San Francisco Pass Comparison: Which One Is Best?

The Golden City of San Francisco continues to draw millions of visitors each year, but is it worth using an attraction pass? In this comparison, we’ll show you three popular San Francisco pass options including what we like and don’t like about each one. Our main goal is to help you decide if an attraction pass is worth your time and money.

Disclaimer: We received San Francisco CityPASS tickets in order to share our opinion about these products but this is not a sponsored post.

Our San Francisco Experience

Not only have we visited San Francisco many times, but we have personally used the San Francisco CityPASS and C3 Pass in the city ourselves. We’ve also used the Go City Pass in Rome and the Sightseeing Pass in NYC so we are extremely familiar with how other passes work too.

During all of our visits to San Francisco, we’ve done a lot of research about how to save money because it’s expensive visiting the top attractions in a California city. So in this review, we included the passes that we think offer the best attractions at the right price points. Read more about us.

You probably have many questions just like we did, and reading this comparison is the perfect place to find your answers. By the end of our guide, you’ll know exactly which pass to buy and how to use it. Let’s begin!

Travel Tip: We try our best to keep prices and attraction options up to date, but they’re subject to change at any given time. Use the official links we provide to confirm information before purchasing.

What You Need To Know

Before we get into all the details, here are a few important things to consider before you make a purchase:

A San Francisco Pass will give you instant access to the top attractions including museums, aquariums and experiences at a discounted price. Generally, the more attractions you visit, the more you’ll save.

You can purchase a day-based or attraction-based pass, depending on how you want to spend your time. A day-based pass is better if you want to see many attractions over a short period of time while an attraction-based pass is best if you only want to see a few attractions or are visiting for a longer period. Some companies offer both while others companies only offer one type.

After buying your pass, you’ll receive an email directly with the pass and you’ll have 12 months to activate it. You can download it to your phone or print it so you have a hard copy. We typically download them to our phones for easy access on the go. Your pass is considered active once it has been scanned at the first attraction via a QR code.

None of the major attractions in San Francisco require timed entry reservations and all pass holders will automatically receive the next entry time. This makes your visit a little bit easier, but if you want to go on a walking tour or rent a bike, you may have to reserve a spot.

Pass Options And Popular Attractions

There are 3 popular San Francisco attraction pass companies:

• San Francisco CityPASS
• SF Sightseeing Pass
• Go City San Francisco

Here’s a graph we created with a high-level overview of each pass in San Francisco to help you immediately identify key differences:

Maybe you already know what attractions you want to see in San Francisco, but if you don’t that is okay. We hope to show you new attractions you never considered so you can get the most out of your trip.

All passes includes the most popular attractions in the city, but the big differences will be how many you can visit and how many you can choose from.

We’ll go over each pass in detail, but let’s see the most popular attractions in San Francisco first:

• Aquarium of the Bay
• California Academy of Sciences
• San Francisco Bay Cruise
• Exploratorium
• de Young Museum + Legion of Honor
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Big Bus San Francisco

Below is another graph with a high-level overview of popular attractions included on each pass. But with the Sightseeing and Go City pass, you’ll have more options than what it’s included on the graph.

Now without further ado, let’s save some money in San Francisco!

1. San Francisco CityPASS

CityPASS offers attraction passes in major cities across the United States. We’ve used their passes in San Francisco, Denver, New York City and Seattle so we feel confident explaining this option in detail. They also offer a light version known as the C3 Pass, but this will limit the amount of attractions you can visit.

Depending on which pass you buy, you’ll be able to visit 3 or 4 attractions from a list of 7 or 9 total attractions. The pass includes general admission to all of the attractions below, but you’ll have to pay extra for temporary exhibits.

With the CityPASS you can visit 4 attractions, but two of these are non-negotiable. Here’s the official list including what we decided to visit:

• California Academy of Sciences (visited)
• Blue & Gold Fleet San Francisco Bay Cruise (visited)

You can then choose 2 more attractions:

• Aquarium of the Bay (visited)
• Exploratorium (visited)
• San Francisco Zoo & Gardens
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (visited with C3)
• The Walt Disney Family Museum

With the C3 Pass in San Francisco you can freely choose from the attractions below in addition to the ones listed above without having to visit the aquarium or take a Bay cruise:

• Bay City Bike & Parkwide Bike Rentals (visited)
• de Young Museum + Legion of Honor (visited)

You can read our San Francisco CityPASS review to see our exact itinerary, but we saved $71.90 on 4 attractions! We only saved $3.00 on the C3 Pass, because this pass includes cheaper attractions. We recommend the CityPASS over the C3 Pass if you want to save the most money.

The San Francisco CityPASS is valid for 9 days once activated and you do not have to visit in consecutive days. It’s currently priced at $87 for adults and $67 for children (4-11). While the San Francisco C3 Pass is currently priced at $79 for adults and $62 for children (4-11).

Transportation is not included on the CityPASS for San Francisco, but you can use the bike rental on the C3 pass to navigate the city. We walked, biked, took the Golden Gate Shuttle or used Uber when needed to visit all the attractions on this pass.

>> Buy a San Francisco CityPASS here

2. San Francisco Sightseeing Pass

Unlike the CityPASS, you can choose from a day-based (DAY) or an attraction-based (FLEX) option with a San Francisco Sightseeing Pass. This company offers passes throughout the US in addition to a few international options.

Depending on what you choose, you’ll have 1, 2, 3 or 5 days to visit as many attractions as possible or you can go a bit slower and visit 2-6 attractions over a period of 60 days. A DAY pass must be used in consecutive order while the FLEX pass does not.

With Sightseeing Pass, you’ll choose attractions from a list of 25 options and here are the popular ones:

• Asian Art Museum
• Aquarium of the Bay
• Bay City Bike Tour
• Big Bus Discover Ticket
• Escape Games
• GoCar 1 Hour Tour
• Golden Gate Bay Cruise
• Madame Tussauds
• San Francisco Ghost Hunting Tour

While we have not used this exact pass in San Francisco, we used it in New York City and saved a lot of money! You can read our NY Sightseeing Pass review, but we think these passes are easy to use and they offer a large amount of attractions compared to the CityPASS.

The San Francisco Sightseeing DAY Pass is currently priced at $99-209 for adults and $94-164 for children. To get the most of out this pass, you should visit the most expensive attractions. The San Francisco Sightseeing FLEX Pass is currently priced at $79-154 for adults and $64-139 for children. It’s the cheaper option and good for those only wanting to visit a few attractions.

A few transportation options are included on the Sightseeing Pass in San Francisco including the red route hop-on hop-off tour with Big Bus. You can see the full route here. Riding Big Bus will count as one of your attractions, but it covers the Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge. Additionally, you can use the various bike rentals or boat cruises to explore more of San Francisco.

Another bonus features on this pass are the special offers with discounts in many shops, restaurants and tours around the city. To see the full list, click here. At checkout, you can also opt to include the cancellation cover for a few extra dollars which will allow you to receive a refund if you don’t end up using you pass in the 12 hours time period.

>> Buy a San Francisco Sightseeing Pass

3. Go City San Francisco Pass

Similar to the Sightseeing Pass, the Go City San Francisco Pass offers a day-based (All-Inclusive) or an attraction-based (Explorer) option. This company sells passes in major cities all around the world.

Depending on what you choose, you’ll have 1, 2, 3 or 5 days to visit as many attractions as possible or you can go a bit slower and visit 2-5 attractions over a period of 60 days. An All-Inclusive pass must be used in consecutive order while the Explorer pass does not.

With Go City, you’ll choose attractions from a list of 30+ options and here are the popular ones:

• Aquarium of the Bay
• Asian Art Museum
• Big Bus Classic Ticket
• California Academy of Sciences
• Exploratorium
• GoCar 1 Hour Tour
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• San Francisco Pier Fishing
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• USS Pampanito or USS Hornet

While we have not used this exact pass in San Francisco, we’ve used it Rome, Paris and London. We had issues booking attractions in Rome, but we think this was more of a Rome attraction problem rather than a Go City issue. In London and Paris, the passes worked flawlessly and saved us money. You also won’t have to worry about booking major attractions in San Francisco.

The Go City San Francisco All-Inclusive Pass is currently priced at $89-189 for adults and $84-149 for children. To get the most of out this day-based pass, you should visit the most expensive attractions. The Go City San Francisco Explorer Pass is currently priced at $69-129 for adults and $59-114 for children. This attraction-based option is cheaper and good for visitors only wanting to see a few attractions.

If you’re looking for transportation, Go City San Francisco also includes the red route hop-on hop-off tour with Big Bus. You can see the full route here. Riding Big Bus will count as one of your attractions or you can use the various bike rentals or boat cruises to get around the city.

>> Buy a Go City San Francisco Pass

Is Alcatraz On The San Francisco Passes?

Unfortunately, none of the San Francisco tourist passes include a tour to Alcatraz Island. This is because Alcatraz Cruises owns sole rights to ferry crossings from Pier 33 to Alcatraz Island under contract with the NPS. City Experiences are the official provider of Alcatraz Island tours and the best way to book Alcatraz tickets is directly on the official website here.

Be careful and pay attention to wording because the Escape from the Rock cruise offered on some passes is not a tour to Alcatraz Island. This tour only circles Alcatraz Island while you listen to stories about history of the Island.

If you want to take a tour of Alcatraz, you can visit both during the day and night. We’ve written a detailed review below and highly recommend reading it before your visit. You can also purchase a combination Alcatraz and San Francisco sightseeing tour. Here are the top rated options:

• Waterfront Tour and Alcatraz Island – Explore the top attractions along the waterfront including Ghirardelli, Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 followed by an Alcatraz tour.
• Alcatraz Island and Muir Woods – This small group tour hits the main sights followed by lunch in Sausalito, a walk in Muir Woods and ends with an Alcatraz Tour.
• Alcatraz Island with Big Bus – A 2-day hop-on hop-off bus tour, guided Chinatown walking tour and Alcatraz entry tickets with ferry transfers.

READ: Alcatraz day and night tour review

The Morgan Conclusion

Now that you know how the passes work and what attractions are included, you’re probably wondering if it’s worth getting an attraction pass for San Francisco. The first decision you need to make is whether you’re going to purchase a day-based or an attraction-based pass.

Buy a day-based pass if you want to experience a lot of attractions and you only have a short time in the city. You’ll have to choose between the SF Sightseeing DAY Pass and Go City SF All-Inclusive Pass. These passes fluctuate in price and often change attractions so compare both before purchasing. The validity will depend on the amount of days you purchase and they must be used in consecutive order.

Having previously used day-based passes, we can average about 3 attractions in one day so use this as a good base for your San Francisco itinerary. Most attractions are open from 10:00am-5:00pm and you’ll have to get an early start to make the most out of a day-based pass.

Buy an attraction-based pass if you only want to visit a few attractions. Typically the San Francisco CityPASS is often cheaper per attraction, but you’ll be limited to a small number of attractions to choose from. The SF Sightseeing FLEX Pass and the Go City SF Explorer Pass are often more expensive, but have more flexibility with 60 days validity and 20+ attractions to choose from compared to only 7.

None of the San Francisco attraction passes include the MUNI, but the SF Sightseeing and Go City San Francisco pass include a 1 day Big Bus ticket.

More From San Francisco

• The perfect 3 day San Francisco itinerary
• 40 affordable things to do in SF
• How to visit the SF Exploratorium
• Amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge
• San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden guide
• How to visit the Coit Tower observation deck

More From California

• 10 cool things to do in Los Angeles
• What you shouldn’t miss in San Diego
• 1-3 day itineraries for Yosemite National Park
• How to day trip to Joshua Tree
• Death Valley itinerary from LA and Las Vegas

Want more California content? Head to our California Travel Guides to explore National Parks, popular road trips and things to do in major cities of the sunshine state.

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We hope our comparison of the San Francisco attraction passes helps plan your trip to SF!

Please let us know if you have any questions about these passes in the comments below.

Happy Travels,

Mark and Kristen

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