Do You Need the New York Pass: Honest New York Pass Review (With Discount Code)

Looking for an honest review of New York Pass and wondering if it’s worth it? This New York Pass review shows you all you need to know about the pass, what is included, how much it cost, and if you actually save money on attractions with the New York Pass.

New York City is one of the most popular cities to visit in the world. You will be dazzled by the glittering skyscrapers, world class attractions and museum, glamorous street styles and incredible food and bar scene.

New York City is great but it is expensive, especially for tourists. The observation decks, tours and museums can add up to be a significant amount and make a dent on your budget. So how can you save money on New York City attractions and tours?

While there are many free things to do in New York City, if you want to do any ticketed attractions, your best bet is to get one of the NYC attraction passes. The Go City New York Pass is one of the most popular attraction passes out there.

I used the New York Pass to visit some of the observation decks in NYC along with many other amazing things to do in New York (yes locals use the New York Pass too). So let me provide you with an honest view of the New York Pass, so you know exactly what you are getting and can decide if the New York Pass is worth it.

This blog contains occasional affiliate links, where I receive a small commission on sales of the products/hotels that are linked at no additional cost to you. In addition, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is the New York Pass?

New York Pass (also known as Go City All Inclusive Pass) is an attraction pass that lets you enter attractions, museums, and do tours for free in New York City.

Given that it is an All Inclusive Pass, everything offered on the pass is included, based on the number of consecutive days you choose. The Go City New York Pass offers the 1 Day, 2 Day, 3 Day, 4 Day, 5 Day, 7 Day and 10 Day pass.

There is no limit on the number of attractions you can visit within a day with the New York Pass, the only restriction is how much you can actually fit in a day. Once the number of consecutive days is over, you will no longer be able to use the New York Pass to enter attractions for free.

There is no strings attached or any hidden fees. You buy the pass and you can use it to enter attractions, for free.

Is the New York Pass Worth it?

The New York Pass is totally worth it for someone who want to see as many attractions as they can in New York City and is willing to start the day early to explore. In particular, if this sounds like you, then the New York Pass is worth it:

• This is the first time or second time you are visiting New York City
• You have a list of tourist attractions you want to go visit in New York
• You have limited time but want to see as much as you can
• You are willing to get up early and be out all day doing tours and seeing attractions and museums
• You love walking tours and food tours
• You enjoy cruises and hop on hop off bus tours to see New York City

How Does the New York Pass Work (Step by Step Instruction)?

Since the Go City New York Pass is an all inclusive pass, you have consecutive days to use the pass.

For example, if you are planning to visit New York City for 4 days, you can buy a 4 day New York Pass. Then you can choose which attractions and tours available on the pass you want to visit, for 4 days straight. If you enter your first attraction on Monday, your pass will be valid Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! You won’t be able to use the pass anymore on Friday.

In terms of how the New York Pass works from a logistical point of view, here are the steps you should follow.

Step 1. Decide How many days you need the New York Pass for, and decide if you want to get the pass for any children (aged 3-12).

Step 2. Receive confirmation email and link your New York Pass to the Go City App. This allows you to load the pass onto the app and use it at attractions. Or you can always print out your pass using the link in your confirmation email and bring it with you.

Step 3. Make Reservations at some of the most popular NYC attractions. The official Go City New York Pass website has a list of attractions that need reservation, some of them include:

• The Empire State Building
• Statue of Liberty Ferry
• American Museum of Natural History
• and a few others

Step 4. Show up and enjoy! Simply show up to your attraction, and let them scan your QR code (either from the app or from your email). Keep in mind that your New York Pass activates when your QR code gets scanned.

Attractions, Museums, and Tours Included with the New York Pass

New York Pass includes over 100 attractions, museums and tours, making it one of the best New York City attraction passes.

NYC Observation Decks Included with the Go City New York Pass

• Empire State Building Observatory ($44 for adults; $38 for kids 6+ before tax during non-sunset hours)
• Top of the Rock Observation Deck ($40 for adults and $34 for child before tax during non-sunset hours)
• Edge Hudson Yards with Early Entry ($40 for adults; $35 for child before tax during non-sunset hours)
• One World Observatory ($39 for adults; $33 for children)

The Empire State Building Observation deck is the OG observation deck in New York City. It is the most popular and most recognizable building in New York City. The New York Pass allows you to go up to the 86th floor open air observation deck. You can read my complete Empire State Building guide.

Top of the Rock Observation Deck is my personal favorite observation deck as you get the view of Empire State Building and Central Park. The New York Pass allows you to visit the observatory, but it does not include the new Beam attraction.

Edge is one of the newest observatories in New York City. It is located at the beautiful Hudson Yards. There is a huge open air deck where you can take photos and see both New York and New Jersey. With the Go City New York Pass, you can enter the Edge one hour before it opens to the public, perfect for those looking for the best photo without the crowd.

One World Observatory is the observation deck in the One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. It provides you with a different view from the other observation decks since it is located in downtown. Read my complete guide to the One World Observatory.

Museums Included in the New York Pass

New York City has world class museums so it would be a shame to not visit some of the museums during your NYC trip. The good thing is that the New York Pass includes all the best museums in NYC and you can hop around them in one day with your New York Pass.

As you can see, most of the famous museums in New York City are included with the New York Pass. My personal favorites include the American Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim, MoMa and Intrepid Museum and Space Shuttle.

Boat Cruises and Tours included in the New York Pass

The Go City New York Pass includes a ton of boat tours to see New York City from the water. Here is the list of New York City cruise tours:

There are a lot of “knock off” Statue of Liberty ferries, but there is only one official company that runs it. The fake ones will tell you it’s a cheaper price and then drive you all the way to New Jersey, wasting 2-3 hours of your day on the commute. If you are thinking about taking the Statue of Liberty ferry, definitely consider booking the one with New York Pass because it is the official boat ride.

Tours Free With the New York Pass

There are a ton of tours included with the New York Pass, from famous landmarks (like the St. Patrick’s Cathedral) to guided walking and biking tours. Some of the tours are super unique and give you access to things behind the scene that you would not know if you just visited by yourself.

Below is the full list of tours offered on the Go City New York Pass, subject to change.

Walking Tours in New York City

Food Tours in New York City

• Food on Foot Tours
• Lower East Side Food and Culture Walking Tour
• Beer, Spirits & Wine Crawl
• Queens International Food Excursion
• Free beer from Brooklyn Brewery

Biking Tours in New York City

• New York Highlights Bike Tour
• Central Park Bike Tour
• Brooklyn Bridge Guided Bike Tour

Bus Tours in New York City

• Big Bus hop on hop off bus tour (2nd day free until March 21)
• NYC Bus Tour of Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens

The bus tours are one of the best valued attractions you can get on the Go City New York Pass. They are an amazing way to see the city (Yes you can take the subways and it’s faster but you can’t see the busy streets of New York City).

Fun Activities Included in the New York Pass

I’ve personally done a number of the tours above, and really liked them. The RIDE in particular was entertaining and I was impressed with all the entertainments on the streets (staged, but still very impressive). It is another super good valued attraction you should do from the New York Pass.

Central Park is huge and is best visited with a bike. Yes you can walk around Central Park but you can only go so far. If you want to truly explore Central Park and find less-crowded areas (mostly on the northern side of the park), you should definitely rent a bike.

These are just some of the highlights but there are so much more.

The pass does offer a lot of biking and walking tours as well as other museum tickets. One of the most noteworthy tours during the winter time is the Christmas Lights Walking Tour of Brooklyn in Dyker Heights, where you will see perhaps the best holiday decoration in the entire US.

Family Friendly Kids Activities Included in the New York Pass

There are a number of kids friendly activities included on the Go City New York Pass, making this a pretty family friendly attraction pass.

Kids activities included with the New York Pass include:

• Deno’s Wonder Wheel at Coney Island
• New York Hall of Science
• SEA LIFE Aquarium New Jersey
• LEGOLAND Discovery Center New Jersey and Westchester
• Staten Island Zoo
• Staten Island Children’s Museum

How Much does the Go City New York Pass cost?

The New York Pass prices change every month due to seasonality and price change of attractions in NYC due to inflation. In fact the prices have increased a lot since I started tracking them a year ago, so it is best to purchase your New York Pass as soon as possible since they have a generous refund policy.

Below is the latest Go City New York Pass Price:

	1 Day	2 Day	3 Day	4 Day	5 Day	6 Day*	7 Day	10 Day
Adults	$150	$205	$250	$291	$321	$339	$361	$401
Children (3-12)	$110	$135	$170	$191	$211	$229	$256	$286

Prices are subject to change as there are occasional promotions and discounts throughout the year.

Want a New York Park Discount code? Use my discount code AFFGOALL to get additional 5% off by clicking on this exclusive link and add in the code.

*6 day New York Pass is only available from Getyourguide.

What does the New York Pass not include?

To be honest, there aren’t too many things the New York Pass does not include, but I will list the popular attractions that are not included with the New York Pass right now:

• SUMMIT One Vanderbilt (the newest NYC Observation Deck). Read my guide here.
• The MET (pay as much as you want for NY state residents and NY, NJ, CT students), otherwise it’s $30 for adults. Children under 12 is free
• Bronx Zoo
• Central Park Zoo
• New York City Transit Museum
• Helicopter Rides

Does the New York Pass Save Money: New York Pass Savings Calculation

Now we come to the most important question: how much money can you save with the New York Pass.

Well like with all things in life, the answer is…..you guessed it: IT DEPENDS!

Let me show you how much money you can potentially save using the New York Pass with a few sample New York itineraries. These itineraries assume you are starting early in the morning.

New York Pass Savings: Sample 2 Days in New York itinerary

Day 1:

• Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Immigration Museum ($24.5)
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum ($29)
• One World Trade Observatory – Combo ticket with Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Memorial ($85)
• Wall Street Walking Tour ($35)
• Chinatown Walking Tour ($37)

Day 2:

• Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Tour ($72)
• Central Park Bike Ride rental ($45 for day pass)
• American Museum of Natural History ($28)
• Top of the Rock Observatory ($40)

Total Cost of your 2 Day in New York (if purchased individually): $342
How much you saved with the 2 Day New York Pass: $137! That is a 40% of savings.

New York Pass Savings: Sample 4 Days in New York itinerary

Day 1:

• Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Immigration Museum ($24.5)
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum ($29)
• Wall Street Walking Tour ($35)
• Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO (free or you can do a tour)

Day 2:

• Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Tour ($72)
• Soho Little Italy Chinatown (free to do a tour)
• Empire State Building Observatory ($44)
• Times Square (free)
• Herald Square for dinner (free)

Day 3:

• Intrepid Museum ($36)
• Circle Line Sightseeing Tour ($45)
• ARTECHOUSE ($35)
• Times Square (free)
• Bryant Park (free)
• Grand Central (free)

Day 4:

• Central Park Bike Rental ($45)
• American Museum of Natural History (Or MoMA or Guggenheim) ($25)
• Fifth Avenue (free)
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral Tour ($25)
• Grand Central Station (free)

Total Cost of 4 Day in New York (if purchased individually): $415.5
Cost of 4 Day New York Pass: $291! That is a 30% of savings

You can save even more if you do more things (especially food tours, The RIDE, and other more expensive tours and pack your day).

You can save an additional 5% with my discount code AFFGOALL by clicking on this link and entering the code.

Those two sample New York City itineraries show you how much money you could potentially save with the New York Pass. However, you may not end up doing everything I listed (or you may decide to do something else) and your savings would change.

Money Saving Strategy to Make the New York Pass Worth It

If you want to make New York Pass worth it, then follow some of my strategies below so save money on NYC attractions.

1) Figure out what you want to do in NYC

If you are completely new to New York City, you will need to do some research on the things you want to do (hint: you can read my list of best things to do in New York City to get some ideas). Use Google Maps and bookmark whatever you want to do on a map, so you can visually see what activities should be done on the same day.

Once you know what you want to do and where things are, draft your NYC itinerary! You can look at my 4 day NYC itinerary and 7 day NYC itinerary for an idea.

Without a plan, it’s hard to fully take advantage of the New York Pass since you might be missing out on cool tours and activities and “waste” your pass.

2) Do Some Math and See How Much Things Cost

If you know what you want to see and when you want to see them, you can check how much regular tickets cost. With all the costs listed, you can add up all the costs to see if it’s worth paying for the New York Pass. This is similar to what I did with my sample itineraries.

3) The more days you purchase, the cheaper it is per day with the New York Pass

If you purchase a 7 day pass ($361), that is equivalent to $52 a day whereas if you buy a 2 day pass ($205), that is equivalent to $102.5 a day. This means if you are staying in New York for longer, you can just do 2 to 3 things a day to get your money’s worth with a 7 day pass (whereas if you have a 2 day pass, you need to do 3-4 attractions a day to get your money’s worth).

4) Start your day early

Since New York Pass activates when you enter your first attraction, if you go early in the morning, you have the rest of the day to see more attractions. If you enter your first attraction late at night, well you pretty much just wasted a whole day pass!

5) Do as much as you can in one day

The more attractions and tours you attend, the more worth it to buy the New York Pass. If you do one thing a day, you are definitely not getting the value out of your New York Pass. But if you can cram 4 to 5 things a day, then you are going to be saving a ton of money.

6) Utilize the hop-on hop-off bus

The Big Bus Hop on Hop-off 1 Day Classic ticket is one of the most expensive attractions offered by the New York Pass. One ticket is equivalent to 2-3 cheaper attractions!

The hop on hop off bus is also a very convenient way to sightsee New York City. Unless the attractions are within walking distance, you will still need to take public transportation or Uber to get around, and those are extra costs right there.

Some may say that the subway is faster since you don’t have to deal with traffic, and I do not necessarily disagree. But if you are in New York City for the first time, you should see what NYC actually looks like. What better way to see the streets, buildings, and people of New York City than sitting on a double decker bus?

7) Do more tours and activities offered by the New York Pass

If you want to get your money’s worth with the New York Pass, do some walking tours as well as food tours. With food tours, you not only get to save money on food, but also learn about the history of the neighborhood.

Walking tours are also some of the most expensive activities offered by the New York Pass. Sure you can look at some buildings and streets yourself, but with a walking tour, you can actually understand what you are looking at.

8) Go to a few observatories

The New York Pass covers so many wonderful observation decks in New York City and those generally cost at least $40-$50 per person. All the New York observatories are unique in their own way and have different views of the city

Check out my detailed guides on the popular New York City observatories to figure out which ones you want to go to. Keep in mind that SUMMIT One is not included with the New York Pass.

Purchase your New York Pass here.

When is the New York Pass not worth it?

This New York Pass review would not be complete without covering all aspects of the New York Pass. I fully understand that a travel pass may not be for everyone, especially if:

• You are not spending consecutive days in New York
• You don’t like to do touristy things
• You don’t plan on spending money on attractions anyway
• You only want to do 1 or 2 attractions a day (then I suggest you take a look at the Go City Explorer Pass, which is based on the number of attractions and not on days).

New York Pass vs. Other NYC Attraction Passes

I have a super comprehensive comparison of all New York attraction passes, but here is a brief summary of how the Go City New York Pass compares to other attraction passes.

New York Pass vs. New York CityPASS

New York CityPASS is a pass that lets you get into 5 attractions. Out of the 5 attractions, 2 are automatically included (Empire State Building AM/PM ticket & the American Museum of Natural History), so you can pick 3 of your choice from a list of 6.

The New York Pass covers more than 100 attractions and tours, whereas the CityPASS has no tours. But the CityPASS gives you 9 days to do the 5 attractions and it is cheaper.

Go City New York Pass vs. Explorer Pass

Explorer Pass is another product under Go City, and it is an attraction based pass. Instead of based on consecutive days, you can pick how many attractions/ museums/ tours you want to do and buy a pass based on the number of attractions.

The attractions covered on both passes are similar, and the Explorer Pass is more flexible since it gives you 60 days to go to all the attractions.

Go City New York Pass vs. New York Sightseeing Pass

The New York Sightseeing Pass is set up very similarly with the Go City New York products. Sightseeing Pass also offers a consecutive day option as well as attraction based option.

The major difference between New York Pass and Sightseeing Pass is the attractions they offer. Sightseeing Pass includes even more kids friendly activities (like the Bronx Zoo) and and one way transfer between the airport to Manhattan.

Conclusion of this New York Pass Review

The New York Pass is a legit and wonderful attraction pass for New York City. It can save you a lot of money on tours and attractions if you use it correctly. It is worth it for someone who likes to plan and wants to see as much as possible in NYC.

Read My Other New York City Travel Guides

If you want to find out the best way to do all these amazing things in New York City, be sure to check out my other New York City travel guides below:

New York City Itineraries & Things to Do

• 100+ best things to do in New York City
• 4 Day NYC itinerary
• NYC One Week itinerary
• SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Guide
• Pier 57 Market & Rooftop Park Guide
• Empire State Building Complete Guide
• One World Observatory Complete Guide

Christmas and Holiday Season in New York City

• Most Instagrammable Places in NYC during the holidays
• Most Festive Pop Up Bars and Restaurants in NYC during the holidays
• Best Holiday Markets in NYC
• Things to do with kids in NYC during the holidays
• What to do and eat at Bryant Park Winter Village
• Complete Union Square Holiday Market Guide
• How to Visit Macy’s Santaland
• Complete Guide on Dyker Heights Holiday Lights Without a Tour

New York City Seasonal Articles

• Why You should visit NYC in the fall
• Best Fall Hikes in NYC
• Where to see Cherry Blossoms in NYC
• Apple Picking in NYC
• Best Sunflower Fields in NYC
• Where to Pick Strawberries near NYC
• Best Pumpkin Farms on Long Island
• NYC Winter Survival Guide
• Visiting New York City in March

How to Save Money Traveling to NYC

• Best New York City Attraction Pass
• New York Pass Review: Is New York Pass Worth it?

New York City Food Guide

• Best Ice Cream Shops in Lower Manhattan
• Best Brunch Spots in New York City
• Honest Review of the Plaza Hotel Afternoon Tea
• Tea Around Town Bus Tour Review
• Cutest Plants and Floral Cafes in New York City
• Tim Ho Wan Restaurant Review

Other New York City Guides

• Coolest Airbnbs in New York State
• Best New York Themed Gifts
• Unique Brooklyn Themed Gifts
• Cold Spring Day Trip from NYC
• NJ Construction Themed Amusement Park: Diggerland Complete Guide

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