Crossings · No. 10 of 10
Ferry Combination
Rails to the waterfront, then across the Hudson by boat.
No boat leaves EWR, but the corridor has a genuinely scenic backdoor. Work your way to the Hoboken Terminal or Paulus Hook waterfront in Jersey City, then take an NY Waterway ferry straight across the open Hudson — to Midtown / West 39th Street uptown, or to Brookfield Place beside the World Trade Center downtown. It is a deliberately multi-leg route and never the fastest, but it trades a tunnel crawl for a few minutes of skyline on the water. This is the one you pick when the arrival itself is part of the trip, not when you are racing a meeting.
In sequence
From EWR, get to the Jersey waterfront — NJ TRANSIT into Hoboken Terminal, or PATH / the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Paulus Hook (Hudson St at Exchange Place, Jersey City).
Board an NY Waterway ferry: Paulus Hook or Hoboken across to Brookfield Place (downtown) or up to Midtown / W39th Street.
Cross the open Hudson with a skyline view rather than a tunnel ceiling.
Land and finish on foot, on NY Waterway’s free connecting shuttle bus, or by subway to your block.
When it wins
A memorable arrival, Brookfield Place / FiDi and West Side destinations, travelers in no hurry.
When it bites
Several legs to chain together and a ferry schedule that thins midday and late evening — the Paulus Hook / Hoboken–to–Midtown runs are largely commuter-hour. Not an airport-direct route: plan the EWR-to-waterfront connection before you commit.
The cost, unpacked
A short rail or PATH leg to the Hoboken or Paulus Hook waterfront, plus a roughly $9–12 NY Waterway ferry across the Hudson.
Field notes on this crossing
Go deeper — the listicles and explainers tied to this way across: