Best San Diego Attraction Pass: San Diego Go City Pass vs. San Diego CityPASS vs. Klook Pass

Spending a few days in San Diego and wondering what’s the best city card for San Diego? This comprehensive San Diego attraction pass comparison guide examines Go City San Diego, CityPASS and Klook Pass to show you what’s the best sightseeing pass to buy.

San Diego is a fun city to visit, especially for families. With world renowned SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, there are a ton of things to do and attractions for the entire family.

However, attractions in San Diego are not cheap, and if you are doing a Southern California trip to include Hollywood Studios and Disneyland, the costs really do add up. But the good news is that there are a number of great tourist attraction passes for San Diego and Southern California that can potentially help you save a ton of money.

I used to live in Southern California and have traveled down to San Diego on day trips and weekend trips quite frequently. Unfortunately back then I didn’t realize there were these passes, but you don’t need to make the same mistake as me.

This San Diego blog shows you the most popular sightseeing passes on the market and helps you to compare what’s the best pass for you to save money when touring San Diego.

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.

Popular Attraction Passes For San Diego

The following 4 passes are the most popular tourist discount cards for San Diego:

• Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego
• San Diego CityPASS®
• Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass
• San Diego Explorer Pass by Go City

All of them have cover the most popular attractions (and parks) in San Diego, but there are subtle differences between each of them. They also have different pricing points, making it tricky to figure out what’s the best sightseeing pass for San Diego at first glance.

Quick Summary: Best Attraction Pass for San Diego

If you don’t have time to read through this entire post, here is a quick summary to pick the best valued San Diego tourist pass for you. It is always tricky to say what is “the best” since everyone wants to do different things and there are so many different combinations of attractions you can do in San Diego and SoCal.

But based on my analysis and calculations, these are the best tourist cards for getting discounts on San Diego attractions and theme parks.

The Best Valued San Diego Attraction Passes are Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego and San Diego CityPASS®. Both will actually save you a good amount of money if you want to do the most popular attractions like SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park.

If you are looking for the most variety of activities and tours, then you should check out the San Diego All Inclusive Pass. It includes over 50 attractions, tours and activities in San Diego. It is great for someone who wants to do things other than the parks mentioned above and who likes to jam pack their itineraries.

San Diego Explorer Pass includes a number of more “adventurous” activities, from GoCar tours to JetBoat and Jet skis. If you are not looking to do the parks and you want to do more unique things in San Diego, then the Explorer Pass is the one for you.

Below is how each San Diego discount card works, what attractions are included, cost, and pros and cons of each pass.

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Best San Diego City Card: Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego

The Klook Pass is probably the most underrated but really awesome discount pass for San Diego and Southern California.

If you are based in the US and don’t travel to Asia often, you probably have never heard of Klook. It is a reputable travel company that offers tours, activities, and discounted passes for destinations all over the world and they are very much legit.

How does the Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego work?

The Klook Pass is an attraction based pass that lets you pick 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7 attractions from a list of 38 for San Diego and SoCal. You also have the option to add 1 out of the 3 “premium attractions”.

How Klook Pass works is that you look at the list of attractions it offers and decide in your head which ones you want to do, then you purchase the number of attractions and pay for the pass.

Once you have the pass, you have to reserve those attractions within your Pass’s activation validity period (30 days from the booking confirmation date). Then you have another 30 days after the validation period to go to all your attractions.

This means you should only buy the Klook Pass within 60 days of when you want to finish going to all the attractions.

Some of the attractions require advanced booking.

Attractions and Activities included on the Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego

The Klook Pass includes 38 “standard choices” and 3 “premium choices”. Remember you can only pick 1 of the 3 premium choices as an add on.

The Standard Choices include:

• San Diego Zoo ($72 value)
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park ($72 value)
• USS Midway Museum ($32 value)
• San Diego Harbor Cruise ($40 value)
• Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass ($60 value)
• San Diego Old Town Trolley Tour ($51.3 value)
• The Fleet Science Center Fast Track Ticket
• Maritime Museum
• and many more SD and Los Angeles activities

The Premium Choices Include:

• Disneyland in SoCal ($96 value)
• SeaWorld San Diego ($72.99 – $114.99 value)
• Knott’s Berry Farm in SoCal ($59.99)

So if you buy a 2 attraction pass to go to San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, you can add one premium attraction like SeaWorld San Diego. This combo only costs $198.

Cost of the Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego

Below you will find the pricing of the Klook Pass based on the number of attractions

	Adult (10+)	Child (6-9)
2 Attractions	$125	$76.75
3 Attractions	$183	$130.95
4 Attractions	$228	$184.15
5 Attractions	$278	$224.29
7 Attractions	$357	$252
Disneyland Add on	$188 additional	$179.25 additional
SeaWorld San Diego Add on	$73 additional	$98.65 additional
Knott’s Berry Farm Add on	$62 additional	$85.6 additional

Prices include tax, so you pay what you see here.

Pros and Cons of the Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego

Below is my analysis of the pros and cons of the Klook Pass.

Advantages of the Klook Pass Los Angeles and San Diego

• It includes all the popular theme parks in San Diego and SoCal

• It is the only attraction pass that includes Disneyland Resorts

• Pricing is straightforward and there are real savings

• It gives you the cheapest price when combining SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Disadvantages of the Klook Pass

• You can only add one premium attraction per pass

• It does not include LEGOLAND as one of the attractions

• Disneyland tickets is only worth it when the actual park tickets is more than $188, which only happens occasionally (like during spring break or Christmas holiday) and on the weekends

• You can only book this pass 60 days before the last day of when you plan to finish up the attractions, and you must book your attractions within 30 days of purchasing the pass

Is the Klook San Diego Pass Worth it?

Personally I think this is the best valued attraction pass for San Diego if you are planning to go to the theme parks.

If you want to visit SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park on 3 different days, you can just buy the 2 attraction pass with SeaWorld add on, for a total of $198. It is a lot cheaper than buying all 3 park tickets separately. It is even cheaper than buying a 3 park combo from the San Diego Zoo Website, especially for kids!

And if you can time it right, you can also save a few dollars on Disneyland park tickets and a lot on SeaWorld Tickets and Knotts Berry Farm, like on the weekends or during peak busy periods.

Purchase the Klook Pass here.

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Best San Diego Discount Pass: San Diego CityPASS®

The San Diego CityPASS® is another popular attraction pass that includes some of the most popular attractions and theme parks in San Diego. It is also a pass that can help you save a lot of money if used correctly.

How does the San Diego CityPASS® Work?

The San Diego CityPASS® is a very flexible sightseeing pass that allows you to pick 3 attractions on top of one or two predetermined theme parks.

There are 3 options with the San Diego CityPASS®.

Option 1: SeaWorld San Diego plus 3 other attractions from a list of 6

Option 2: LEGOLAND California plus 3 other attractions from a list of 6

Option 3: SeaWorld San Diego + LEGOLAND California plus 3 other attractions from a list of 6

You have 9 days to use up all the attractions starting the day you enter your first attraction. You also have one year from the date of purchase to start using your San Diego CityPASS®.

Some of the attractions require advanced booking.

Attractions Included with the San Diego CityPASS®

The San Diego CityPASS® is pretty straightforward when it comes to attractions, since they only include the most essential San Diego attractions that would be of interest to a first time visitor.

As seen above, you know that SeaWorld San Diego and/or LEGOLAND California are already covered, you just need to pick 3 attractions from a list of 6:

• San Diego ZOO OR Safari Park (you can only pick one) – $72 value
• USS Midway Museum with 3D film – $32 value
• City Cruises 90 minutes Best of the Bay Tour – $40 value
• Birch Aquarium at Scripps – $25 value
• Old Town Trolley Tours 1 day – $51 value
• Maritime Museum of San Diego – $24 value

Keep in mind that you can only pick San Diego Zoo or the Safari Park and not both with the CityPASS®.

Cost of San Diego CityPASS®

Below are the different pricing options for the San Diego CityPASS®, depending on which park you pick.

	Adult (13+)	Child (3-12)
SeaWorld San Diego + 3 Attractions	$177	$152
LEGOLAND California + 3 Attractions	$179	$159
SeaWorld San Diego + LEGOLAND + 3 Attractions	$244	$222

Price above includes taxes.

As you can see above, if you want to do SeaWorld San Diego and LEGOLAND, it is only $67 more than if you were to only do SeaWorld San Diego. LEGOLAND Tickets are $89 – $114, depending on when you go, so this is a great deal to combine the two parks.

Pros and Cons of the San Diego CityPASS®

Advantages of the San Diego CityPASS®

• It is simple to use and includes the most popular San Diego attractions

• The pass is very flexible, giving you a year to start using it and 9 days starting on the day you enter your first attraction

• Digital tickets make it easy to just travel with your phone

Disadvantages of the San Diego CityPASS®

• You have to pick San Diego Zoo or the Safari Park, since the CityPASS® does not allow you to go to both

• You have to do SeaWorld or LEGOLAND and 3 additional attractions, you can’t just do 1 or 5 attractions like with other passes.

Is the San Diego CityPASS® worth it?

The San Diego CityPASS® is an amazing pass to get and totally worth the cost if the attractions are the ones you want to do.

Here is an example calculation of how much money you can save with the San Diego CityPASS®.

• SeaWorld San Diego ($72.99 – $114.99 depends on when you go) +
• San Diego Zoo ($72) +
• Old Town Trolley Tour ($51) +
• City Cruise ($40)

Total Cost if you were to buy tickets separately: $235.99 – $277.99
Cost of San Diego CityPASS®: $177
Total Savings: $58.99 – $100.99

If you want to go to SeaWorld and LEGOLAND, then you can save even more with the combo.

Purchase the San Diego CityPASS® here.

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Best San Diego Sightseeing Pass: Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass

Go City is a large company with popular attraction passes all over the world, notably the New York Pass, Paris Pass, Rome Pass, etc.

The San Diego All Inclusive Pass is a popular attraction pass that includes over 50 attractions, tours, and activities.

How does the Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass Work?

The San Diego All inclusive Pass is “all inclusive”, meaning you can do as many attractions (that are offered) as possible within a specific number of consecutive days.

Unlike the passes I just talked about above, the All Inclusive Pass is only valid for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 consecutive days. It is designed for those who want to do A LOT in a very short period of time, otherwise you “lose it” after the pass expires.

For example, if you have a 2 day pass, and you enter your first attraction at 4pm on Monday, this pass is valid Monday and Tuesday, and expires at 11:59 pm on Tuesday evening. As you can see, if you start your first attraction at 4pm, you pretty much lose the entire day. So you really need 2 full days to make this 2 day pass worth it.

You have 2 years to activate your pass and you can get a refund within 90 days of purchase.

In addition, there is a “savings guarantee” with Go City passes, if you go to at least 3 attractions each day and you don’t save money, you can submit a claim to get the differences paid to you.

You need to “Screenshots of entry prices from the attraction’s website or from any other travel websites that prove that the combined cost of attractions you visited would have been cheaper than the cost of our passes.”

Some of the attractions require advanced booking.

Attractions Included on the Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass

There are so many attractions so I won’t include all of them here, but you will see the most popular attractions included on the San Diego Pass:

• SeaWorld San Diego ($72.99 – $114.99 value)
• LEGOLAND California ($89 – $114 value)
• San Diego Zoo ($72 value)
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park ($72 value)
• USS Midway Museum ($32 value)
• 90 Minute Cruise ($40 value)
• Knott’s Berry Farm ($75 – $85 value)
• Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass ($60 value)
• Birch Aquarium at Scripps ($24.95 value)
• Whale Watching Tour ($52 – 55 value)
• La Jolla Kayak Rental ($44 value)
• and many many more

Cost of Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass

Below is the cost of the San Diego Pass for adults and children

• 1 day Pass: $129 (adults), $114 (Child)
• 2 day Pass: $189 (adults), $169 (Child)
• 3 day Pass: $244 (adults), $229 (Child)
• 4 day Pass: $284 (adults), $269 (Child)
• 5 day Pass: $329 (adults), $299 (Child)
• 7 day Pass: $394 (adults), $369 (Child)

Adults are those who are 13 years old or older; Children passes are for ages 3 to 12.

Pros and Cons of the Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass

Pros of the San Diego All Inclusive Pass

• It has the most number of activities, tours, and attractions

• This pass allows you to go to all the popular amusement parks in San Diego

• It has a generous return policy and it is valid for 2 years before you have to activate your pass. This allows you lock in a lower price on the pass since the prices go up every few months

Cons of the San Diego All Inclusive Pass

• It does not include the San Diego Trolley Tour

• It is more expensive than other passes, and you have to jam pack your day to get the savings they advertised

Is the Go City San Diego All Inclusive Pass Worth It?

If you can jam pack your day (like visiting the zoo and do something else) everyday then you can make the pass worth it. But if your plan is to just do one park a day for 3 or 4 days, then the pass is not worth it since there are cheaper passes that I mentioned that cover all the parks.

Personally I think the advantage of the Go City San Diego Pass over the other passes is that your savings can be determined by you and it is perfect for someone who’s willing to start early, do a lot of things in one day.

For example, if you visit SeaWorld early in the morning for half a day, then do a speedboat adventure in the afternoon and maybe spend an hour at a museum, then you will definitely save money.

Buy the San Diego All Inclusive pass here.

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Best San Diego Tourist Pass: Go City San Diego Explorer Pass

The San Diego Explorer Pass is an attraction based pass by Go City. It is like the sibling of the All Inclusive Pass and covers similar but different attractions.

How does the San Diego Explorer Pass Work

The Explorer Pass offers 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 choices out of over 50, so you have a lot of freedom to decide how you want to arrange your San Diego itinerary.

You have 60 days to finish visiting all the attractions you bought starting from your first visit. The pass is valid for 2 years from the day of purchase and has a 60 day refund policy.

Attractions Included with the San Diego Explorer Pass

While most attractions are the same for the all inclusive pass and the explorer pass, there are some parks that are not included with the San Diego Explorer Pass.

The attractions and activities included on the San Diego Explorer Pass can be found below:

• San Diego Zoo
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park (you can only pick one between the zoo and the safari park)
• USS Midway Museum
• 2 Day San Diego Trolley Tour (only on the Explorer Pass)
• Birch Aquarium at Scripps
• 90 Minutes Best of the Bay Harbor Cruise
• Jet Ski Rental (only on the Explorer Pass)
• The Flagship Patriot Jet Boat (only on the Explorer Pass)
• Whale Watching Tour
• GoCar San Diego Tour: 1 Hour (only on the Explorer Pass)
• and many more

Cost of the San Diego Explorer Pass by Go City

• 2 Choice Pass: $109 (Adult), $89 (Child)
• 3 Choice Pass: $134 (Adult), $109 (Child)
• 4 Choice Pass: $159 (Adult), $124 (Child)
• 5 Choice Pass: $179 (Adult), $134 (Child)
• 7 Choice Pass: $199 (Adult), $154 (Child)

Adults are those who are 13 years old or older; Children passes are for ages 3 to 12.

Pros and Cons of the San Diego Explorer Pass by Go City

Advantages of San Diego Explorer Pass

• It has a lot of attractions, tours and activities

• It is the cheapest attraction pass for 4 choices

• It is flexible, you have 60 days to use up all the choices

Disadvantages of San Diego Explorer Pass

• It does not include SeaWorld or LEGOLAND California

• You can only pick one between San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park, can’t do both

Is the San Diego Explorer Pass Worth It?

The San Diego Explorer Pass can be worth it if you plan to do a lot of attractions. After the first 2 attractions, each additional attraction only costs $25 more and when you get to the 7 choice pass, it is only $20 more than the 5 choice pass, essentially making the additional attraction only $10 each.

But even with a 2 choice pass, if you do San Diego Zoo and something like a Harbor Cruise or Jet Ski Rental or Whale Watching Tour (during the right season), you can already save money.

Buy the San Diego Explorer Pass here.

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Are San Diego City Cards Legit?

Yes, San Diego city cards or discount passes are legit and they work well when you use them correctly. The companies that sell these passes are 100% legit and I have used their passes for other cities before.

However, oftentimes, people complain that they were not able to do certain things partially due to external factors. For example, if you want to do the whale watching tour, you can only do it during certain seasons. In addition, if you want to go to high demand parks or activities, you need to book ahead of time.

If you are the type of person that does very minimal planning and does things last minute, you may not benefit from these San Diego sightseeing passes. Planning is important when it comes to maximizing savings.

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Summary of Attractions Covered by Each San Diego Discount Pass

Below is a summary of the different activities, tours, and attractions that are covered (or not covered) on different attraction passes. I only listed the major ones since Go City has over 50, but this comparison should give you a good idea.

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Best San Diego Tourist Pass: Money Saving Strategies

Below are some of the best strategies you can use to maximize your discount pass for San Diego.

• Plan plan plan! This blog shows you the prices of major attractions in San Diego but do your own research since prices do change based on the month and actual date of visit.

• Decide what you want to do first, then work backwards to see which attraction pass for San Diego include the things you want to do

• Do some calculations to see how much things would cost without a sightseeing pass

• Jam pack your day if you are planning to buy the Go City All Inclusive Pass. The more you do in one day, the more you maximize your savings

• Pick the most expensive attractions to use your San Diego city card towards. You save more when the attraction costs $100 than an attraction that cost $20

• Combine passes when it makes sense. You can always combine a Klook Pass (or the San Diego CityPASS®) with a Go City pass since Go City passes cover more activities than Klook or CityPASS®. You can use Klook Pass or the San Diego CityPASS® towards the parks and harbor cruise and use the all inclusive pass to see 2 other museums, do a whale watching tour and rent a kayak.

• More is more: The more attractions (or days) you buy with Go City, the less it costs per additional day or attraction.

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Who Should (or Should Not) get a San Diego Pass for Sightseeing

Even though the attraction passes are pretty awesome to help you save money, they are not suitable for everyone. Below I will list some examples of when a sightseeing pass is good or not good and you can decide whether you should get a San Diego tourist pass or not.

Hope this comprehensive review of San Diego passes can help you decide what the best attraction pass is for you and your family!