The City Pass for New York is a tourist discount booklet for the top attractions in New York City. Is buying the NY City Pass a good deal for visitors?
City Pass offers attraction books for many popular tourist cities in the United States. In New York City, the City Pass offers admission into of the top visitor destinations. Is it worth the money? Will tourists have the time to visit all the attractions in the book? This article offers advice on how to get the most out of the City Pass.
What NY Attractions Are Included in the New York City Pass
The NY City Pass includes admission into 6 of the top attractions in New York City and allows visitors 9 days to use the book. The cost for adults is $79 and children (6-17 years) pay $59. The following attractions are included in the City Pass.
- Empire State Building
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- American Museum of Natural History
- MoMA Museum of Modern Art
- Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise (75 or 90 minutes) or the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Visit
- Guggenheim Museum or Top of the Rock (Observation Deck at the Rockefeller Center)
Should Visitors Buy the NY City Pass – Is it Worth the Money?
Without a doubt, adults save money using the NY City Pass. Visiting only four of the attractions will save money. Seniors will see smaller savings but will still find it worthwhile. The only tourists who might want to reconsider buying the pass are families with 2 or more children between the ages of six and twelve or visitors who are on a really tight budget and are only looking for free things to do in New York.
The cost of attractions for children 6 -12 years are as follows:
- Empire State Building ($14 without audio guide),
- Circle Line Cruise ($22) or Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty ($5)
- MoMA (free),
- Guggenheim (free) or Top of Rock ($14)
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (free),
- American Museum of Natural History ($14 with Space show and $9 without Space Show).
Depending on which attractions a family with young children chooses to visit, the cost of the City Pass ($59) could come close to the cost of separate admissions. However, for children over the age of 12, the City Pass provides big savings.
Even in circumstances where the $59 youth booklet does not result in large dollar savings, the money saved on the adult booklets and more importantly, the time saved by skipping ticket line-ups at the attractions, makes the City Pass a great choice for families.
Benefits of Buying the NY City Pass
The New York City Pass offers more than financial savings. There are many advantages to the City Pass that make it so popular with tourists visiting the Big Apple.
- Cost advantage
- Skipping ticket lines (not security lines, however)
- Paying one price up front and not having to pay at each venue
- Exploring museums for a short time without the guilt of wasting the $20 cost of admission
- Saves time deciding what to see and do in New York
- Attractions are geographically close and doable in a 3-4 day visit to New York
- Passes can be purchased online before visitors leave home
There are many benefits to buying the New York City Pass. It is the easiest to use, least complicated, and most popular tourist pass in New York. It offers admissions to only the most popular must-see New York sights and allows tourists 9 days to use the booklet. Even with limited savings for young children, it is a great deal. It can be purchased online or at any of the featured attractions.