Jet Skiing In New York City
If you are visiting New York City, I highly recommend going on a jet ski tour. Here is a full review of our experience. :)
Hi there! We are officially 4 and 1/2 days into our stay in New York City. It took us an extra week to get here, but the wait was worth it and we are here now! We have been enjoying the amazing food the city has to offer, have began to figure out the subway, and have done some fun activities already (so much more to come). We even went on a jet skiing tour on our first day here! I wanted to share with you about our experience and if it was worth it.
Tour Information - Sea The City
We did a jet ski tour with Sea The City. Vince did all the research on where the best place was to do it in the area so we picked this one! They also offer hot tub tours, which is where you sit in a hot tub on a boat and they take you around the Hudson. Sounds like a pretty cool experience too!
We did the one hour tour which takes you past the following list of main attractions:
- Ellis Island
- Statue of Liberty
- One World
- Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges
* They do have other tour stops on their website, but I would like to mention that we didn't stop at a lot of them. Our three major stops were to get pictures with the skyline back drop, at the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. If you were hoping to stop at the others, you may be disappointed.
Pricing Details
Here is a break down of all their rental options and prices. We each did our own solo jet ski (because we both love to jet ski and it would be hard for me to just sit on the back :P). I highly recommend getting the photo package in advance. They take pictures of everyone on the tour to get you to buy it if you didn't already, and it would be hard to pass up with the type of pictures they take of you! They turned out so well!
* You can link to their website here to find all of their pricing.
Location
Sea The City is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. This is one negative of the tour that you have to find a way to get to the tours. It took us a two train rides, a light rail ride, and a mile walk to be able to get to the tours. It is definitely worth it for us to do all that, and if you have a car, that is really your best option as there is a parking lot right by it. They have a store right next to the check in where you can change into a swim suit or buy some snacks/water if needed.
Other Tour Information
You do not need to be an experienced person to be able to take a jet ski out. They make sure you know everything before getting on the jet ski for the first time. They also have two tour guides with, one in the front leading and the other back a little further to make sure everyone is safe and is doing okay. There is also a video they have you watch before starting that you can learn the basics of jet skiing if it is your first time. You are also required to wear a life jacket the whole time.
* Here is a photo of the route you go on (picture is from Sea Of The City website):
Our Experience
The Good
I would recommend this tour to anyone who is visiting the New York area. It is a great way to see the New York skyline, and an up close view of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. I really don't think you could see these views like this in any other way. :) I love riding on a jet ski and what I loved about this tour was that I was able to get my adrenaline rush of going fast, but then could also take it slow and enjoy the incredible views of New York City. There was a few times that I would just sit back and said to myself how cool the experience was.
The Bad
I feel the price was reasonable for the tour and what we got out of the tour. However, Sea The City seems to have it figured out how to get you to spend more with their photo packages. It seems not very genuine that they take everyone's photos and then make you pay after to be able to see your own. I also didn't think the tour guides were all that spectacular. They got a little moody at times and didn't really point things out along the way like the website mentions they would. It would have been nice to know what we were looking at during various times in the tour.