New York Pass
Discover New York relaxed and affordable, with the right New York Pass for free admission to top attractions, city tours and boat trips.
From $84.55 / Person
With our voucher code TRAVELGUIDE you get 5% discount on the New York Pass and the Explorer Pass.
With the New York Pass you get free entry to over 100 attractions and tours in New York. Valid for 1–10 days
Flexible New York Pass with access to 3–7 attractions out of more than 90 options. Valid for 30 days from activation.
New York's highlights in an affordable and flexible pass with three attractions of your choice.
The New York CityPASS® includes admission to five top attractions in New York. Valid for 9 days from first use.
New York Passes
With the New York passes, you'll experience all the highlights, and save time and money.
Passes compared
Validity, scope, public transport, reservations and cancellation for every pass at a glance. Where the table says "not documented", the provider does not publish this.
| Our pick The New York Pass From · Adult$169 | Flexible New York Explorer Pass From · Adult$89 | Lowest entry price Essentials Pass From · Adult$99 | New York CityPASS From · Adult$149 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | 1-10 days | 2-10 attractions · 30 days | 3 attractions · 30 days | 5 attractions · 9 days |
| Sights | ||||
| Empire State Building | included | optional | optional | optional |
| Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island ferry | not documented | not documented | not documented | optional |
| Services | ||||
| Public transport | no | no | no | no |
| Booking | ||||
| Reservation | required | required | required | required |
| Cancellation | free | free | free | free |
Our honest take
Many sights in a few packed days? Then The New York Pass is our pick. It runs 1 to 10 consecutive days, includes the Empire State Building and a hop-on hop-off bus, and you can cancel it free of charge within 90 days of purchase as long as it is not activated. The catch: the days run back to back from first use, so it only pays off if you keep a full schedule.
A handful of highlights, no rush? With the Explorer Pass you choose 2 to 10 attractions and have 30 days from your first visit to use them. The Essentials Pass works the same way with exactly 3 attractions: one observation deck and two top attractions from a smaller selection. Both require reservations, and neither includes the subway.
The classic top attractions and nothing else? The New York CityPASS covers 5 attractions of your choice out of 10 within 9 days from first use, the Empire State Building among them. The catch: all five visits have to fit into those nine days, and there is no hop-on hop-off bus.
When you do not need a pass: If you only want one observation deck and a stroll through Central Park, single tickets are cheaper. None of the passes replaces a subway ticket, so budget for that separately.
Simple & Fast
The different New York passes all work according to the same principle. They are valid either for a certain number of days (unlimited visits) or for a fixed number of selectable attractions. Validity starts with first use.
FAQ
Depending on the sightseeing pass, you get free admission to dozens of attractions. The major New York passes cover famous attractions like observation decks (e.g. Empire State Building, Top of the Rock), museums (e.g. 9/11 Museum, MoMA) and tours.
Many passes also include additional services like hop-on/hop-off bus tours, boat tours or guided city walks. This way you can experience many of the city's highlights with a single pass, without having to buy each ticket individually.
Your city pass is only activated when you use it for the first time at an attraction. The validity period begins from this first day of use.
For time-based passes like the New York Pass, usage runs in consecutive calendar days (e.g. 1, 3 or 5 days in a row). For attraction-based passes like the Explorer Pass or New York CityPASS, you have a longer period from first use to visit all selected attractions (for example 30 days for the Explorer Pass or 9 days for the CityPASS).
Each attraction included in the pass can only be visited once per pass holder. Repeat visits to the same attraction are not possible with the same pass.
Exception: If your pass includes a hop-on/hop-off bus tour, you may use this as often as you like within the validity period (typically on the same day). Otherwise, only one entry per attraction is included.
None of the New York City passes entitle you to free use of public transportation like subway or city bus. Public transport rides are not included in the scope of services of the sightseeing passes.
Instead, many passes offer tourist transportation options. For example, hop-on/hop-off bus tours or ferries to popular destinations (such as to the Statue of Liberty) are often included in the pass. However, these do not replace regular public transport tickets.
No, the city passes do not serve as tickets for subway, bus or other public transportation. You still need a separate ticket (e.g. a MetroCard) for public transport in New York.
The passes focus on admission to attractions and tourist offerings. For city transport transfers, including travel to or from the airport, you must purchase a ticket independently.
No, none of the New York passes include transfer to or from airports. Neither rides on public transportation nor shuttle transfers to the airport are included in the pass.
You must therefore organize airport transfer separately. Use for example the airport trains, subway, taxis or shuttle services, these services are not part of the city passes.
Yes, many passes offer priority admission (Fast Track) at selected attractions. This allows you to skip queues, for example at popular attractions like the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock or the 9/11 Museum.
Which attractions allow fast-track entry depends on the respective pass. It's best to check in advance on the pass website or in the included guide which attractions your pass offers express entry for.
For children, all major New York passes offer discounted versions. Generally, child prices apply to age groups between approximately 3 and 12 years (the exact age varies by pass provider). Toddlers under 3 years often don't need a pass, as many attractions are free for them.
Special discounts for seniors, students or other groups are usually not available, the passes typically only distinguish between adult and child rates. However, it's worth checking whether children are free or cheaper at individual attractions depending on their age before buying a pass for them.
You buy New York passes online directly from the respective provider. After purchase, you receive the pass digitally, usually as a QR code via email or through an app. You can then simply save it on your smartphone or print it out.
No physical pickup is necessary. You download the pass and can use it immediately. On-site, you then just need to show the QR code or digital pass at attractions to gain admission.
Yes, most New York passes can be cancelled before travel, provided they have not yet been used. The New York Pass and the Explorer Pass can be cancelled free of charge within 90 days of purchase, as long as the pass hasn't been activated.
Unused New York CityPASS tickets can be refunded for up to 365 days from purchase. Important: Once you have activated or used a pass, a refund is normally excluded. When in doubt, check the exact cancellation rules on your pass provider's website.
Nowadays, New York passes are provided digitally, so loss is hardly a problem. If you lose or delete your digital pass (QR code or email), you can re-download it from the confirmation email at any time or retrieve it again via the app.
If you still need help, for example because a printed voucher has gone missing, contact the provider's customer service. Since the passes are not personalized and digitally stored, they can usually help you easily or resend the pass.
A New York Pass is always intended for one person and should not be shared. There is no name on the passes, which means you can theoretically pass on or give away a purchased pass to someone else, as long as it has not yet been activated.
However, once the pass has been used or activated, it is effectively tied to one person. You cannot then transfer it to someone else or use it simultaneously with multiple people. Each person therefore needs their own pass per person and trip.
