New York CityPASS Review: Our Honest Pros, Cons & Experiences

The New York CityPASS was the very first attractions pass we ever used, not just in NYC, but anywhere in the world. This was back January 2021, we’d just moved to New York for four months and our goal was to tick off the city’s most iconic sights as cheaply as possible, so we did some research, got two New York CityPASS tickets, and saved a healthy $52 each. Since then we’ve tested NY Sightseeing Pass in 2022 (they’re not operating any more), Go City New York in 2025, and lots more attraction passes in cities like London, Rome, and Paris.

Our big question back in 2021 was: “Will these New York CityPASS tickets actually save us money?” The answer was yes, they did. Over the years we’ve learned how to maximize the value of attraction passes, and we’ll show you exactly how to do the same. The most important thing to know is these passes do save money, but they only work when used efficiently. For us, that means only getting passes if we actually want to see the included attractions, and only using them for the most expensive attractions to get more value.

The CityPASS company offers three different NYC passes: CityPASS (5 attractions), C3 Pass (3 attractions), and C-All Pass (10 attractions). When we used NY CityPASS tickets in January 2021, our total would have been $198 each without the pass, and the passes cost $146 each, so we saved $52 each. Then in February 2021 we also used the NY C3 Pass, the three attractions would have been $111 and the passes cost $104, so we saved $7 each. But the prices are different today, and we’ll reflect that in our calculations.

In this honest New York CityPASS review we show you what’s included, how we used the passes to save, our genuine pros and cons, and whether we thought they were worth the effort. No fluff, just our own real experiences. Overall, we think these passes do work for most first-timers, but we certainly don’t think they’re a perfect match for everyone, so read on to see if they’d be a good fit for your trip to NYC. Let’s dive in!

Disclosure: We each received a New York CityPASS in order to share our opinion about this product, but this is not a sponsored post and our honest opinions are based on genuine first hand experiences.

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.

NY CityPASS vs C3 vs C-All: Which Is Better?

Okay, let’s kick things off with our comparison between the three New York CityPASS ticket options. Each pass has 9 days of validity after first use, and prices for each pass are subject change several times each year due to seasonality – prices are correct at time of most recent update to this guide. Here are the available passes:

CityPASS – $164 Adult / $136 Child (ages 6-17):

This is the gold standard attractions pass in New York City. It’s been around forever, we used it in 2021, and we thought it offered a good amount of flexibility with solid savings. In essence, the Empire State Building and American Museum of Natural History were pre-selected attractions that were included by default, then we chose 3 more from the remaining pool of 6 attractions (we’ll walk you through what we picked later).

According to CityPASS, this pass saves as much as 42% for adults and 51% for children when the 3 more expensive options are selected. If cheaper options are picked instead, the savings are less. The major downside is having the two forced inclusions – if we weren’t interested in going up the Empire State Building or visiting the history museum, we wouldn’t buy this pass.

C3 Pass – $114 Adult / $92 Child (ages 6-12):

We also used this pass in 2021, and while we liked having complete control over which attractions we visited, we didn’t save anywhere near as much money. It basically included picking any 3 out of the pool of 10 attractions included on the C3 Pass. We didn’t have to decide on attractions when we bought it, we just picked as we went.

According to CityPASS, this pass can save as much as 39% for adults, but only if the 3 most expensive options are selected. Whereas if the 3 cheapest attractions were selected, you wouldn’t even break even on this pass. One important thing to note is that Edge and MoMA are included with C3 and C-All, but not the original CityPASS.

C-All Pass – $254 Adult / $189 Child (ages 6-12):

We haven’t used this pass and honestly we don’t think we would if we were first timers all over again. It includes all 10 attractions available through CityPASS – Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty ferry, 9/11 Museum, Edge, American Museum of Natural History, Circle Line Cruises, MoMA, Intrepid, and Guggenheim.

According to CityPASS, seeing all 10 of these attractions with the pass would be up to 40% cheaper than paying individually. But the problem is, we wouldn’t necessarily be interested in seeing all 10 of these specific sights, and paying $254 to only see 6-7 of the 10 attractions is worse value than just buying the CityPASS with 5 attractions for $164.

Which is best?

If it was our first time in NYC again, we’d start with the classic CityPASS. We’d want to see more than 3 attractions (and save more money than what’s realistic with C3), but we wouldn’t want to see all 10 of those attractions in one visit – that’s too much to squeeze in. We think the original CityPASS is the best pass for first-timers taking a 3-5 day trip with a classic NYC bucket list. There’s a reason it’s by far their best-seller.

Mark’s “reality check” tip: Okay, the big thing we don’t like here is how these attraction pass companies calculate the savings. They take the highest possible box office price for each attraction to inflate the value and make it look like bigger savings than what most people will actually get. In reality, using normal attraction prices, the savings are typically closer to 20-30%, which is still very good but it’s not wow-factor 40% level like they state on their site. Our own savings with CityPASS were 26.3% each, and we could have saved more by choosing different attractions. We’ll dive deeper into this later.

Our NY CityPASS & C3 Pass Experiences

Next, let’s take a closer look at how we used our New York CityPASS and C3 Pass in the real world so you can see an example of how much can be saved vs paying for attraction entrance individually.

It’s worth mentioning that we’ve visited all of New York’s top attractions several times throughout every season when we lived there and during our many trips since, so we know our way around the city and we know what to expect at the top sights. Plus, we’ve used attraction passes all over the world and we know exactly how they work.

Here’s what we did with our passes (with prices updated to match current pricing):

CityPASS

Attraction	Adult Price	Our Experience
Empire State Building	$46 + $5 booking fee	7/10 – Iconic, but not our favorite deck
American Museum of Natural History	$37	7/10 – Great for kids, but a bit dated
Top of the Rock	$46	9/10 – Immense Manhattan views
9/11 Memorial & Museum	$36	9/10 – Harrowing but unmissable
Statue of Liberty Ferry	$27	8/10 – Liberty & Ellis Islands were great
Pass Cost: $164 + $2 processing fee	Individual Cost: $197	Savings: $31 per adult

Important: All prices reflect current rates. When we used CityPASS in January 2021, the pass cost $146 per person but it’s since risen to $164 + $2 processing fee. Individual attraction prices have also changed, so our actual savings of $52 per person were different to what you’ll see calculated here at $31 per person. We’re using updated prices to give you a more relevant and realistic idea about what you’d save today.

For our first real touristy experience in NYC (right as moved there) we were more than happy to save $52 per person as we ticked off a bunch of popular sights. That was a $104 saving for very little effort. All we had to do was book any required time slots, and scan our pass QR codes to gain entry at each attraction. Quick, easy, more money in our pockets. Even $31 each is a worthwhile saving in a bigger group, and the savings on child tickets is usually even bigger so it’s still worth doing for a family or 4+ in our opinion.

And to be honest, we’re low-balling our savings. Unique to the CityPASS, we were given AM/PM tickets for the Empire State Building so that meant we actually got two different time slots and went up during the day and again at night. Plus, we chose the Statue of Liberty Ferry over the Circle Line Cruise, which was $14 cheaper.

C3 Pass

Attraction	Adult Price	Our Experience
Edge	$51 + $2 processing fee	8/10 – Awesome outdoor deck
MoMA	$30	5/10 – Masterpieces, but not our scene
Circle Line Landmarks Cruise	$41	6/10 – Scenic, but starts/ends out of the way
Pass Cost: $114 + $2 processing fee	Individual Cost: $124	Savings: $8 per adult

Important: Again, all prices reflect current rates. When we used C3 Pass in February 2021, the pass cost $104 per person but it’s since risen to $114 + $2 processing fee. Individual attraction prices have also changed, so our actual savings of $7 per person were different to what you’ll see calculated here at $8 per person (Edge has become considerably more expensive since then).

We found the C3 Pass to be just as easy to use as the main CityPASS, and it might not have saved us a fortune, but it was enough to buy a few slices at our favorite NY pizza places. Today, if we bought a C3 Pass we’d use it to do Empire State Building, Top of the Rock and Edge – that would save $34 per person.

What’s Included & What’s Missing?

To summarize, here are the New York attractions included with CityPASS:

• Empire State Building (AM/PM)
• American Museum of Natural History (doesn’t include special exhibits)
• Top of the Rock
• Ferry to Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises (Landmarks)
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
• Guggenheim Museum

And here are the two additional attractions included only with C3 Pass and C-All Pass:

• Edge at Hudson Yards
• The Museum of Modern Art

Our honest opinion on each attraction: We love Top of the Rock and Edge. The Empire State Building is a cool experience but not being able to see the ESB from the top of the ESB makes a big difference. The natural history museum is good but it’s not on the same level as London’s in our opinion. Going to Liberty Island and Ellis Island by ferry is well worth it. The 9/11 Museum is a must. Intrepid was annoying to get to but we enjoyed it more than we expected. We’re not massively into modern art so the Guggenheim and MoMA are wasted on us. The Circle Line Cruise isn’t life-changing but it’s an easy and different way to see the skyline.

Bonus extra: This wasn’t part of the deal back when we bought out tickets, but buying a CityPASS now also includes special discounts and deals on Broadway tickets. That could be a huge perk if you plan to watch a few Broadway shows during your trip to NY.

So what’s missing? Well, quite a lot actually. The CityPASS model is to only partner with a handful of the most popular attractions. Whereas their main competitor called Go City offers 100+ attractions. We’ll talk about this more later. But top-level, CityPASS is missing things like Big Bus, One World Observatory, and a wide range of unique guided tours.

Kristen’s Met disappointment: We were frustrated to learn that The Met is no longer a partner of any NY attractions pass company. We visited the museum individually and it was amazing, so it’s a shame they stopped being available through these passes. Hopefully it’ll be back in future.

How To Use The New York CityPASS

Are you worried about not being able to figure out how to use the pass even if it stands to save you money? Well, trust us when we tell you the whole process from buying the passes all the way through to scanning into attractions is easy and streamlined – and it’s actually become even easier since we bought our tickets.

Back when we got our CityPASS and C3 Pass in 2021, we had to find and book time slots at attractions through the CityPASS website, then scan our QR codes and show our time slot reservations at each attraction. It all felt a bit manual and a bit messy. But since 2022, everything has been centralized to the My CityPASS App. All time slot reservations and QR codes are stored in one place, which would make it even more efficient today.

Here are the easy steps we’d follow if we bought a CityPASS ticket today:

• Buy the pass through citypass.com
• Download the My CityPASS App – Apple / Android
• Immediately make all our timed reservations
• Activate the pass upon first use in NYC
• Scan QR codes for entry at each attraction

To be honest, doing it this way with our Go City app in July 2025 actually helped us to streamline planning our NYC itinerary because all our attraction reservations were in one place in date order. So we’d 100% get the CityPASS app, book everything instantly, and finalize our itinerary.

Kristen’s time slot tip: It’s essential to book time slot reservations to avoid waiting in long “not pre-booked” lines at each attraction. Even if you bought individual tickets to each attraction without a CityPASS, you’d still have to book advanced time slots. These reservation systems are in place to handle massive tourist numbers at the most popular sites, particularly around sunset.

Our Pros And Cons

Pros ✅

• Decent savings are possible
• Book all attractions within the app
• Time slot reservations help planning
• 365-day risk free refund
• 9 days of validity (that’s a lot)
• Buy now, choose later model
• Better savings for kids (great for families)
• Established, trusted brand

Cons ❌

• Savings aren’t as high as advertised
• Two forced inclusions on CityPASS
• C-All rarely makes financial sense
• Limited attraction pool
• Committing to sightseeing-heavy days

Who Should & Shouldn’t Buy The New York CityPASS

Still not sure if the New York CityPASS is right for you? Here’s what we recommend:

Perfect for:

• First time visitors – classic NYC bucket list attractions included
• Visitors with 3-5 days – comfortable spread attractions out
• Families with kids – solid child prices and kid-friendly attractions
• People who don’t like admin – book everything in one app
• Planners who book in advance – sort reservations early

Not ideal for:

• Repeat visitors – likely already seen the top sights
• Short stays – 1-2 days isn’t long enough to see much
• Spontaneous travelers – pass works best when booked in advance
• People with niche interests – pass only covers popular spots

New York CityPASS vs Go City New York

What about the competition? Well, there used to be three different companies offering NYC attraction passes, but since Sightseeing Pass ceased operations in 2025, there’s now only CityPASS and Go City. It’s important to note here that The New York Pass is owned by Go City and it offers the exact same packages at the exact same prices.

We used Go City New York Passes and New York Passes during a 5-day trip we took to NYC in July 2025. And we had also used and reviewed the Sightseeing Pass back in 2022. So we know them all well.

The main difference between CityPASS and Go City / New York Pass is the type of pass. CityPASS is attractions-based only, which means you choose a pass based on how many attractions you want to visit – either 3 with C3, 5 with CityPASS or 10 with C-All. But those attractions are pre-defined. With Go City / New York Pass, you can choose either an attractions-based pass or a day-based pass. And there are 10 times as many attraction options to choose between.

Go City / New York Pass offers an Explorer Pass (attractions-based – you pay to visit 2-10 attractions) and an All-Inclusive Pass (day-based – you pay to visit as many attractions as possible in 1-10 days). We really like how much more flexibility there is with a Go City Pass vs a CityPASS, but at the same time, if choosing the exact same attractions, CityPASS works out a bit cheaper.

Example: A 5-attraction Go City Pass currently costs $179, whereas the CityPASS with 5 attractions currently costs $164. But with CityPASS, you’re stuck with two pre-defined attractions plus 3 from a choice of 6, whereas you could choose any 5 out of 100+ with Go City.

Read our Go City New York Pass review next for a deep-dive into what we thought about using those passes specifically. And then you should also read our New York attractions pass comparison to see learn more about each available pass and see which will work best for your travel style.

Finally, it’s important to remember you can just book individual attractions through official websites if you don’t want to deal with passes at all. But the downsides to that approach are having to pay service/processing fees and taxes on top of base prices, and having to go through each different website to figure out tickets rather than doing it all through CityPASS or Go City app.

Our Top Tips & Advice

After using attraction passes all around the world and every pass available in NYC, here are our top tips to remember if you buy a New York CityPASS:

Seasonality: Attractions can be very busy in summer, so it’s even more important to book in advance. We’ve been in the city in all four seasons, including when we lived in New York in the winter, and attractions were noticeably quieter in the off season.

Avoiding crowds: Try to plan your itinerary to visit major attractions early in the morning instead of during sunset, then visit lesser known spots around lunch time or in the afternoon. Oh, and have a back up plan if you can’t get into a specific attraction so you don’t lose a day.

Weather: Keep on top of weather reports and plan accordingly. Trust us, observation decks aren’t fun in heavy rain – best case you won’t be able to see anything, worst case they might temporarily close for safety reasons.

Indoors/outdoors: Consider planning your itinerary around being indoors or outdoors at certain times of day depending on the weather and conditions outside. In summer avoid 12 – 4 PM outside and in winter prioritize being outside 12 – 4 PM.

Logistics: No matter which pass you use, make sure to plan your itinerary around visiting attractions that are close together geographically. We always save tons of time because we plan our itineraries efficiently.

Strollers: During our 2025 NYC trip we took our daughter in a stroller and had no issues at any of the attractions included with CityPASS.

Mark’s top money saving tip: The best way to maximize value with your pass is to choose the most expensive attractions. You can always pay individually for cheaper attractions before or after using the pass. If it’s your first time in NYC, you probably want to visit the Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Museum. They’re both cheaper attractions, so don’t use your pass for them if you have limited options. Do the observation decks instead.

Is The New York CityPASS Worth It?

Honestly, we thought the New York CityPASS was a no-brainer way to save a decent amount of money at attractions we wanted to visit in 2021. But it only worked because we were organized, chose the right attractions, planned an effective itinerary, and actually turned up to each attraction. We saved $52 with the CityPASS and $7 with the C3 Pass. But we could have squeezed even more value out of the passes by choosing only the most expensive attractions.

That said, we don’t think attraction passes are worth buying if you’re not a planner by nature or you prefer to be spontaneous when you travel. On the other hand, if you’d rather have more choice over attraction selection or prefer to use a day-based pass with unlimited attractions, the Go City New York Pass is a much better option.

Real user reviews about CityPASS on Tripadvisor or Trustpilot are mostly positive. There are of course exceptional circumstances, but in our experience, it’s usually the people who don’t plan effectively that end up missing out on something and ultimately leave a negative review. Plan well and you will save money.

If you like the sound of using a CityPASS for your trip to NYC, head over to the official CityPASS website and choose a pass. We wouldn’t buy a CityPASS through any third-party seller or other company because they will charge more and take a cut. We’d only use the official site.

Next Steps

We hope our review helps you decide if the New York CityPASS is a perfect fit for your upcoming trip. Remember, this is just a review of our personal experiences using these passes.

If you’d like personalized help with planning your trip to NYC, book a 1-on-1 call with us and we’ll answer any questions you have, show you what to do and what to skip, help you plan your itinerary, and show you where to stay.

Still researching for your trip?

• Follow our 4 day NYC itinerary
• Here are the top things to do in NYC
• These are the best places to stay in NYC
• Here’s our NYC observation decks comparison

Finally, we recommend reading our top-level New York City travel guide to get our helpful tips and advice for first time visitors.

Happy Travels,

Mark & Kristen

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