to top Broadway shows and NYC attractions such as the Intrepid Sea, Air, Space Museum and the American Museum of Natural History, are an even bigger bargain.

On weekdays, ferries travel to the West 39th Street Midtown Ferry Terminal from Edgewater, Port Imperial and Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken, Hoboken 14th Street and the Hoboken NJ TRANSIT Terminal, Harborside and Paulus Hook in Jersey City and Belford / Middletown in Monmouth County.  Ferries serve Lower Manhattan from Port Imperial, the Hoboken NJ TRANSIT Terminal, Harborside, Paulus Hook, Liberty Harbor and Port Liberté in Jersey City, and from Belford / Middletown.

Several New Jersey terminals have low-cost parking and some terminals offer free parking.  Several terminals also are served by the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line and by NJ TRANSIT and NY Waterway buses.  Parking in New Jersey and taking the ferry is cheaper and faster than paying a toll to get to Manhattan and then paying to park there.

Customer service staff at NY Waterway terminals can advise families on how to best enjoy holidays in the Big Apple. 

Purchase your E-Ticket for ferries between Port Imperial in Weehawken and the West 39th Street Midtown Ferry Terminal.  Download the E-Ticket to your phone or print it.

Also, use NY Waterway’s free Bus Locator App to locate in real-time NY Waterway’s free buses when you are ready to head back to West 39th Street.

The Port Imperial Terminal features indoor garages offering convenient and affordable parking.  At the West 39th Street Midtown Ferry Terminal, free connecting multi-route NY Waterway shuttles are waiting to take passengers on several routes serving Midtown and Downtown Manhattan.  Shuttles stop right at key holiday destinations such as Times Square, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Jersey Momma Tips

-NY Waterway is the only way I truly like to travel to New York City and back to NJ. The free bus shuttles and ease of taking the ferry make it my 'go-to' mass transit option. Port Imperial in Weehawken is my terminal of choice, with a big parking lot right across the street from the terminal. Everything is easy to get to and walkable.

-How does it work? It's pretty simple. At Port Imperial: park your car, take your garage ticket with you. Purchase your ferry route ticket from the self-serve kiosk or the attendant's window in the terminal. Find what Slip (dock) your ferry is coming in on (and what time) on the terminal screens. Wait for your boat! It's as simple as that. Same for your return trip. When you come back, you insert your garage ticket into the self-pay machines and prepay so you're all set to pull out of the parking lot when you go. It really is that easy! You avoid city traffic, expensive tunnel/bridge tolls, and outrageous city parking fees. Plus, it's kind of fun to take a boat!!

-Use the NY Waterway app for even greater ease. You can purchase tickets and keep your tickets right on the app, locate buses, view maps and much more.

photo from NYWaterway

Visit nywaterway.com for more information or 

Call 1-800-53-FERRY 

Information is also available on the NY Waterway Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.