New York Pass

If you’re visiting New York City soon, you might be looking for the best deals for sightseeing and attractions. The truth of it is – NYC can be a pretty expensive city to visit, and any way you can save a little money (or a lot of money!) is good news! The New York Pass is one of the best options for saving money when sightseeing in NYC, and I’ll go through how the pass works and how you can make the most of it below. Keep reading for my advice and recommendations regarding the New York Pass.


How does the New York Pass work?


You pay a fixed priced, for the amount of time you’d like to spend sightseeing in the city. For example, if you’re visiting the city for 5 days, you may want to buy a 3 or 4 day New York Pass.

Whilst the New York Pass is activated, you’ll get access to all the ‘included’ attractions just by scanning the code on your phone. There are no extra charges once you’ve paid for your New York Pass, so essentially the ticket price is the only price you’ll pay, and you can make your way through the entire list of attractions if you want to!

In short – the more attractions you visit or enter using your pass, the more money you’ll save and the better value the New York Pass is. Most people end up saving around 40% – 50% of ticket prices, by buying the New York Pass. 

You can purchase the New York Pass by clicking here.


What are the limits?


Unlike other tourist passes in NYC, there is no limit on how many attractions you can visit with the New York Pass. You can visit them all if you have time!

The only limits are:

  • The length of time you’ve set for your pass, so how many days your pass is active for (but you can decide this)
  • You can only visit each attraction once

How much does the New York Pass cost?


This depends on how many days you want your New York Pass to be active for. As you’d expect, the price goes up depending on how many days you want to spend sightseeing! If you’re in New York for a total of 5 days, I would recommend having the 3 or 4 day pass, to ensure you’ve got plenty of time to see everything!

You can see the current ticket prices by clicking here, once on the webpage, check the ticket prices per day by clicking the ‘Book Now’ button on the right. 

I recommend having the pass activated for your entire stay in NYC, as you’re then totally ‘covered’ in terms of sightseeing, and you can rest easy knowing that your entrance (into all the included attractions) are included in the New York Pass and you’re not going to be worried about other big ticket prices or outgoings.


What attractions are included in the New York Pass?


There are LOADS!! Here’s the full list of attractions… I’ve highlighted some of my personal favourites in red!

Tourist classics

  • Empire State Building
  • Big Bus Tours: 1-day Classic Tour
  • Top of the Rock Observation Deck
  • Madame Tussauds New York
  • Rockefeller Centre Tour
  • The RIDE
  • Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum
  • Color Factory
  • Bryant Park Ice Skating (seasonal)

New York Pass.

Museums

  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • MoMA – Museum of Modern Art
  • Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum
  • Guggenheim Museum
  • Museum of Sex
  • 9/11 Tribute Center & Audio Tour
  • Whitney Museum of American Art
  • New York Transit Museum
  • Fraunces Tavern Museum
  • Museum of the City of New York
  • Museum of Jewish Heritage
  • Museum of Arts and Design
  • Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Skyscraper Museum
  • The Met: Breuer
  • New Museum
  • International Center of Photography
  • New York Hall of Science
  • Brooklyn Museum of Art
  • Museum at Eldridge Street
  • The Met: Cloisters
  • Ground Zero Museum Workshop
  • South Street Seaport Museum
  • Paley Center for Media
  • MOMA PS 1
  • Museum of American Finance
  • Staten Island Museum
  • LEGOLAND(R) Discovery Center, Westchester
  • Staten Island Children
  • El Museo del Barrio
  • Museum of Chinese in America

New York Pass

Tours

  • Madison Square Garden All Access Tour
  • Rockefeller Center Tour
  • Unlimited Biking: Central Park Bike Tour
  • The RIDE
  • Yankee Stadium Tour
  • Intrepid Audio Tour
  • Blazing Saddles: Brooklyn Bridge Bike Tour (Pier 17)
  • Grand Central Audio Tour
  • Radio City Stage Door Tour
  • Catacombs by Candlelight Tour
  • Cathedral of St. John the Divine
  • Wall Street Walks Tour
  • Harlem Gospel Tour (Wednesday Service) by Harlem One Stop
  • The TOUR
  • Harlem Gospel Tour (Sunday Service) by Inside Out Tours
  • Brooklyn Gospel Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • When Harry Met Seinfeld Bus Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Carnegie Hall Tours
  • Lincoln Center Tour
  • Circle Line Downtown

New York Pass

Walking tours

  • High Line Walking Tour by NY Tours 1
  • Food on Foot Tour
  • Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO Neighborhood Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Inside Broadway Walking Tour by NY Tours 1
  • SoHo – Little Italy – Chinatown Walking Tour by NY Tours 1
  • Graffiti Street Art Walking Tour by Brooklyn Unplugged
  • Central Park Walking Tour by On Location Tours
  • Greenwich Village Walking Tour by NY Tours 1
  • Cultural Walking Tours of Harlem by Harlem One Stop
  • Unlimited Biking: Central Park Walking Tour
  • Unlimited Biking: Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour
  • Queens Experience On Foot by Food on Foot Tours
  • Best of Brooklyn Walking Tour by Brooklyn Unplugged
  • New York Slavery & Underground Railroad Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Midtown Architecture Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Street Art Tour of the Lower East Side by Inside Out Tours
  • NYC Holiday Market & Christmas Lights Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Secrets of Brooklyn Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Hamilton Happy Hour Tour
  • Secrets of Downtown Walking Tour by Wall Street Walks
  • Bronx’s Little Italy and Arthur Avenue Walking Tour by Inside Out Tours
  • Fashion Windows Walking Tour
  • Marvel & DC Superheroes Walking Tour by Top Dog Tours NYC
  • Spirits on Foot Tour

Boat tours

  • Circle Line: Best of New York Cruise
  • Circle Line: Harbor Lights Cruise
  • Circle Line: Landmark Cruise
  • Circle Line: Liberty Cruise
  • Circle Line: Downtown Liberty Express Cruise
  • New York Water Taxi: All Day Access
  • Manhattan by Sail: Clipper City Tall Ships Cruise
  • Circle Line Downtown: Statue by Night Cruise
  • Manhattan by Sail: Shearwater Classic Schooner

Botanical Gardens and Zoos

  • Staten Island Zoo
  • New York Botanical Garden
  • Snug Harbor Botanical Garden- Staten Island
  • Brooklyn Botanical Garden

New York Pass

Bike rental

  • Unlimited Biking: Brooklyn Bridge Bike Rental
  • Unlimited Biking: Central Park Bike Rental
  • Blazing Saddles: Bike Rental (Pier 84)
  • Unlimited Biking: Brooklyn Bridge Bike Tour
  • Unlimited Biking: Harlem Bike Rental
  • Unlimited Biking: Hudson River Bike Rental
  • Unlimited Biking: Harlem Bike Tour

New York Pass

Quirky days out

  • Luna Park at Coney Island – 24 Ride Wristband
  • Denos Wonder Wheel
  • New York Historical Society
  • The DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE
  • Staten Island Yankees
  • Governor’s Island Surrey Rental by Blazing Saddles
  • HighFlyer Zipline at Foxwoods Casino Resort
  • National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey
  • Harlem Jazz Series – Tuesday
  • Harlem Jazz Series – Friday
  • Bagel & Cream Cheese from Davidovich Bakery
  • Beer at Brooklyn Brewery
  • Winery Tour at City Winery
  • Trolls the Experience

New York Pass NYC


Important things to know about the New York Pass


There are a few useful things to know before booking the New York Pass, these tips will just help you make the most of your pass…

  • The New York Pass will be automatically delivered online via a download when you purchase it. And you access it via an app during your stay. This makes it really convenient and easy to use!
  • New York Pass don’t control the opening hours of the different attractions – so it’s always worth checking the opening times on the individual websites.
  • Your pass gets activated when you scan your pass for the first time on your first attraction. It’ll then be valid for however many days you’ve purchased.
  • Days are calendar days (not 24 hours) – for this reason, it’s best activate your pass in the morning – not the evening! Activating in the morning will give you so much more time!
  • The bus tours on the New York Pass are always super popular, so it’s worth getting there early to ensure you get a seat.
  • As well as your admission to all the attractions above, you also get discounts at top restaurants, shops and Broadway shows included in your New York Pass – so definitely take advantage of this too!
  • You can purchase the New York Pass by clicking here.


My personal recommendations


I hope this guide to the New York Pass has been super useful! It’s a great options for tourists in the city, and it really does let you see some of the best places in the city (and save money while you do it).

Personally, I would tick off all the ‘tourist favourites’ if you can, and then split your time between a few of the other categories depending on how long you’re in the city. Try and identify your favourite destinations and choose tours or activities that let you fit them in.

Personally, alongside the tourist favourites, I would try and fit in:

A boat tour – Such a good way to see the city skyline, and especially lovely if you love taking photos.

A few walking tours  – I LOVE the walking tours in NYC, and the New York Pass has so many of them choose from. Walking tours are a great way to explore the city, and when you have a tour guide with you, you get to learn so much more about the city’s history and culture.

A few museums / art galleries- The museums in NYC are some of the best in the world, so make sure you squeeze a couple in if you can. You might see some incredible things.


Here are some other useful blog posts I have written about NYC, that might be useful!


The ultimate New York City Travel Guide

The best ways to view the Statue of Liberty

Famous restaurants in NYC from movies and TV shows

Things to do for couples in NYC

The best outdoor rooftop bars in NYC

The best art galleries in Chelsea, NYC

Best places to take photos in NYC at night time

How to take a great photo in Times Square

Secret places to take amazing photos in NYC 

Hidden gem and neighbourhood restaurants in NYC

Touristy things to do with a baby in NYC