Destinations from Port Imperial on the New Jersey side:
Hamilton Park, atop the Palisades overlooking the ferry terminal, and out across the Hudson River to mid-Manhattan skyline. This is a terrific spot, reached by climbing 222 stair tower steps or using Pershing Road, to watch ships leave from the Passenger Cruise Terminal. See Cruise Ship Arrivals and Departures for the sailing schedules.
Mitsuwa Marketplace, a bustling Japanese shopping mall with supermarket, food court and restaurant located to the North in Edgewater, accessible by connecting bus, or on foot if you like a good walk via the new Hudson River Walkway that begins at the ferry terminal. Binghamton's, a former 1905-built Lackawanna ferry, now a long-standing restaurant, just north of Mitsuwa and accessible by bus or on foot. Arthur's Landing - an attractive Imperatore-owned restaurant (expensive) and bar located on the water next to the old ferry terminal, just south of the parking lot and new Port Imperial ferry terminal.
West 39th Street to Hoboken North, accesses Hoboken at 14th Street, the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Shipyard and now the site for The Shipyard, a residential development and a long pier location for ship photography; the Hoboken Historical Museum one block inland; the Stevens Institute of Technology campus just to the south for a picnic and ship watching; and the north end of Washington Street, the city’s main commercial artery.
On weekends, a most useful single ferry service operates from W. 39th Street to and from both Hoboken North (14th Street) and Hoboken South (NJT Hoboken Terminal). This two-landing route is excellent for sightseeing or getting off at one landing, spending time ashore and embarking at another. It’s a most interesting one mile on foot from Hoboken North to Hoboken South either via the Stevens Campus or Washington Street. From Hoboken South to Newport, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line leaves from near Track 17 at the NJT terminal, makes a nice ride and is a better bet than the awkward walk inland.
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Destinations in Hoboken:
(Hoboken websites: www.hoboken.com or www.hobokeni.com)
Washington Street is the city's main thoroughfare running north-south about a mile between 14th Street and the NJ Transit Terminal. There are lots of restaurants to sample here and on the immediate side streets. Long-time favorites: Arthur's Tavern (3rd & Washington), 24 and 48 oz. Steaks, in Hoboken's oldest building; and Helmer's (11th & Washington), genuine German eatery dating from Hapag Lloyd and North German Lloyd days with one of best German beer selections in USA. Stevens Institute of Technology - a leafy campus built on a promontory above the river that provides several ship and skyline photo locations, including Castle Point just north of the main administration building. Walk south along Hudson Street to Elysian Park sloping up to the campus.

Ferries from the World Financial Center/Battery Park City and Pier 11 Wall Street:
The schedules and routes from the Lower Manhattan landings to points across the Hudson in New Jersey vary considerably between rush hours and off-peak. None operate on weekends, so use the PATH trains from New York points to Exchange Place, Newport and Hoboken and connecting Hudson Bergen Light Rail Line.

www.nywaterway.com lays it out route by route and with helpful maps. PATH trains www.panynj.gov/path.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail www.MyLightRail.com

World Financial Center/Battery Park City to Hoboken South/NJ Transit Terminal – weekdays, except late mornings (then use ferry to/from Pier 11/Wall Street) Destinations: The historic and architecturally significant Hoboken Terminal, and the riverfront pier park just to the north of the terminal. Hoboken's restaurants and night life along Washington and adjoining streets between the terminal's tracks and 14th Street.
WFC/BPC to Colgate, Exchange Place – weekdays only. On weekends use the PATH from the World Trade Center Site one stop under the river to Exchange Place.
Destinations - Exchange Place, directly across from Lower Manhattan, offers an historic commercial center, landmarked residential section just inland from the ferry and new office complexes and Hyatt Hotel Pier to the north. Walk, or ride the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line, from Exchange Place to Newport/Pavonia for a major shopping mall, office complex, residential apartments and access to the river. The light rail line continues to the Hoboken Terminal via an elevated viaduct, and a branch runs north along the west side of Hoboken to Lincoln Harbor, Port Imperial Ferry Terminal at Weehawken and through the Bergen Tunnel beneath the Palisades to Tonnelle Ave. in North Bergen. The line also operates south to the Liberty Science Center and into Bayonne over two branches. Buy timed tickets good for 90 minutes at platform vending machines.
N.B. The WFC/BPC temporary ferry landing will be replaced in 2007 by a new greatly expanded ferry landing under construction and to be floated to the original location opposite the Mercantile Exchange and Winter Garden in 2007.
Additional ferry routes for commuters operate between Pier 11/Wall Street on the East River and the Hoboken Terminal weekdays and to/from Liberty Harbor, Jersey City and Port Imperial Weehawken during rush hours.
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Sightseeing Ferry Routes:
New York Waterway Sightseeing Excursion ferries operate from West 39th Street and Pier A at Battery Park for harbor cruises and New York Waterway has ties with sightseeing destinations in Manhattan and ferries to Yankee Stadium. www.nywaterway.com/