There’s nowhere else in the world like New York City when it comes to iconic must-do tourist attractions. But entry prices at famous observation decks, museums, landmarks and all the other amazing things you can do in the city quickly add up. Trust us, we know! So, what if we told you that it’s possible to save huge sums of money on your visit to New York by bundling attractions with a pass?
There are three companies (CityPASS, Sightseeing Pass and Go City) offering a total of 8 different attraction passes for NYC. In this guide we show you the attractions included, prices, pros and cons, how much you can save and our own experiences with each pass before comparing them all to help you decide if it’s worth buying one for your trip.
Disclosure: We received New York Sightseeing Pass and New York CityPASS tickets in order to share our opinion about these products. But this is not a sponsored post and our honest opinions are based on genuine first hand experience.
Note: Our content is reader supported and contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you and it helps us keep this site running.
Our Experience
Okay, so what do we know about attraction passes? Well, we’ve used them in cities all around the world. In New York we tried the CityPASS and C3 Pass in the winter of 2021, before trying the Sightseeing Pass in the spring of 2022. But we’ve also used Go City Passes in Rome, London and Paris. So, we’re well versed on the nuances of how these passes work.
In addition to actually using all of the passes ourselves (a lot of other comparisons online claim to have used the passes but don’t include real photos of themselves, so we’ll let you do the math!), we also lived in New York and we’ve visited more times than we can count. So you can rest assured we know the city incredibly well from a tourism perspective. Here’s our first time visitor NYC vacation guide.
These passes really do work and we’ve saved a lot of money over the years. But there are some downsides, and because it’s NYC (a goldmine for tourist pass companies), this is a surprisingly complicated topic with a bunch of different options to wade through. Our goal is to keep things nice and easy to understand so you can make the most informed decision. Read more about us.
What You Need To Know
Before we get into what each pass offers, let’s take a look at the most important things you should know about using attraction passes:
- Prices for all New York passes change frequently.
- Passes are either day based or attraction based.
- Day based means you do unlimited attractions over a set amount of consecutive days.
- Attraction based means you do a certain amount of attractions with no time limit.
- The more days or attractions you do, the more you save.
- After buying a pass you receive an email and have 12-24 months to activate.
- You can download the pass to your phone and print a hard copy.
- The pass is active after being scanned at the first attraction via QR code.
- Major attractions might require timed entry reservations.
- You must book a timed entry slot in advance if it’s required.
- Not all attractions can be booked in advance with a pass.
- There might be lines at attractions if you visit in peak season.
- The passes work best when you do the most expensive attractions.
- Visiting attractions close to each other allows you to do more in less time.
- The Met and Summit One Vanderbilt are not included on any pass.
What Are Your Options?
The three companies offering attraction passes are CityPASS, Sightseeing Pass and Go City. There’s also a fourth pass called the New York Pass, but it’s owned by Go City.
CityPASS offers three passes, Sightseeing Pass has two passes, Go City has two passes and the New York Pass is a standalone pass offered by Go City (but it’s basically the exact same product). We know how confusing this all sounds, but we promise it’s not as bad as it seems!
After personally working with each of the companies, our favorite was Sightseeing Pass. So we teamed up with them to offer our readers this exclusive discount (5% off adult tickets and 10% off child tickets automatically applied) which saves you even more money. But this doesn’t reflect on our honest comparison, so let’s take a look at each individual pass and see which works best for you.
1. New York CityPASS
The New York CityPASS is an attractions based pass. It allows you to see 5 attractions in total, 2 of which are compulsory and 3 of which you select from a remaining group of 6 attractions.
Compulsory attractions:
- Empire State Building (AM/PM Experience)
- American Museum of Natural History
Choose 3 from the following 6 attractions:
- Top of the Rock
- Ferry access to Statue of Liberty
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
- Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
- Guggenheim Museum
✅ Pros: CityPASS works out cheaper per attraction, you have 9 consecutive days to do your 5 attractions, easy way to see a handful of top attractions on a first visit, the AM/PM experience at Empire State Building means you can go up during the day and at night.
❌ Cons: Limited amount of attractions available, no choice but to include Empire State Building and the Natural History Museum whether you’re interested in them or not.
Price: Adult (18+) – $146.00 | Child (6-17) – $124.00 | Plus $2.00 processing fee.
Savings: Up to 43% (if you choose the three most expensive of the remaining 6 attractions).
Our experience: We’ve used CityPASS tickets in New York, Denver, Seattle and San Francisco. In New York we visited Top of the Rock, 9/11 museum and Statue of Liberty in addition to the compulsory attractions. Here’s our detailed review of the NY CityPASS if you want to learn more.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official CityPASS site to see prices or buy a pass.
2. C3 Pass (CityPASS)
The C3 Pass is a lighter and cheaper option offered by CityPASS. It’s another attractions based pass, but this one allows you to choose 3 out of 10 available attractions.
Choose 3 from the following 10 attractions:
- Empire State Building
- Top of the Rock
- Ferry access to Statue of Liberty
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Edge at Hudson Yards
- American Museum of Natural History
- Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
- Intrepid Museum
- Guggenheim Museum
✅ Pros: You have 9 consecutive days to do your 3 attractions, easy way to see a select few top attractions on a first visit, more attractions available compared to the CityPASS.
❌ Cons: It only saves you money if you choose the more expensive attractions like the observation decks.
Price: Adult (18+) – $104.00 | Child (6-17) – $82.00 | Plus $2.00 processing fee.
Savings: Up to 41% (if you choose the three most expensive attractions).
Our experience: We used our C3 passes to visit Edge at Hudson Yards, MoMA and Circle Line Cruise. We’d already been up the expensive observation decks and wanted to see other attractions, so we just about broke even with the three we chose.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official CityPASS site to see prices or buy a pass.
3. C-ALL Pass (CityPASS)
The C-ALL Pass is basically an all inclusive option offered by CityPASS. This one gives you entry to all 10 of the available attractions at a heavily discounted rate.
You get all 10 attractions:
- Empire State Building
- Top of the Rock
- Ferry access to Statue of Liberty
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Edge at Hudson Yards
- American Museum of Natural History
- Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
- Intrepid Museum
- Guggenheim Museum
✅ Pros: You have 9 consecutive days to see the 10 attractions, it works out cheaper per attraction, it’s great if you’re only interested in these specific attractions.
❌ Cons: You have no choice over which attractions you see, it’s a lot of attractions to get through.
Price: Adult (18+) – $229.00 | Child (6-17) – $169.00 | Plus $2.00 processing fee.
Savings: 43%.
Our experience: We haven’t used the C-ALL pass. It’s a good option to see a bunch of attractions at a lower price point, but the major turnoff for us would be potentially paying for attractions we’re not especially interested in.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official CityPASS site to see prices or buy a pass.
4. Sightseeing DAY Pass
The Sightseeing Pass DAY Pass allows you to see as many attractions as you can fit into a specified amount of days. You can buy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 day passes to visit any of the 100+ attractions available.
✅ Pros: Allows you to see a ton of different attractions, works perfectly if you tend to explore quickly, includes a bunch of exclusive attractions like a premium guided bus tour, all the usual top attractions included but also a ton of unique attractions, the more days you add the more you save.
❌ Cons: Only cost effective if you visit multiple attractions each day, the 9/11 Museum is not included.
Price: Adult (13+) – $154.00-399.00 | Child (3-12) – $109.00-299.00.
Savings: Anywhere from a little to a lot depending on how many attractions you get through each day.
Our experience: We spent 3 amazing days running riot around NYC ticking off a bunch of famous attractions and things we’d never heard of before which was cool. What made this pass great was being able to do lesser known things that we probably wouldn’t pay for individually. Here’s our detailed review of the NY Sightseeing Pass if you want to learn more.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official Sightseeing Pass site to see prices or buy a pass. This link automatically applies our exclusive 5% discount on adult tickets and 10% discount on child tickets (even if there’s another deal running our discount will take more off!).
5. Sightseeing FLEX Pass
The Sightseeing Pass FLEX Pass allows you to choose any 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 or 12 out of more than 100 attractions. The pass becomes active once you visit your first attraction and you have 60 days to visit the rest.
✅ Pros: Total control over exactly which attractions you visit, becomes more cost effective with higher amount of attractions, includes lots of unique and exclusive attractions.
❌ Cons: It’s not as cost effective with a small amount of attractions, the 9/11 Museum and ferry to Statue of Liberty are not included.
Price: Adult (13+) – $84.00-329.00 | Child (3-12) – $69.00-264.00.
Savings: Anywhere from a little to a lot depending on how many attractions you choose and how much they cost without a pass. Take a look at these examples on the official site to see how much you can save.
Our experience: We didn’t use the flex pass because we used the day pass instead. But this is a great option if you want to personally select a specific amount of off the beaten path attractions or bus tours.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official Sightseeing Pass site to see prices or buy a pass. This link automatically applies our exclusive 5% discount on adult tickets and 10% discount on child tickets (even if there’s another deal running our discount will take more off!).
6. Go City All Inclusive Pass
The Go City All Inclusive Pass allows you to see as many attractions as you can fit into a specified amount of days. You can buy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 day passes to visit any of the 100+ attractions available.
✅ Pros: Total control over exactly which attractions you visit, becomes more cost effective with higher amount of attractions.
❌ Cons: Only cost effective if you visit multiple attractions each day, no 6-day option, website not as easy to navigate.
Price: Adult (13+) – $154.00-379.00 | Child (3-12) – $114.00-284.00.
Savings: Anywhere from a little to a lot depending on how many attractions you get through each day.
Our experience: We haven’t used the Go City All Inclusive Pass but it’s pretty much identical to the Sightseeing DAY Pass we did use. Compare prices for both passes (remember our extra discount for Sightseeing Pass) to see which works out cheaper for you.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official Go City site to see prices or buy a pass.
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7. Go City Explorer Pass
The Go City Explorer Pass allows you to choose any 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 out of more than 100 attractions. The pass becomes active once you visit your first attraction and you have 60 days to visit the rest.
✅ Pros: Total control over exactly which attractions you visit, becomes more cost effective with higher amount of attractions.
❌ Cons: It’s not as cost effective with a small amount of attractions.
Price: Adult (13+) – $84.00-289.00 | Child (3-12) – $69.00-239.00.
Savings: Anywhere from a little to a lot depending on how many attractions you choose and how much they cost without a pass.
Our experience: We didn’t use the flex pass because we used the day pass instead. But this is a great option if you want to personally select a specific amount of off the beaten path attractions or bus tours.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official Go City site to see prices or buy a pass.
8. The New York Pass
The New York Pass allows you to see as many attractions as you can fit into a specified amount of days. You can buy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 day passes to visit any of the 100+ attractions available.
✅ Pros: Total control over exactly which attractions you visit, becomes more cost effective with higher amount of attractions.
❌ Cons: Only cost effective if you visit multiple attractions each day, website not as easy to navigate.
Price: Adult (13+) – $154.00-379.00 | Child (3-12) – $114.00-284.00.
Savings: Anywhere from a little to a lot depending on how many attractions you get through each day.
Our experience: We haven’t used the New York Pass but it’s almost identical to the Go City All Inclusive Pass because it’s owned by the same company. The website looks exactly the same and the prices are the same.
>> Check prices: Head over to the official NY Pass site to see prices or buy a pass.
Tip: There’s another attractions company called Tiqets who offer bundles in some cities like Paris. At the moment they don’t have bundles for NYC but you can use our exclusive 10% discount on any single attraction in New York, so use this alongside whichever pass you buy to save even more!
The New York Passes Compared
Okay, now you know a little bit about each of the available passes, so let’s keep the ball rolling and get into our comparison. We think the easiest way to visualize comparisons is to look at charts, so we’ve made a few to help you see the differences between each pass.
Above you can see a general overview of the differences between each offering, with the pass type, number of attractions, period it’s valid, whether it has to be used in consecutive days and top attractions not included.
In the chart above you can see that all three CityPASS passes only have the major tourist attractions as options. Whereas things like bus tours, zoos, walking tours, aquarium and Yankees tickets are only available with Sightseeing Pass or Go City.If you’re more interested in the aquarium and zoos then Sightseeing Pass is a better choice.
This will work for families visiting with younger kids and remember we have this 10% discount for kids (along with 5% discount for adults) with Sightseeing Pass. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to do the 9/11 Museum, you might be better off with a Go City Pass or New York Pass.
The chart above shows you which of the city’s lesser known attractions are included on each pass. As you can see, CityPASS doesn’t include any but the other passes include unique places you can visit away from the crowds. So in terms of a comparison, remember that CityPASS only has the top attractions available whereas the others have both top attractions and niche attractions.
Between the other passes: Price points are similar and most of the attractions are the same, so really it comes down to any of the passes offering a specific attraction that the others don’t or any of the passes having a special deal which makes it considerably cheaper than the others.
Timed Entry Reservations
If you’re still here with us, you’re obviously interested in getting a pass which is great. This part is vital so please act upon it: Many of the top attractions included with all New York passes require timed entry reservations, so make sure you book a time slot in advance where necessary.
Making reservations is easy. After buying your pass from either CityPASS, Sightseeing Pass or Go City, you’ll receive an email with clear instructions on what to do next which includes booking timed entry slots. When you arrive at the attraction, you’ll show both your attraction pass and timed entry.
The downside to booking timed entry slots in advance is losing flexibility on your NYC itinerary. But it’s better than losing hours waiting in long lines, so we always pre-book any entry slots that are available on any pass we buy around the world.
Is There A Catch?
Like all things that save you money, there is a catch when using any attraction pass in New York City: You have to be organized.
What we mean is that you can set yourself up for a successful money saving trip by booking time slots in advance and planning to visit attractions at times day when they won’t be jam-packed. But if you just turn up at Top of the Rock at 5:00pm expecting to walk straight up for sunset on a Saturday evening in July, you’re not going to have a good trip and you’ll waste money on a pass.
If you read reviews about attraction passes online, you’ll find either 1 star or 5 star reviews. The 1 star reviews are from people who didn’t plan or read the fine print. The 5 stars reviews are from people who properly planned and saved a bunch of money. All we’re doing here is giving you the best information possible based on our experiences, it’s up to you to use the passes properly!
Tip: If you can’t make a reservation for any of the NYC observation decks at sunset, book the time slot a few hours earlier and stay up there for the sunset. The decks don’t have time limits and all but Top of the Rock have restaurants.
The Morgan Conclusion
We’re huge fans of attraction passes because we know how to make the most of them and save money. With just a little bit of effort reading the fine print and planning our days effectively, we’ve visited some seriously amazing attractions at cut prices. There are so many unique and fun things to do in NYC beyond just the most popular attractions, so get stuck in and find some random activities!
Overall, the New York Sightseeing Day Pass is our top recommendation because it offers the most attractions with the most flexibility, the website is easy to use and we found them easiest of the three companies to work with. Plus, our exclusive discount (5% adults and 10% children) gives you even more savings you won’t find anywhere else, especially for families with kids under 12. The only real downside is that 9/11 Museum isn’t included so you’d have to book that separately.
With that said, here’s what you should do: Look at each pass closely, read the fine print, pick out attractions, decide whether a day or attraction based pass works better, add up the cost of visiting each attraction without a pass and then figure out the potential savings you can make. But remember, only get passes for your group if you’re sure they will be used.
We hope our comparison of the New York attraction passes helps with planning your trip to NYC!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen spent 6 years traveling the world, visiting over 40 countries across 4 continents and more than 30 US states. They created Where Are Those Morgans in 2018 to help others plan the best possible vacations by writing authentic travel and hiking guides based on their real experiences.
Since the arrival of baby Maya in late 2024, Mark and Kristen’s extensive travels have slowed down but they still take plenty of trips. Where Are Those Morgans now helps millions of travelers each year to visit new places and hike new trails through information-packed blog posts and expert travel guidebooks. Read more about Mark and Kristen.
Hello, this is an awesome article, thanks!
However, it seems like the NY Sightseeing have changed their prices, as they are not the same as found in your article…
Could it be that they have updated them not long ago?
We will be staying from the 12th to the 17th of August and I want to show my kids the most interesting vistas and neighborhoods.
Is there a coupon code that can be used as the links don’t seem to work?
Thanks
Hi Oli, We recently updated this guide with 2023 summer prices mid-June, but now that we are in the middle of summer, unfortunately prices will be at their highest. The prices fluctuate throughout the entire year so our prices are only meant to be a guideline to show how much you can save. That being said our links will always give you 10% off the current price.🙂 You will need to use our links to receive the 10% discount. We just checked our links and can confirm they are working so we recommend you clear the cookies on your browser and try again. Since you will be visiting in August, we also recommend you make reservations for attractions when possible and for the attractions you can not reserve, try to arrive early in the day when the attractions open so you make the most of your trip. Hope you have an amazing time in NYC with your kids!
Hello! Thank you for the planning advice. What is the promo code to receive your extra 10% discount.
Hi Nicole, thanks for reading! Any NY Sightseeing link or button in this guide already has the 10% discount applied 🙂 You must use our links to receive the discount. Have a great time in NYC!
Hi! I love your posts. You helped me a lot with my out west trip 2 years ago. We are going to NYC -5 of us in June. Debating the passes. Can you help me understand which of the NY sightseeing pass I should get – flex or day – want to do 9/11 museum for sure and I read about the issue with this pass. With either- do I need to book 9/11 directly with the museum ? We will be there 6/7-11. Any thoughts on which pass you would buy ? Want to do the bus hop on and off tour, 9/11, Statue of Liberty, Empire State , top of rock and possibly a boat tour. Also a Broadway show. Debating lion king , wicked and Hamilton. And a Yankees game. Would love any help !
Thank you so much. Jenny
Hi Jenny, we just sent you an email with our recommendations and have a wonderful trip to NYC! 🙂
Hi. I have clicked the link to purchase the NY pass with your 10% discount but this doesn’t seem to be applied. Can you please help?
Hi Sophie, We just sent you an email regarding the discount 🙂