What is the best pass for New York?
Currently, there are six major passes for New York City, making the task to find the best New York pass even harder. Most of the NYC sightseeing passes have a list of over 90 included attractions it can be difficult at times to compare them properly. Because we know how overwhelming the choice can be, we have created a tool that helps you to find the best New York Pass in three simple steps. With our Savings Calculator, all you need to do is select the number of people traveling with you and the attractions you want to visit. No need to do the math yourself!
How our Savings Calculator works
Our tool compares regular ticket prices to the price of the different New York sightseeing passes. It will always show you the cheapest way to visit the attractions you selected, even if this means buying a smaller attraction pass and purchasing some of the attraction tickets separately. For more on how the savings calculator works, check out the video below!
Which New York Pass is the best?
Best Value | Most Fast Lanes | |||||
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Max. savings | 50% | 70% | 70% | 50% | 41% | 50% |
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| For those who want to do their sightseeing on non-consecutive days & want to visit the One World Observatory | For those who want to see a lot in a short amount of time | For those who want to see a lot in a short amount of time and use the hop-on hop-off buses for the duration of the pass | For those who want to spread out attractions over several non-consecutive days | If you have very little planned | If you want to make use of the bus tours and see a few attractions as well |
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Rating of other customers | ||||||
Rating of other customers | 1.532 reviews | 563 reviews | 1.532 reviews | 828 reviews | 1.963 reviews | 267 reviews |
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Attractions | 100+ | 100+ | 100+ | 90+ | 9 | 40+ |
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Valid for | 30 days | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 days | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 days | 30 days | 9 days | 14 days |
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Price | from $69 | from $134 | from $139 | from $64 | from $132 | from $141 |
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Discount? | up to 20% off with code: "LNYOFFER" | 27% off with code "LovingNY20" | up to 20% off with code: "LNYOFFER" | - | - | - |
The more attractions you visit, the more expensive your NYC attraction pass will be. However, there are a few tricks for you to visit more attractions in New York without spending a lot more. As a rule, tourist passes help you save around 30% compared to buying tickets separately for NYC attractions. Depending on the length of your stay, some passes are more relevant than others. While some passes are valid for only a few days, others can be used on non-consecutive days over the span of 30 days. It is therefore important you also ask yourself the question of how you want to use your NYC sightseeing pass during your trip.
If you ask yourself “What is the best pass for New York?”, know that your choice particularly depends on 1) the type of traveler you are 2) how many attractions you’d like to visit but also on 3) your desire to use the hop-on-hop-off-buses 4) the time of your trip and 5) the importance you attach to fast lanes. So before choosing a New York pass, ask yourself the following five questions.
1. What kind of traveler are you?
Before you choose a NYC attraction pass, you need to decide which of the two graphics below appeals to your style of sightseeing the most. Do you want to visit 3-4 attractions per day on consecutive days, or do you want to be able to skip a day in between and visit attractions in a more relaxed way?
If you are more of a TYPE 1 traveler, the attraction passes sold by the number of days will be best for you and allow you to save the most money. If you are more of a TYPE 2 traveler, you will prefer the sightseeing passes which are sold by the number of attractions you wish to visit. Check out the list below to see which passes match your type.
TYPE 1: NYC Attraction Passes sold by number of days
TYPE 2: NYC Attraction Passes sold by number of attractions
2. How many attractions do you want to visit?
Be realistic in choosing the number of attractions you want to visit on your trip to New York City. You are unlikely to be able to visit 5 attractions in one day. If you want to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time, plan no more than 3-4 attractions per day. If you are a person who prefers to take their time and plan around 1-2 per day. Don’t forget to only count the number of full days you will be in New York City. Exclude your date of arrival and departure from your planning as these days it will be hard to visit any attractions unless you are arriving very early in the morning.
3. Do you want to ride the hop-on-hop-off buses?
The hop-on-hop-off bus tours are a great way to experience NYC and gain a good impression of the different parts of town. Most of the passes include some form of a hop-on-hop-off bus tour due to the popularity of the tour, however, it can be confusing for how long and which routes. Check out the list below to make sure that the pass you have chosen includes your desired length of the hop-on-hop-off NYC bus tours.
- CityPass: Not included
- Sightseeing Pass: Included for the entire duration of the pass
- Sightseeing FLEX Pass: 72-hour ticket included
- Explorer Pass: 1-day ticket included
- New York Pass: 1-day ticket included
- Freestyle Pass: 3-day ticket included on top of attractions
4) What time of year will you be visiting NYC?
Adapt the use of your tourist pass according to the time of year you visit New York. If you go to New York between April and September, then be sure to make use of the many included outdoor activities in the passes. From bike rentals in Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge to walking tours and various cruises, there is sure to be something included that excites you. If you are planning to visit New York City between the months of November and March, then consider indoor activities such as museums or bus tours. You can also visit the tallest enclosed observation deck of NYC & of the Western Hemisphere: the One World Observatory
5) Do you prefer to express access over standard admission?
Do you want to save money and time? That’s a little tricky. To get both of best worlds, your best New York Pass option is the New York Pass as it offers most fast lanes. That being said, however, it does not mean that you will have express access to each and every attraction. Unfortunately, there are only selected attractions where a New York Pass will help you skip the line.
What can help you avoid long lines is planning ahead. Do you want to visit the Empire State Building without waiting in line? Go there in the morning or at night. All the attractions are most crowded during the day. This way, you won’t even need an express pass. You can use your New York Pass with standard admission. Should you prefer the fast lane to a particular, popular attraction it may be worth it to be a smaller pass and buy the express ticket separately. Considering the money you will save on other attractions by using a sightseeing pass, you may still save money!
How much is a New York Pass?
New York Pass prices start at $64 and go all the way up to $349. How much a New York Pass costs depends on what’s included. The fewer attractions or days to choose, the cheaper will your sightseeing pass for New York be. See the table below.
New York Passes for children
Depending on the age of your children, you may not even need to buy a New York Pass. If you do need to purchase a sightseeing pass for your kids, there may be a special discount. The age restrictions and discounts are different for each New York attraction pass. Please see the table below.
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Adult2 attractions Sightseeing Pass = $69 3 attractions Sightseeing Pass = $95 4 attractions Sightseeing Pass = $119 5 attractions Sightseeing Pass = $139 6 attractions Sightseeing Pass = 7 attractions Sightseeing Pass = $179 10 attractions Sightseeing Pass = 12 attractions Sightseeing Pass = | Adult1 day Pass = $139 2 day Pass = $189 3 day Pass = 4 day Pass = 5 day Pass = 6 day Pass = 7 day Pass = 10 day Pass = | Adult2 attractions Explorer Pass = $64 3 attractions Explorer Pass = $94 4 attractions Explorer Pass = $125 5 attractions Explorer Pass = $140 7 attractions Explorer Pass = $180 10 attractions Explorer Pass = $230 | Adult1 day NY Pass = $134 2 day NY Pass = $199 3 day NY Pass = 4 day NY Pass = 5 day NY Pass = 7 day NY Pass = 10 day NY Pass = | Adult3 attractions & 72-hour bus tour = $159 5 attractions & 72-hour bus tour = $179 7 attractions & 72-hour bus tour = $199 | Adult1 NY CityPASS = $132 | ||||||
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Is it worth buying a sightseeing pass for New York?
Generally speaking, yes! Buying a sightseeing pass for New York can already pay off even when visiting as few as two attractions. How much you save, however, depends on the regular admission prices. The higher the regular price for an attraction or tour is, the more you will save with a New York Pass. The fact that you save a few dollars when visiting two attractions is why we typically recommend choosing a sightseeing pass over regular tickets.
Saving money with New York Passes is not the only advantage, however. A New York Pass will also help you stay flexible. You are never committed to visiting a particular attraction. Don’t want to visit the Empire State Building today because it’s raining? No problem! Schedule your visit for a different day or head to the One World Observatory instead!
New York Pass discounts and promo codes
NYC attraction passes are already discounted, yet you can take advantage of promotions. The New York Pass and the NYC Sightseeing Pass offer frequent promotions that let you save up to 30% on top!
Whether they are offering promotions when you want to buy your sightseeing pass for New York or not, be sure to apply our exclusive New York Pass promo codes to save even more! Applying the promo codes will replace existing offers and adjust the prices.
New York Pass promo code
Save up to 27% with code “LovingNY20” upon checkout.
Sightseeing Pass promo code
Save up to 20% with code “LNYOFFER” before checkout.