Which Is The Best New York City Pass To Buy?

The New York pass market shrank in 2025, and most guides have not noticed. The Sightseeing Pass ceased trading in June 2025, which leaves two pass families behind the three names you will see online: the New York CityPASS, and Go City's Explorer and All-Inclusive passes, the latter co-branded as the New York Pass. Choosing between them is not about which card looks better. It is about how many attractions your trip can honestly absorb, because two expensive admissions can justify some tiers while a longer list of free-eligible sights may not justify any pass.

Which Is The Best New York City Pass To Buy?

Compare the complete price of the pass tier that fits your actual admissions and schedule. CityPASS offers five choices from ten attractions within nine consecutive days from the first visit or reservation. Its direct reference is $149 adult or $129 child aged 6–17, plus $2 processing per pass. Explorer counts visits within 30 days; the day pass counts consecutive calendar days.

A familiar attraction list does not establish which pass is cheapest for your travelers.

The logic is simple. A pass only pays when the attractions you would have paid full price for anyway add up to more than the pass costs. The CityPASS list is built almost entirely of things a first-timer plans to do regardless: the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, Edge, the Intrepid, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, and one Circle Line sightseeing cruise. These are all box-office-priced heavyweights, and that is the point: the bundle works because the contents were already on your list.

Explorer’s 30-day window may suit visits spread over a longer period. The linked reseller offers two to six choices; the day-pass listing offers one to five consecutive days, normally one visit per attraction. Compare the required tier, admissions and seller terms. The day-pass listing is nonrefundable; Explorer has its own cancellation cutoff.

Individual tickets or free sights may be the better answer. A two-attraction itinerary does not automatically rule out a pass, and a busy itinerary does not guarantee savings. Compare equivalent tickets and account for free entry or discounts you qualify for.

Use the comparison after the article to price the structure that fits your own plans.

How Much Does Each New York Pass Cost?

The direct CityPASS references are $149 adult and $129 child, plus $2 processing each. Go City advertises starting adult prices of $89 for Explorer and $169 for its day-based option. These do not price every tier or reseller listing: compare the complete current quote for your required visit count or day count.

Go City prices are dynamic and promotional, so treat its figures as starting points.

Prices and promotions can change. The structure helps you choose what to compare, but the complete seller quote determines the purchase cost.

The validity column is where trips are won or lost. Nine consecutive days is generous for a five-attraction pass: it means a week-long trip can absorb a rain day without wasting a ticket. The Explorer's thirty-day window is even more forgiving, and its non-consecutive structure suits travelers who want museum days separated by walking days. The All-Inclusive pass is the least forgiving: every unused day is money burned, so compare the admissions you can realistically use within the purchased days.

One warning that belongs next to any price table. The Sightseeing Pass ceased trading in 2025, and its website is an empty shell. Any reseller still selling one, or any guide still recommending it, is telling you something about how current its information is.

Check the complete CityPASS quote for the same travelers and admission options before comparing it with other tiers.

Latest data One of the big three New York passes no longer exists

• The Sightseeing Pass suspended operations around 19 June 2025 and is not selling New York passes; its site now serves an empty page.
• That leaves two companies: CityPASS, and Go City, whose All-Inclusive product is co-branded as the New York Pass.
• CityPASS’s $307.04 maximum reference total uses its five highest-priced choices. Against $149 plus $2 processing, that example differs by $156.04; your own choices may differ.
• Plenty of competing NYC guides still list the dead pass as an option, which is the fastest way to spot a guide that was never updated.

What Does The New York CityPASS Actually Include?

The CityPASS covers your choice of five attractions from a list of ten: the Empire State Building's AM/PM Experience, Top of the Rock, the official Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, Edge, the Intrepid, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, and one Circle Line sightseeing cruise. Reservations are required at some attractions and recommended at others, handled through the My CityPASS app.

The pass does not cover MoMA, the Met, or Broadway.

The box-office prices CityPASS publishes for its own savings maths double as a useful planning table, because they show what each ticket costs on its own:

The three deck references total $209.04, which exceeds the $151 complete direct adult reference. That is an example, not a guarantee: compare equivalent access and current quotes for your dates. Cheaper choices or free-entry eligibility can change the result. Everything else covered here is indexed on New York City Travel Guide.

Note the fine print on the Empire State Building entry: the CityPASS version is the AM/PM Experience, which includes the 86th floor plus the second-floor museum and a bonus same-night re-entry. That is a richer ticket than the plain deck admission, and it is the single most valuable line in the bundle.

The Statue of Liberty line is the official Statue City Cruises ferry, the only operator authorized by the National Park Service to land on Liberty Island. A landing ferry and a sightseeing cruise serve different plans; compare the one you actually want. If standing on Liberty Island itself matters to you, this inclusion is a genuine differentiator, because plenty of harbor cruises sold alongside passes never land anywhere.

Compare the exact included admission options on the CityPASS listing before choosing your five sights.

When Does A Pass Stop Making Sense?

A pass stops making financial sense when its complete quote exceeds the equivalent admissions you will use. There is no universal break-even attraction count. Include mandatory fees and upgrades, subtract discounts or free admission you qualify for, and count only feasible visits.

The failure mode is buying the pass for the trip you imagine rather than the trip you will take. A five-day visit sounds like pass territory until you sketch the actual days: a morning in Central Park, an afternoon walking the High Line and Chelsea Market, an evening Broadway show, a day in Brooklyn. The parks and neighborhood walks are free; Broadway tickets are a separate paid purchase. The paid attractions on such a trip might total two, so compare their actual ticket total rather than assuming a five-choice pass is worthwhile.

A consecutive-day pass can also cost more than the tickets you use if rest days or unavailable reservations reduce your itinerary. Price the exact day tier and schedule; three paid sights a day is not a reliable break-even rule.

Explorer offers a chosen visit count within 30 days, allowing days between admissions. Compare its required tier and cancellation terms with individual tickets; flexibility does not guarantee a lower cost.

For deciding what your non-pass days might hold, the things to do in NYC guide on this site lists the free and paid options side by side, which is the fastest way to test whether your trip has enough paid attractions to justify any pass at all.

Which New York Pass Is Best For Your Trip Style?

Choose the structure around your admissions and schedule, then compare complete prices. CityPASS allows five choices within nine days, Explorer allows a purchased visit count within 30 days, and a day pass covers consecutive days. Individual tickets remain an option at any visit count.

For a trip with one or two paid attractions, compare their complete ticket total with any relevant small pass tier.

That last row deserves emphasis, because it surprises people. The two most famous art museums in the city, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA, are not in the CityPASS bundle. General adult admission is $30 at the Met and MoMA; discounts and free-entry eligibility can reduce that cost, so a museum-focused visitor can spend heavily on attractions and still have no use for the flagship pass. Check what each pass actually covers against your own list before buying anything, not after.

The final comparison tool lets you switch structures and compare your own complete quotes.

For a deeper worked example of the CityPASS maths on a real itinerary, see is the New York CityPASS worth it, which runs the numbers on a typical five-day trip. If you are weighing the two companies head to head, New York Pass vs CityPASS breaks down the differences in coverage and validity in more detail than this page needs.

Common Questions About New York City Passes

The best choice depends on your actual admissions, schedule, eligibility and complete seller quote. Do not assume a pass wins because this is your first visit or because you plan a certain number of sights per day.

which is the best new york city pass to buy?

Compare the full cost of the tier that covers your actual admissions and dates. CityPASS offers five choices from ten within nine days; Explorer counts visits within 30 days; the day pass covers consecutive days, normally once per sight. Individual tickets can be cheaper.

Is the New York CityPASS worth the money?

Compare equivalent admissions you will use with the complete pass quote. The direct adult reference is $149 plus $2 processing. Fewer than five visits can still save, while five inexpensive or free-eligible visits may not.

What is the difference between the Explorer Pass and the All-Inclusive pass?

Both are Go City products. The Explorer Pass buys a fixed number of visits, from two upward starting at $89, which you spend from a large menu over thirty days from your first attraction, and the days need not be consecutive. The All-Inclusive pass, from $169, normally allows one visit per included attraction and runs consecutive calendar days from your first scan, so unused days are lost. The Explorer suits loose plans; the All-Inclusive suits a packed, high-density itinerary.

Is the New York Pass the same as Go City?

The New York Pass belongs to Go City’s day-based family. Explorer uses a visit-count structure. Compare exact products, admissions and seller terms rather than treating every Go City listing as identical.

Does any New York pass cover the Met or MoMA?

The CityPASS list does not include the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MoMA. General adult admission is $30 at the Met and MoMA; discounts and free-entry eligibility can reduce that cost, so museum-focused visitors should price those separately and may find no pass fits. Check the current attraction list on the live booking page before buying, because inclusions change.

Can I still buy the Sightseeing Pass?

No. The company suspended operations around 19 June 2025 and is not selling New York passes; its website now serves an empty page. Do not buy one from a reseller, and treat any guide still recommending it as a sign the whole page may be out of date.

Price the equivalent admissions you will actually use, then compare complete pass quotes and their terms. The lowest suitable total may be a pass, individual tickets or free admission.