free & dirt cheap part 6

For staycations, Governors Island is pretty hard to beat. This abandoned military base with peerless Manhattan and New York Harbor views is totally accessible by a short, free ferry ride from downtown. It's great for touring, picnicking, and now music as well. There are two big festivals (Folks on the Island and In the Pocket: New World Music in July and August), and there's also an art installation, and a major arts fest the last weekend of June. Sure beats having to fill up the car with a tank of $5 gas.

The ferry leaves from lower Manhattan every hour on the hour from 10am to 3pm on Fridays and from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays in June, July, and August. During these same months, rangers give 90-minute tours (leaving Manhattan at 10am and 1pm) of the northern half of the island, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Additional ranger-led tours run on the weekends. Battery Maritime Building, 10 South St., between Broad and Whitehall sts. 212/440-2202. Subway: R/W to Whitehall St.; 1 to South Ferry.