Benedict's Bus Service - New York City Trips/title>

If you would to make a reservation on any of these tours, please call the office or email us as soon as possible because the trips may fill up quickly. Prices include coach transportation, hostess service, and everything that is capitalized in the itinerary.

New York City Free Day Trips

2008 Dates : October 1, October 4
November 8, December 6 and December 13

$61 pp

NYC WATERFALLS CRUISE: Parts of New York City were bathed in giant waterfalls when the grandest public art project in years hit this summer. This $15 million project paid for with private donations will only be up for display through Mid-October.

Four mechanical fountains were installed on the shores of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Governors Island and stand from 90 to 120 feet tall. They operate from 7 am-10 pm, with lights shining on them after sunset.

The waterfalls flow on the shores near the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn's Piers 4 and 5, Governors Island and Pier 35 in lower Manhattan. They will all be visible from South Street Seaport and the Staten Island Ferry and are expected to generate $55 million in tourism. They operate on electricity run by renewable resources.

The waterfalls are the brainchild of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who is famous for reinventing nature in his artwork. Eliasson said he received some strange stares when he pitched his waterfalls idea in New York City, but called the project "an unbelievable journey."

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Saturday, October 25, 2008

$73 pp Adults
$71 pp Seniors (62+)
$66 pp Children (4-12)

6:00 am
8:30
12:00 pm

6:30
11:30 pm

Depart from Terminal
Fast food breakfast stop at McDonald's
Arrive at Battery park, where you will board
the LIBERTY FERRY that will take you to
LIBERTY ISLAND and ELLIS ISLAND.
Everyone will receive a TIMED MONUMENT PASS
to get into the Statue of Liberty.
Dinner on your own at SOUTH STREET SEAPORT
before departing
Depart from South Street Seaport; Rest break
Approximate return

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

STATUE OF LIBERTY: The Statue of Liberty is more than a monument. She is a beloved friend, a living symbol of freedom to millions around the world. These exhibits are a tribute to the people who crate her, to those who built and paid for her, to the ideals she represents, and to the hopes she inspires.

STATUE OF LIBERTY EXHIBIT: Opened in July 1986, this exhibit is located on the second floor in the pedestal of the Statue and traces the history and symbolism of the Statue of Liberty through museum objects, photographs, prints, videos and oral histories. In addition to historical artifacts and descriptive text, full scale replicas of the Statue’s face and foot are also on display. The main historical sections include: From Idea to Image, Fabricating the Statue, Stretching Technology, Fundraising in France, The Pedestal, Fundraising in America, and Complete at Last.

THE TORCH EXHIBIT: The Torch Exhibit includes the original 1886 torch and much altered flame in the lobby. On the second floor balcony, overlooking this torch is a display on the history of the torch and flame, explaining the various alterations through diagrams, photographs, drawings and cartoons.

ELLIS ISLAND: From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor. Ellis Island is located in the upper bay, just off the New Jersey coast, within the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Through the years, this gateway to the new world was enlarged from its original 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres mostly by landfill obtained from ship ballast and possibly excess earth from the construction of the New York City subway system.

Following the restoration in the 1980s, the Main Building reopened in 1990 as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. The museum exhibits chronicle Ellis Island’s role in immigration history and view it in the context of its time and the still broader context of four centuries of immigration to America.

The exhibits also portray and give voice to the immigrants themselves. Each of their stories is unique and bears witness to the courage and determination that enables men and women to leave their homes and seek new opportunities in an unknown land.

These exhibits occupy over 40,000 square feet on three floors of the Main Building; they include museum objects, photographs, prints, videos, interactive displays and oral histories. The largest exhibit is the building itself - the imposing French Renaissance Revival structure designed by Boring and Tilton, built in 1900 and restored to its 1918-1924 appearance.

AMERICAN IMMIGRANT WALL OF HONOR: A popular exhibit at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum is the American Immigrant Wall of Honor. The Wall of Honor is located outdoors, just outside the “Peopling of America” exhibit. The Wall honors America’s immigrants regardless of when they immigrated or through which port they entered. The Wall is currently inscribed with over 700,000 names, and registrations are currently being accepted for a new phase of the Wall.