Would you like to know wich one of the tourist passes in New York City is the best? In this post you will find everything you need to know about New York City Pass and the New York Pass, including a full analysis of their worth for your trip and wich one is the best for you.
Saving money while traveling is something everybody wants, right? Specially if you are planning to visit New York, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
An important tip for saving money on your travels is to look for tourist passes ofered by many cities, involving attractions and transport in only one card and one cost, not to mention being able to escape the queues to enter the tourist attractions, that are often huge .
Some tourist passes are extremely interesting and have great value for money and others do not. So it’s important to understand each pass and do the math to check if they are great options for you in accordance with your interests and travel plans.
That’s right, there is no right answer to this question, therefore, you should consider the length of your trip and the itinerary you are planning to do in order to know if it is worth buying the tourist pass.
On this post you will find the information about the passes available in New York, its advantages and disadvantages and as well as our impressions on them.
NEW YORK CITY PASS X NEW YORK PASS
Check out the detailed and complete analysis of each tourist attractions pass of New York.
New York Pass – All you need to know
This is the most complete pass that lasts for 10 days maximun and costs $ 109 for 1 day, 189 for 2 days, 239 for 3 days, 299 for 5 days, 339 for 5 days and $ 399 for 7 days.
The rates are super high, but the pass allows you to visit up to 80 attractions, which are included in the total cost. The pass is a “smart card”, like a credit card with chip, which allows you to enter the tourist attractions of New York without using any money.
It’s more or less like those restaurants “self service” in which you eat all you want: after buying the New York Pass you do not have to pay for any of the attractions covered by the pass. The more attractions you visit, the more you save.
The card records when and where you started to use your Pass and its validity. This means that the Pass is activated at the time of first use it in an attraction or service and is valid for the number of days you bought: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. It is important to note that a “day” means a calendar day, not a period of 24 hours.
In addition to free entry with New York Pass, you can avoid the long lines present on the most popular attractions. Look for the signs to the New York Pass and show your card to the staff member and you will be able to use your card to skip the lines!
The most popular tours are usually sold out, but if you buy the New York Pass online and in advance yoy can ensure your place within the number of online confirmations availabe. That means you can book 17 tours in advance with the New York Pass.
In addition, you get a free guide with 200 page for each Adult Pass you buy, detailing all the attractions and special offers available for those who holds the Pass and, which you can get when you buy the card or even receive it at home by paying a small fee.
A good feature of the pass is that you have zero risk in advance purchase, as the New York Passes can be purchased up to 12 months before the trip. If your travel plans change, the New York Pass offers full refund of unused passes. No questions about it.
+ To find out the attractions included in New York Pass click here.
New York City Pass – All you need to know
Purchasing the New York City Pass you will have nine days to visit six different and famous attractions.
The included attractions are: Empire State Building, American Museum of Natural History and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In addition, you have 3 more options to choose from: Top of the Rock or Guggenheim Museum, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or Cruise the Circle Line or Memorial & Museum September 11 or Museum Intrepid Sea, air & Space.
It is good to note that on Empire State Building, the New York City Pass entitles you to visit the Observation Deck on the 86th floor and to visit the 102 you need to pay $ 15 extra.
You can buy the pass in advance and all you need to do is to show your online purchase receipt at the box offices available at most of the tourist attractions. However, do your best to avoid the ticket office of the Empire State because the queues are quite large there.
+ Buy your pass in advance and avoid queues in order to enjoy New York to the fullest.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PASSES
First, it is important to state that in theory both passes are more worthwhile than buying separate tickets and represent a significative savings of at least 30% for tourists. The following analysis includes the details of each one of them.
New York Pass – Advantages and Disadvantages
The New York Pass is great, but can be a lot to do in a short time, especially if you have only few days in the city.
If you stay long in tourist attractions, you may lose the opportunity to meet the real New York, the dynamic city that can only be discovered in the streets.
Although the New York Pass allows you to skip queues in some attractions, in the most crowded attractions it does not provides the same benefit as you must pass through the box office to present the pass card and exchange to your ticket. So, it not always a time saver.
But the pass is such a great idea if you are planning to make a sightseeing bus tour, the famous hop-on hop-off in New York as the 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days Passes allows you to use the Big Bus for two days and you can take both the Uptown and Downtown circuits.
In addition, there are many interesting guided tours, but they are all in English, so if you do not feel confident with the language, it will not be worth for you.
In general terms, the math is simple: the New York Pass is worth when you visit at least three attractions per day. If you are not planning to visit as much attractions, you better choose the New York City Pass.
New York City Pass – Advantages and Disadvantages
The best part of New York City Pass is being able to do to your itinerary calmly and without going into any attraction only to enforce the dollars paid for the other ticket.
Depending on your traveler profile, this factor will make an absurd difference in your trip and will allow you to live the city instead of only visiting attractions.
The downside of that pass is that it only worth it if you want to visit the main attractions of New York ONLY as you will be entitled to 6 attractions you can visit “for free”. You can use your six tickets for over nine days.
In most cases, it is worth buying the New York City Pass, but if you are looking for a more complete experience you should budget to invest in the New York Pass.
+ Buy your pass in advance and avoid queues in order to enjoy New York to the fullest.
HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
The New York Pass usually offers discounts on their web site, so it’s worth checking here.
The New York City Pass has cheapier rates and special rates for children under 18 years. Check out the prices here.
As stated, this is a less robust and complete pass, but it may be enough for your travel plans.
+ Buy your pass in advance and avoid queues in order to enjoy New York to the fullest.
WHEN IS NOT WORTH BUYING THE TOURIST PASSES
On our last trip to New York we decided not to buy the pass, because we had already visited the best attractions that it gives access on another occasion and we were willing to do a “alternative” with outdoor attractions itinerary.
In this case, we considered that it was not worth buying the ticket for us and we saved many dollars with this decision 🙂
However, if you are traveling NY for the first time, we advise no to follow this example and purchase a tourist pass which will give you the possibility of visiting interesting attractions.
But the fact is that if you do not intend to go up in buildings like the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock, so your trip will turn out to cheap and perhaps the pass is not interesting. But is it worth the savings?
Also, be aware that most of New York ‘s museums charge an average of $ 25 for entrance, but this is usually a suggested retail price, which means you can pay less. Check out the full post on how to save on New York clicking here.
SHOP OUR FAVORITE NYC INSPIRED LOOKS!