New York Pass Comparison: Which Tourist Pass Is Really Worth It?

How do the New York passes work?

New York passes are designed exclusively for tourists — and if you’ve traveled before, you’ve probably seen something similar in other cities. They’re often called city cards.

You buy a pass for a set price and can then visit various attractions, museums, and sights at no extra cost. Most passes also include city tours and guided tours, plus bus and boat rides.

Time-Based Passes vs. Attraction-Based Passes

There are two fundamentally different types of passes:

Do I really need a New York tourist pass?

For New York, the answer is a clear yes in 90% of cases.

That said, it’s of course super individual. So let’s figure out the basics of your trip before we dive into the pass comparison:

A pass makes sense if:

• you’re staying in New York for at least two days or longer,
• you want to see the most important highlights,
• you’re also planning a hop-on/hop-off bus tour.

Even just one of these three points applying to you is enough — in that case, a pass is definitely worth it. Use our New York Pass Calculator to easily figure out which pass is right for you.

If not, check out our “New York without a pass” section.

Our New York Pass Calculator

Which New York passes are there?

In most cities there’s only one city card — in New York there are several options. That doesn’t make the decision any easier, but that’s exactly why we put together this NYC attraction pass comparison.

Good to know: Currently there is no New York tourist pass that includes the popular Summit One Vanderbilt. So you’ll definitely need a separate ticket for that. You can buy it here.

A city sightseeing pass for New York is still worth it, though.

Here are the five passes that are truly relevant for travelers to New York. You can scroll to the right in the table to see all passes.

	New York Pass (identical to New York All Inclusive Pass)	New York Explorer Pass	New York C-All	New York Citypass	New York Essentials Pass
Type	Time-based	Attraction-based	Attraction-based	Attraction-based	Attraction-based
Our Rating	Our top pick for the best pass.	Best attraction-based pass.	For those who know what they want.	Only worth it in some cases.	Worth it for short stays.
Price	From $169	From $89	$241	$154	$99
Included Attractions	108	108	10	8	13
How many you can experience	All	2–10	All	5	3
Selected Highlights
Hop-on/Hop-off Bus	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
One World Observatory	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Circle Line Cruise: Best of NYC	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Edge	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Empire State Building	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Circle Line Cruise: Landmarks Tour	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Top of the Rock	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
9/11 Museum & Memorial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guggenheim Museum	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Summit One Vanderbilt	No	No	No	No	No
Bike Rental Central Park	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Discount Code	GO22PLACESCITY05 (5%)	GO22PLACESCITY05 (5%)			GO22PLACESCITY05 (5%)
Buy Pass	Buy now	Buy now	Buy now	Buy now	Buy now

For each pass, we also have a detailed breakdown with concrete examples:

New York Pass

New York Pass: Pros

• Virtually all the major attractions in New York are included.
• You almost always save something.
• If you do a lot of sightseeing, you can save several hundred dollars.

New York Pass: Cons

• Only one day of hop-on/hop-off bus included.

Our verdict on the New York Pass

This pass is our absolute top recommendation for your city trip to New York. You can really save a lot with it, and it’s super easy to use.

We’ve used the pass ourselves and can wholeheartedly recommend it. Check out our detailed review of the New York Pass if you’re not yet convinced.

Buy the New York Pass

New York Explorer Pass

New York Explorer Pass: Pros

• Virtually all the major NYC attractions are included.
• Fair pricing model: you only book as much as you need.
• No time pressure — it’s valid for 60 days.
• High savings potential.

New York Explorer Pass: Cons

• If you want to visit a very large number of attractions, a time-based pass is often the cheaper option.

Our verdict on the New York Explorer Pass

The New York Explorer Pass is a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to pack in countless sights and museums.

Thanks to the straightforward pricing model, it’s easy to calculate whether the pass is worth it for you. Almost all the major points of interest are included, so you’ll be well set up for your New York trip.

Buy the Explorer Pass

New York C-All Pass

New York C-All: Pros

• Simple pricing model.
• All the most important highlights are included.
• Cheaper than the New York Pass and the Explorer Pass.

New York C-All: Cons

• Fixed selection of attractions — no flexibility.
• No hop-on/hop-off bus tour.
• If you want more variety, another pass will serve you better.

Our verdict on the New York C-All

With the New York C-All Pass you can visit 10 attractions in nine days. That makes it a solid alternative to the New York Pass and the Explorer Pass.

If the 10 fixed attractions are enough for you, it’s the more affordable choice compared to the 10-day New York Pass and the 10-attraction Explorer Pass.

Buy the New York C-All Pass

New York Citypass

New York Citypass: Pros

• Simple pricing model.
• The only pass that lets you visit the Empire State Building twice on the same day — once during the day and once at night.
• If you specifically want to visit the attractions included in the Citypass, it’s the best fit.

New York Citypass: Cons

• Very few attractions included overall.
• If you want to visit many places that aren’t in the Citypass, another pass is usually the smarter choice.

Our verdict on the New York Citypass

The New York Citypass is the ideal pick for anyone who wants a simple, no-fuss pass without having to wade through countless attractions and options.

Since the attractions are more or less fixed — with only limited variation — it’s relatively easy to decide whether this pass is right for you.

If you want to visit all five attractions, the Citypass is a great option. If one attraction doesn’t interest you, it’s usually still a good deal. But if two or more don’t appeal to you, then the Citypass probably isn’t your best bet.

Buy the New York Citypass

New York Essentials Pass

New York Essentials Pass: Pros

• Simple concept: one price, three attractions.
• Great selection — you get to choose three truly standout highlights.
• No time pressure.

New York Essentials Pass: Cons

• Only three attractions total.
• You’re limited to the predetermined list of attractions.
• You can only choose one observation deck.

Our verdict on the New York Essentials Pass

We think the New York Essentials Pass is a great option if you only have a very short time in New York — for example, as a stopover on a longer USA trip or during a cruise.

In that case, you simply won’t have time to visit many attractions. That’s where the Essentials Pass shines: you pick three top must-sees and the pass takes the biggest planning headache off your plate. Plus, it’s almost always cheaper than buying individual tickets.

That said, if you’re spending more time in New York and planning a full sightseeing program, one of the other passes will be a better fit.

Buy the New York Essentials Pass

Booking Time Slots: What You Need to Know

New York tourist passes advertise that you can skip the line. That’s true — but it doesn’t mean you can just show up with your pass.

For most top attractions, you need to book a time slot in advance, even if you’ve already bought a pass. Your pass is essentially the payment method — you still have to make the actual reservation yourself.

Start reserving attractions and tours as soon as you’ve bought your pass so you can lock in time slots for your preferred times.

Here’s how your reservation works in four steps:

1. Download the pass app: Download the official app for your pass provider (e.g., the Go City App or the CityPASS App).
2. Find the reservation link: In the app, you’ll find a link to the reservation under each attraction.
3. Book a time slot: Select your preferred date and time and enter your pass code as the “payment method.”
4. Save your confirmation: You’ll receive a separate ticket or QR code for the time slot. You’ll need to present this along with your pass at the entrance.

New York without a pass

Does it have to be a New York pass? Of course not! You can explore the best sights in New York without one too.

If you’re planning not to visit many paid attractions, we’d recommend skipping a pass altogether.

You can also avoid the ticket counter line at most attractions without a pass by booking your tickets for NYC highlights online in advance — and we’d definitely recommend doing that.

While the passes do save you money, the savings aren’t always that significant when you’re only visiting a handful of places. In that case, stay flexible and skip the pass.

In the table below, we’ve put together an overview of which tickets you can book online in advance, even without a city sightseeing pass:

Frequently Asked Questions

To wrap things up, here are answers to the most common questions about the various New York passes.

Still have a question? Just leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you quickly.

Info: Our New York pass comparison is updated regularly. That said, things can sometimes change unexpectedly. It’s best to double-check the terms and included attractions before you make your final decision. Thanks!