Comparison discount passes

When you start planning your New York trip, you will very quickly come across the many discount pass offers for New York.

These passes can save you quite a bit of money and time, which is why it's worth taking a closer look here.

However, the world of New York passports is quite complex. So which of the discount passes is the best? Which pass is the most worthwhile? And what are the differences between all the passes anyway?

I will answer these questions for you in this article.

I try to show you as best as possible which pass can be the right one for you. However, there is no perfect pass for everyone. It may well be that in some cases no pass is worthwhile at all.




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I How many passes are there?


Unlike most cities in the world, where there is only one pass, New York City offers seven passes from three different providers. This makes the whole thing of finding the right passport not that easy, as the passports differ fundamentally in many things.

I Differences in New York Passports


The most important city passes show great similarities with each other. However, there is a big distinction between time and attraction-based passes. Basically, the passports can be classified into two categories


    Attraction-based passes valid for a specific number of attractions. Time-based passes Select the number of attractions you wish to visit when purchasing. You will never be pressed for time.


Both types of passports have their pros and cons. I'll show you which model the respective passport has here.


Attraction-based passes:

    New York Sightseeing Flex Pass (2 to 12 attractions)New York Go City Explorer Pass (2 to 10 attractions)New York CityPASS (5 attractions)New York CityPASS C3 (3 attractions)


These passes, where you decide on a fixed number of attractions, are particularly suitable if you only want to visit the most important sights in New York and remain as flexible as possible.


Time-Based Passes

    New York Pass (1 to 10 days)New York Sightseeing Pass (1 to 10 days)New York Go City All-Inclusive Pass (1 to 10 days)


The time-based passes are especially worthwhile if you want to visit as many attractions as possible. The longer the validity of these passes, the cheaper it gets per day.

New York Pass New York Sightseeing Pass New York Go City Explorer Pass New York CityPASS NYC Sightseeing FLEX Pass New York Go City All-Inclusive Pass New York CityPASS C3
variants 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 days 1 to 10 days 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 attractions 5 attractions 2 to 12 attractions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 days 3 attractions
Included Attractions 100 100 95 8 100 90 11
You can do so many attractions at at 2 to 10 5 2 to 12 at 3
Valid for how many days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 1 to 10 days 60 9 30 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 9
Price $139 to $473 $154 to $489 $69 to $224 $129 $74 to $284 $142 to $349 $ 92

*New York Pass and Sightseeing Day Pass prices are regular prices. However, many variants of these passes are offered at a reduced price. The discount changes regularly. Check the current daily price for the New York Pass and the Sightseeing Pass here.

I Included Attractions


Another difference is the number of attractions in each pass. Not all passes include the same sights and attractions.

For most, it is of course important that the TOP sights are included in the pass.

So if you want to see certain attractions, sights or museums, you should check in advance which pass includes them.

In order to save you this tedious work, I have created a list for you that shows you which pass includes which attraction. In addition to the top sights, I have also listed a few exciting attractions.

To really see all the attractions that each pass includes, you should go to the respective website.


New York Pass New York Sightseeing Pass New York Go City Explorer Pass New York CityPASS NYC Sightseeing FLEX Pass New York Go City All-Inclusive Pass
Empire State Building And And And And And And
Top of the Rock And And And And And And
One World Observatory And And And - And And
Edge And And And - And And
statue of Liberty And And And And And And
9/11 Museum And And And And And And
American Museum of Natural History And And And - And And
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) And And - And And And
Central Park Zoo - And - - And And
boat tours And And And And And And
Hop-on-Hop-off Bustouren 1 Tag Unlimited 1 day bookable as an attraction - 1 day bookable as an attraction 1 Tag
Drive to the outlet center in Woodbury - And And - And -
BUY PASS BUY PASS BUY PASS BUY PASS BUY PASS BUY PASS

IMPORTANT: Separate tickets must be booked in advance for all discount passes for the Empire State Building and the American Museum of National History.

When you buy a discount pass, you will receive all the information you need to book the additional ticket by email.

I The New York discount passes


In this section, I will introduce you to the New York Discount Passes.


I New York Pass


The New York Pass is one of the most extensive and well-known passes for New York and is one of the time-based passes.


What does the New York Pass offer?


The New York Pass offers you more than 100 attractions, including:


    Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, One World Trade Observatory, Statue of Liberty and moreOver 30 MuseumsHop-On Hop-Off Bus ToursBoat RideMany tours



How much does the New York Pass cost?


On the New York Pass website, there are always discount campaigns of 20% to 30% off the regular price throughout the year. So you never have to pay the regular price.

1 Tag $139
2 Take $ 199
3Tage $ 286
4 Roofs $ 323
5 Take $ 359
7 Take $ 412
10 Take $ 473

New York Pass: Benefits


    All of New York's top attractions are included in this pass.The New York Pass is also valid on hop-on hop-off buses, boat trips, city walks and bike tours.Big savings are possible with the New York Pass if it is valid for 3 days or more.You You can use the New York Pass on your smartphone – it's convenient.

New York Pass: Disadvantages


    The pass does not grant preferential entry. However, time-slot tickets can be reserved for many attractions. The New York Pass is less worthwhile for only 1 to 2 days. Reservations are required for most tours. Whoever comes first gets their desired date.

My conclusion on the New York Pass


The New York Pass is worthwhile for people who want to visit a lot of attractions. If you only have a few sights and museums on your radar, the New York Pass is not for you.

However, if you visit a lot of sights and attractions, you can save several hundred dollars.


>> Buy the New York Pass from GetYourGuide

I New York Sightseeing Pass


The New York Sightseeing Pass is arguably the best pass you can currently purchase for a New York trip and it is also one of the time-based passes.

What does the New York Sightseeing Pass offer?


The New York Sightseeing Pass includes over 100 attractions including:


    Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, One World Trade Observatory, Statue of Liberty and moreThe Edge Observation Deck is included30 must-seesUnlimited use of Grayline hop-on hop-off bus toursWide selection of boat toursNumerous tours



How much does the New York Sightseeing Pass cost?


The Sightseeing Pass is available in two versions. This one, the DAY Pass variant, which works based on time and the so-called FLEX variant, which works based on attractions. The FLEX variant can be found below. As with the New York Pass, there are often discounts of up to 40% on the basic price on the Sightseeing Pass. A look at the current price list is recommended.

1 Tag $ 154
2 Take $ 229
3 Take $ 299
4 Roofs $ 339
5 Take $ 379
6 Roofs $ 409
7 Take $ 439
10 Take $ 489

New York Sightseeing Pass: Benefits


    All top attractions are covered by this pass. The pass is also valid for hop-on hop-off buses, walking tours, boat trips & bike tours. Significant savings are possible with the pass if it is valid for three days or more. You can do sightseeing Use Pass on your smartphone.

New York Sightseeing Pass: Cons


    Priority entry only applies to a few attractions. Most of the time you have to queue at the box office. The Sightseeing Pass is worth it for just 1 to 2 days less. You would have to do too much sightseeing in a very short time.

My conclusion about the New York Sightseeing Pass


The New York Sightseeing Pass is the most comprehensive pass of them all. The big advantage compared to the other passes is of course the unlimited use of the Grayline hop-on hop-off buses. If you would like to explore New York by bus, the Sightseeing Pass is a good choice.

The New York Sightseeing Pass is perfect for anyone who wants to see as much as possible.


You can purchase the pass on the provider's own website or through my partner Get your Guide, where the pass is usually even cheaper.



>> Buy a Sightseeing Pass from GetYourGuide

I Go City Explorer Pass


The Explorer Pass is also one of the most popular passes for a New York trip. It is one of the attraction-based passes

What does the Go City Explorer Pass offer?


The Explorer Pass offers over 95 attractions including:


    Empire State Building, Top of the Rock and the Statue of Liberty16 museums1 day hop-on hop-off bus tour which must be booked as attractionsVarious boat tours



How much does the New York Explorer Pass cost?


With the Explorer Pass you don't decide on the number of days but on the number of attractions you want to visit. The pass is valid for 60 days from the first attraction.

2 attraction $ 69
3 attraction $ 94
4 attraction $ 129
5 attraction $ 147
6 attraction $ 169
7 attraction $ 189
10 attraction $ 224

Go City Explorer Pass: Benefits


    The Explorer Pass includes all major New York attractions. With the pass, you only pay for sights that you really want to visit. The Explorer Pass can be easily used on your smartphone or printed out. No time stress as the pass is valid for 60 days

Go City Explorer Pass: Cons


    Most variants of the Explorer Pass are not worthwhile for attractions that cost significantly less than $31.00. The pass does not grant priority entry. However, time slot tickets can be reserved for many attractions.

My conclusion on the Go City Explorer Pass


The Go City Explorer Pass is the right decision for everyone who doesn't want to visit countless attractions. Almost all major attractions are included in the pass. The simple pricing model makes it easy for you to see whether the pass is worth it for you.


The Explorer Pass is very similar to the Sightseeing FLEX Pass. The savings on both passes are almost the same.

You can buy both passes without hesitation. However, you should calculate beforehand which of the two is the more favorable one for you in the end.


>> Buy the Go City Explorer Pass from GetYourGuide

I New York CityPASS


The New York CityPASS is one of the smallest discount passes that can still be worthwhile for one or the other. Only the New York CityPASS C3 is even smaller.

What does the New York CityPASS offer


In total, the New York CityPASS offers 8 attractions of which you can visit 5 attractions.

Two attractions are already fixed and between the other three free places you have to choose between two alternatives.


    Empire State Building American Museum of Natural HistoryTop of the Rock ODER Guggenheim MuseumFreiheitsstatue und Ellis Island ODER Circle Line Bootstour9/11 Memorial & Museum ODER Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum



How much does the New York CityPASS cost?


Unlike the other passes, there are no pricing models for the New York CityPASS. The New York CityPASS costs $129.

After visiting the first attraction with the pass, you have 9 days to visit all other attractions.

New York CityPASS: Benefits


    In any case, you save money with the pass compared to individual tickets. At some attractions you can take advantage of premium services (e.g. double visit to the Empire State Building). You can reserve a time slot ticket for almost all offers .The pass can be conveniently used on a smartphone or printed out.

New York CityPASS: Cons


    The pass does not include hop-on hop-off buses or walking tours like all other New York city passes. Choices are somewhat limited. You can only choose between two attractions at a time.

My conclusion on the New York CityPASS


The New York CityPASS is the perfect choice for those who don't want to deal with tons of attractions and options.

Since most attractions are fixed, it is easy to decide whether this pass is for you.

If you want to see all 5 attractions, the CityPASS is a good choice. Even if you don't visit an attraction, it's still an advantage compared to the original prices. If you have two or more attractions that you do not want to visit, the pass is not worth it.


>> Buy CityPASS from GetYourGuide

I Go City All-Inclusive Pass


The Go City All-Inclusive Pass is the newest pass New York has to offer and is a time-based pass. This pass is from GO City, who also have the Explorer Pass and New York Pass in their portfolio.

What does the Go City All-Inclusive Pass offer?


The Go City All-Inclusive Pass offers almost 1:1 the same as the New York Pass. In my research on the differences between the two passports, I noticed two things.

With around 90 attractions, the all-inclusive pass offers a few fewer attractions than the New York Pass. But I can't and wouldn't rely on that number 100%.



How much does the Go City All-Inclusive Pass cost?


The second difference is the base price, which is significantly higher for the New York Pass.

However, since the New York Pass always has the said discount of 20% to 30%, this is put into perspective again and both passes are almost the same price.

I don't know whether these high discounts will also be available for the all-inclusive pass in the future.

If the all-inclusive pass appeals to you, you should definitely compare it with the New York Pass.

1 Tag $142
2 Take $ 189
3Tage $ 219
4 Roofs $ 249
5 Take $ 279
7 Take $ 319
10 Take $ 349

Go City All-Inclusive Pass: Benefits


    All of New York's top attractions are included in this pass. The all-inclusive pass is also valid for hop-on hop-off buses, boat trips, city tours and bike tours. Great savings are possible with the all-inclusive pass if it is valid for 3 days or more .You can use the all-inclusive pass on your smartphone.

Go City All-Inclusive Pass: Cons


    The pass does not grant preferential entry. However, time slot tickets can be reserved for many attractions. For only 1 to 2 days, the all-inclusive pass is less worthwhile. Reservations are necessary for most tours. Whoever comes first gets their desired date.


My verdict on the all-inclusive pass


As with the New York Pass, the all-inclusive pass is worthwhile for people who want to visit a lot of attractions. If you only have a few sights and museums on your radar, the all-inclusive pass is not for you.

However, if you visit a lot of sights and attractions, you can save several hundred dollars.


I New York Sightseeing FLEX Pass


The Sightseeing FLEX Pass is the attraction-based variant of the Sightseeing Pass.

What does the Sightseeing FLEX Pass offer?


The New York Sightseeing Pass includes over 100 attractions including:


    Empire State Building, Top of the Rocks, Statue of Liberty and One World ObservatoryNew Observatory Edge included with Sightseeing PassNearly 30 museumsUnlimited use of Grayline hop-on hop-off busesWide selection of boat ridesNumerous tours



How much does the Sightseeing FLEX Pass cost?

With the Sightseeing FLEX Pass, like with the Explorer Pass, you don't decide on the number of days, but on the number of attractions that you want to visit. The pass is valid for 30 days from the first attraction.

There are also often discounts of 20% for the FLEX Pass. Current pricing is recommended.

2 attraction $ 74
3 attraction $ 104
4 attraction $ 139
5 attraction $ 159
6 attraction $ 179
7 attraction $ 199
10 attraction $ 254
12 attractions $ 284

Sightseeing FLEX Pass: Benefits


    All top attractions are covered by this pass.You can use the Sightseeing Pass on your smartphone.With the pass you only pay for the sights you really want to visit.

Sightseeing FLEX Pass: Disadvantages


    The pass does not grant preferential entry. However, time slot tickets can be reserved for many attractions.

My conclusion on the Sightseeing FLEX Pass


The Sightseeing FLEX Pass is very similar to the Explorer Pass. It's for those who don't want to visit many attractions and have made a clear list of their favorites beforehand. With up to 12 attractions in one pass, the Sightseeing FLEX Pass gives you the widest choice.


Anyone who likes a little more flexibility and doesn't want to visit 3 attractions or more every day is well advised to use the Sightseeing Flex Pass.


>> Buy the Sightseeing FLEX Pass from GetYourGuide

I New York CityPASS C3


The C3 Pass is the smallest of all the passes presented, which can still be worthwhile for one or the other.

What does the New York CityPASS C3 offer?


In total, the New York CityPASS C3 offers 11 attractions of which you can visit 3 attractions.

These attractions are included in the pass.


    Empire State BuildingTop of the RockStatue of Liberty and Ellis Island9/11 Memorial & MuseumAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryThe Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)Circle Line Cruise Intrepid Sea, Air & Space MuseumGuggenheim MuseumHornblower Sightseeing Cruises - Limited Days of the WeekEdge



How much does the New York CityPASS C3 cost


Just like the big brother of the C3 Pass, this one does not have different price models. You pay the $92 what the pass costs and you can choose 3 of the 11 attractions.

New York CityPASS C3: Benefits


    In any case, the pass saves you money compared to individual tickets.You can reserve a time slot ticket for almost all offers.The pass can be conveniently used on your smartphone or printed out.


New York CityPASS C3: Cons


    The pass does not include hop-on hop-off buses or walking tours like all other New York city passes. Choices are somewhat limited at 11 attractions.

My conclusion on the New York CityPASS C3


The New York CityPASS C3 is the perfect choice for those who don't want to deal with tons of attractions and options.

If you're only in town for a short time or just want to see 3 attractions, the C3 Pass is for you. In any case, you save money compared to the original prices.

If you still don't know which pass to choose, I would like to offer you further decision-making aids. Click on the statements that apply to you to read the respective recommendation:

  • I only want to see the main sights

    If you only want to see a few attractions, an attraction-based pass is best. The Go City Explorer Pass, the Sightseeing FLEX Pass and the New York CityPASS or C3 Pass are suitable for you. The latter has a very limited choice, but the attractions included are all very popular. The other two passes allow a greater choice.

  • I want to visit as many attractions as possible

    If you want to do as much sightseeing as possible in a short time, a time-based pass is ideal. The New York Pass, All-Inclusive Pass and the New York Sightseeing DAY Pass.

  • I want to save a lot of money with a discount pass

    In principle, higher savings are possible with the time-based passes, as it is up to you how much sightseeing you can do in the limited time. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that you would save more with one pass than with another.

  • I especially want to visit museums

    All discount passes cover the city's main museums and some offer significantly more. Since museum lovers spend a lot of time in museums, an attraction-based pass is better because time is not of the essence.

  • I would like to do a city tour

    Some discount passes offer an extensive portfolio of walking tours: New York Pass, Sightseeing Pass and Go City Explorer Pass. With the attraction-based passes, each walking tour counts as one attraction. Here, the city tours are often only worthwhile if they would cost significantly more than $30.00 when purchased individually. Only the New York CityPASS and C3 Pass do not offer walking tours.

  • I want to use the New York subway

    one of the passes presented here includes a ticket for the New York subway.

  • I want to ride the hop-on hop-off bus

    Under normal circumstances, the New York Sightseeing Pass offers the most comprehensive hop-on hop-off offer. With the DAY variant, you can use the City Sightseeing buses in Manhattan as often and for as long as your Sightseeing Pass is valid. In addition, you can drive a day in Brooklyn. With the FLEX Pass you can use the Manhattan buses for 72 hours.

  • I'm in New York for 2 days

    The time-based passes are only really worthwhile after 3 days. Therefore, for a short stay in New York, it is better to choose an attraction-based pass with four to six attractions. The Sightseeing FLEX Pass and the Go City Explorer Pass are options for you. Prices and included attractions are similar.

  • I'm in New York for 3-4 days

    From 3 days in New York, the time-based passes (New York Pass and Sightseeing DAY Pass) are also worthwhile, provided you want to do a lot of sightseeing in the time.

  • I'll be in New York for 5-7 days

    For a longer stay in New York, you can save the most money with the time-based passes (New York Pass and Sightseeing DAY Pass). You only need to visit around $30 to $50 worth of attractions per day to make the passes worthwhile. The New York Pass is slightly cheaper than the Sightseeing Pass.

  • I want to go to New York with kids

    Children pay slightly less than adults for all New York passes presented here. However, the savings are never spectacular because the attractions included in the passes often do not offer large discounts for children. Unfortunately, there is not one pass that would be particularly suitable for families. That's why I recommend not making the decision for or against a pass dependent on the offspring.

I The New York Discount Pass Savings Opportunities


In this section I would like to show you what you can save with a discount pass on a

3 day trip visiting 10 attractions. That makes three to four attractions a day that are easy to manage.


attraction Regular price
Empire State Building $44
Top of the Rock $40
One World Observatory $38
9/11 Museum $26
Metropolitan Museum of Art $25
MoMA $25
Guggenheim Museum $25
Museum of Natural History $23
Hop-on-Hop-off-Bustour $54
boat trip, e.g. B. with Circle Line $44
Total cost without discount pass $369

Note: I did not consider the New York CityPASS and the New York CityPASS C3 in this case, as they both only contain comparatively few attractions.

Below is a list of the savings you can achieve with the New York CityPASS and C3 Pass.

Discount pass (time based) Cost savings Saving in %
New York Pass 3 Tage *$286 $83 22%
Sightseeing Pass 3 Days *$299 $ 70 19%
Go City All-Inclusive Pass 3 Tage *$219 $ 150 40%

In this comparison, I compared the regular prices of the respective providers. In my comparison, each pass had a discount ranging from 5% to 30%. In the end, each of the three passes with the discounts * would have cost $208.

So you would have saved $161 on all three passes.

So it's always worth comparing the prices and attractions offered to find the cheapest and best pass.

Discount Pass (attraction based) Cost savings savings %
New York Sightseeing Flex Pass 10 attractions $254 $115 31%
Go City Explorer Pass 10 attractions $224 $145 39%

In this comparison, the Go City Explorer Pass comes out on top when it comes to saving money.

On the day of comparison, the New York Sightseeing Pass was 20% off and would have cost just $203.20, a savings of $165.80. Again, you should always compare prices and look out for discounts.

Which sightseeing type you are decides which discount pass is the best choice for you

I CityPASS and CityPASS C3 savings opportunities


Since the CityPASS variants only have a limited number of attractions, I was not able to include them in the previous comparison.

To show you how big the savings can be with the City Passes, I have listed them again.

CityPASS

Here I have chosen the 5 attractions listed below from the 9 available options.


Empire State Building (Plus Evening Admission) $70

Museum of Natural History $23

Top of the Rock top $40

boat trip, e.g. B. with Circle Line $44

9/11 Museum $26

Total cost $203

discount pass Cost savings Saving in %
New York CityPASS $129 $74 57%

CityPASS C3

Here I chose the 3 attractions listed below from the 11 possibilities


Empire State Building $44

Top of the Rock top $40

boat trip, e.g. B. with Circle Line $44

Total price $128

discount pass Cost savings Saving in %
New York CityPASS C3 $92 $36 39%

I'm happy to help you

Any questions about the New York discount passes?

Get in touch using the comment function on Facebook Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp

together we will find the perfect New York discount pass for you

I Phase


I The best New York City discount pass if you want to see as many attractions as possible


If you want to visit as many attractions as possible in New York, the Go City All-Inclusive Pass is the best alternative according to my calculations.

The all-inclusive pass is basically cheaper than the competition in terms of RRP, but only as long as the other passes do not offer any discounts. With discount campaigns for the other passes, there is hardly any difference in price in the end.

Generally speaking, there is hardly a pass that performs worse here, so it is worth comparing the included attractions and matching them with your personal program.

Depending on how many attractions you want to see and how much time you have in New York, all passes can save you several hundred dollars. The more days = the more savings


Cheapest pass with as many attractions as possible:

>> New York Pass

>> New York Sightseeing Pass

>> New York Go City All-Inclusive Pass




I The best discount pass for New York City if you want to see the most important sights in a relaxed manner


If you want to give yourself a little more time (e.g. 5 or 7 days) and prefer to visit the most important sights in New York more spread out, you can choose between the Sightseeing FLEX Pass and the Go City Explorer Pass.

The differences in savings between these passes are not huge. Here it really depends on which sights you want to see. Just look at what's included with each pass and compare it to your personal to-do list.


Cheapest pass for a relaxed New York program:

>> New York Sightseeing Flex Pass

>> Go City Explorer Pass


The CityPAAS and CityPASS C3 are particularly worthwhile if you only want to visit a small number of attractions.


Cheapest pass for those who want to visit little:

>> New York City PASS

>> New York CityPASS C3

Info: My comparison of the New York discount passes is updated regularly. Nevertheless, of course, something can always change. It is best to check the conditions and included attractions again before you finally decide to buy one of the passes. Thank you!


I hope my comparison to the New York discount passes has helped you to find your way through the confusion of the different passes.

I put extra time into this comparison to make it as easy as possible for you to decide on your perfect discount pass.

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