New York Pass
If you want to save time and money while visiting everything New York has to offer, the New York Pass All Inclusive can be a great ally.
Empire State Building | ©Hellotickets
New York can be a somewhat chaotic city to visit, and it's easy to get lost in the immensity of the Big Apple and end up not getting the most out of your trip. The New York Pass is a great ally for saving time and money on your trip.
New York is not a cheap city to travel to, especially the first time, when you want to make the most of it by visiting as many attractions as possible. Fortunately, there are a few tricks to organising your trip easily and saving a lot of money, which means you can do more and enjoy yourself more for less. One of those tricks has a name: it's called the New York Pass All Inclusive (also known as the New York Pass) and you can get it from CAD 220
The New York Pass All Inclusive - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 Days
The best attractions in New York, at the lowest price
If you want to access the best attractions in New York, get this multi-day tourist pass to access the ones you like best during your trip. You'll save time and money.
Buying a NY Pass has several advantages: you save money if you use it well, you save time because you don't have to buy tickets at the box office for each place you visit (and in some cases, you won't have to queue), and it's also very convenient to have all your tickets in one place.
The New York Pass All Inclusive is a day pass, and you pay according to the number of days of validity you choose. You can choose between 1 and 10 days. Be careful, because these are not 24-hour days; from the moment you activate the pass, you have until midnight before it counts as a full day.
When you purchase the NY Pass, all you have to do is download the app and you will have immediate access to the pass. From that moment on, you can go to the first attraction on your list and scan your pass at the entrance. However, for some activities, you will need to present your pass and obtain a ticket.
Please note that all New York tourist passes allow you to enter a specific attraction only once (with some exceptions).
Why I like this option: One of the great advantages of the New York Pass All Inclusive is that it gives you skip-the-line entry to a number of selected attractions. This does not prevent you from waiting in line at certain attractions, nor does it exempt you from security checks at the entrances, but at the end of your trip you will have saved a few hours of waiting time in total.
How to choose between the New York Pass All Inclusive and other passes
It is true that, in addition to the New York Pass, there are other similar tourist cards for New York. Before we delve into whether the New York Pass is the best option for you, the first thing you need to know is that there are two main types of passes:
- Daily passes: these are passes whose price varies depending on the number of days they are valid. You can choose whether you want to purchase a pass for 2, 3, 4 days, etc., up to 10 days of validity. So if your trip to New York is up to 10 days, during that time you can visit any attraction included on your list, without limits and with a single pass. They are ideal if you want to go from one attraction to another and experience your trip to New York without wasting a minute. The New York Pass All Inclusive is one of them. Please note! If, for example, you are going to be in New York for 15 days, you can also combine several passes.
- Attraction passes: these are passes whose price varies depending on the number of attractions you want to visit. If you already know which places, museums, etc. you want to see, you will pay exclusively for them and have more time to visit them. This is ideal if you want to enjoy New York at your own pace and lose yourself at your leisure.
Depending on the monuments you want to visit
The second thing to keep in mind is that there is so much to see and do in New York, and the best way to decide on a tourist pass is to make a list of the monuments and buildings you want to include in your itinerary. If this is your first visit to New York, you may not be sure what the Big Apple has to offer, so below is a list of the highlights of the New York Pass. You can use it as a basis to start organising your trip.
What's included in the New York Pass All Inclusive
The NY Pass includes skip-the-line access to some of New York's must-see experiences, and the app has an audio guide in Spanish, a map with the top attractions and practical information about each site. To give you an idea, among the more than 100 attractions and activities you can access with the New York Pass, these are the highlights:
- Go up the Empire State Building — from CAD 72
- Go up to the Top of the Rock — from CAD 66
- Hop On Hop Off Big Bus tour — from CAD 62
- Tickets to Madame Tussauds — from CAD 62
- Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island — from CAD 84
- Tickets to the Museum of Modern Art — from CAD 43
- Tickets to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum — from CAD 51
- Circle Line Day Cruise around Manhattan — from CAD 45
- Guided tour of Radio City Music Hall in New York — from CAD 64
- Tour of Madison Square Garden in New York — from CAD 69
Main attractions included in the New York Pass
Empire State
The Empire State Building is one of the icons of the New York skyline; the views from its observatory are undoubtedly one of the most impressive ways to see the city.
- Empire State Building ticket prices: There are two types of tickets: one that allows you double access during the day and at night and a visit to the museum on the second floor (€57 adult/€48 child), and a single ticket with access to the observation deck and the museum on the second floor (€39 adult/€33 child).
- How the pass works: Skip the queue to buy tickets and go directly to the security check queue, where you can show your pass and be allowed to pass.
Top of the Rock
If you're passionate about photography, you'll be amazed by the photos you can take of this icon of New York architecture, especially if you go up to the Top of the Rock at sunset or on a foggy morning. As a bonus, you'll also be able to see the One World Observatory and the Statue of Liberty as if they were toys.
- Top of the Rock ticket prices: Admission to the Top of the Rock costs €35 (adults) and €30 (children). Children under 6 years old are admitted free of charge.
- How the pass works: You can use your pass to obtain an online ticket with a set time slot, or present your pass at the ticket office to have your ticket validated.
Hop On Hop Off tourist bus tour
The Big Bus is one of the best tourist buses in the city, as it takes you literally all over Manhattan, showing you all its points of interest.
This tourist bus runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which are the times of the first and last departures, respectively. However, if you're left wanting more, here's an article about touring New York at night on a tourist bus.
Madame Tussauds
The world's most famous wax museum is located in New York. What's more, this museum is much more than just a place to take selfies with celebrities such as Barack Obama, the Kardashians or Hollywood's most famous actors and actresses. If you're going to New York with children, this is sure to be one of their favourite visits.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum
To visit it, you'll need to take a ferry from Battery Park, but with the New York Pass you won't have to worry about the ticket, because it's included. It also includes the ferry to Ellis Island, where you can visit the Immigration Museum and explore an exhibition about the times when New York became a place of welcome for immigrants from all over the world in search of a better future.
- Price of visiting the Statue of Liberty: Admission to the pedestal costs €24 per adult and €15 per child. Admission to the crown costs €28 per adult and €22 per child. Please note that tickets are limited to four per person and are non-transferable, as they must be in your name and presented in person.
- How the pass works: You do not need to purchase a ticket, so go directly to security and wait for the ferry to arrive.
MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
MoMA is a must-see museum in New York if you want to see with your own eyes an extraordinary exhibition of works of art that have defined the last century. You can enjoy works of art such as Van Gogh's famous 'The Starry Night', as well as paintings by Monet, Pollock, Mondrian, Hellen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol, among others.
- MoMA prices: Admission for adults is €23. Children 12 and under are free. Admission to the museum is free on Fridays after 4 p.m.
- How the pass works: Simply present your pass at the security queue and you will be able to enter the museum.
9/11 Memorial and Museum
If you purchase tickets to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, you will learn more about the history of the 11 September attacks on the Twin Towers. This is a very interesting visit as it will add a certain historical depth to your trip to New York.
- Price: The 9/11 Memorial is free and open to the public. A ticket with a tour of the 9/11 Museum costs €42.50 per adult and between €32-37 per child, again depending on age.
- How the pass works: Skip the queue to buy tickets, go directly to security and present your pass to gain direct access to the 9/11 Museum.
Other attractions included in the New York Pass All Inclusive
- The Ride. The Ride is a 75-minute tour of various sights in Manhattan on a bus with an interactive experience and a panoramic window to experience the city in a different way, with comedy, dancing and music accompanying you throughout the tour.
- Marvel & DC Superheroes Tour. A perfect tour for superhero fans, especially Marvel fans, as you can visit real-life locations that are relevant to the Spiderman or Avengers storylines.
- Food On Foot Tours. This gastronomic tour will give you a taste of the diverse elements that make up New York cuisine, an amalgam of cuisines from around the world, in local restaurants and bars away from the tourist traps.
- National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey. The New York Pass includes tickets to this virtual underwater world experience, featuring videos and interactive displays produced by National Geographic photographers and cameramen, who tell their stories about the most impressive places on Earth.
- Harlem Jazz Series. At the Harlem Jazz Series, you can listen to jazz artists performing classics by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis at a local church in Harlem. If you enjoy the experience, I invite you to research the best places to listen to music in Harlem and the best churches to attend a gospel service in Harlem.
What you should know before buying
Now that you know everything that the New York Pass includes and what its advantages are, here is a summary to help you make a decision. The New York Pass is for you if:
- You want to make the most of New York and spend all day seeing things
- You will be in New York for up to 10 days
- It's your first time in New York
- The most expensive attractions in New York are on your must-see list
- You are definitely going to take the Hop on Hop off bus tour
- You don't want to waste time queuing to get into places
Recommendations for choosing which New York Pass to buy
You can choose a duration of between one and ten days for this pass, but my recommendation is to avoid the one-day pass, as it's unlikely to be worth it. It's best to select three, five or seven days, which at a rate of 4 or 5 attractions per day will allow you to save a lot of money.
Finally, remember my most important recommendation: enjoy your visit to New York! It's easy to forget that you're in a city full of life and things to discover when you have a list of things to do and you're only focused on ticking them off, which can be the danger of buying a tourist pass.
New York Pass All Inclusive prices for children
Children under the age of 3 are likely to be admitted free of charge to most attractions in New York, so there is no need to purchase a card for them. However, children aged 3 to 12 can purchase their New York Pass at a reduced price: between £35 and £140 cheaper than the adult pass (aged 12 and over) depending on the number of days you choose.
Other passes to discover New York
If you haven't yet decided on the New York Pass All Inclusive and would prefer to explore the alternative tourist cards in detail, here is a list of the practical guides I have prepared for each pass and a comparative article where you can see the advantages and disadvantages of each one: