Just 5 minutes walk from the Circle Line sightseeing cruises at Pier 83 is the amazing Intrepid museum which is located on an aircraft carrier with a submarine that you can also tour.
The museum is open 7 days a week 10am-5pm and whilst its advisable to book tickets online through their very good website Intrepid Museum you can buy last minute tickets at their ticket office.
Ticket prices range from £30 / €36 / $38 per adult to £22 / €27 / $28 per child (age 5-12).
Allow 2-3 hours to do the tour as there is so much to see. You are literally exploring through the entire WWII Intrepid aircraft carrier from its sleeping quarters, galley, navigation bridge to its bomb elevators.
The ship launched in 1943 and has survived five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike during WWII and also served in the Cold War, the Vietnam War and as a NASA recovery vessel.
The ship has permanent as well as temporary exhibitions with various aircraft including on the landing deck where there is a Concorde, Soviet Union MiG fighter jet, Vietnam Huey helicopter, a Lockheed A-12 and an F14 Tomcat (to name just a few).
Located on the flight deck in its own pavilion is the Space Shuttle Enterprise which was NASA’s prototype orbiter that paved the way for the space shuttle program. There are numerous and very interesting exhibitions and collections of space related artefacts detailing NASA’s space program over the years. There is also a space-flown Soyuz TMA-6 space capsule which you can get close to see the detail on this amazing space craft.
Located next to the aircraft carrier is the Growler submarine. It’s the only American nuclear missile submarine open to the public and offers a first hand look at life aboard a submarine and the once top secret missile command centre.
As one would expect there are a few requirements to be able to get into and move around a submarine including being a minimum 3ft / 101 cm’s tall and you must be able to pass through a replica of the hatch without assistance. Also, if you suffer from claustrophobia it would be advisable to give the submarine tour a miss.
The submarine tour is fascinating as you get to see the cramp conditions and amazing engineering needed to operate such a machine from the periscope room, galley, crews mess, sleeping quarters to the torpedoes and engine rooms.
We highly recommend a visit to the Intrepid Museum if you’re visiting New York as where else in the world can you go onboard an aircraft carrier and a submarine in a major metropolitan city!