Is the New York Pass 2024 worth it? We review prices and value here
One thing that New York City is famous for is being expensive, and for good reason. It’s an amazing place with some of the world’s most famous attractions, but unfortunately they are almost all pricey. In fact, things like the Empire State Building, Hop-on, hop-off double-decker bus, Circle Line harbor cruise, and Madam Tussauds are all between $40 and $80 EACH! The New York Pass can be a great way to save money and time if you are someone who wants to see the top attractions during a visit of only a few days.
Below we review the New York Pass in full and provide tips for getting the most out of it along with recommendations of who should NOT get the New York Pass. The short version is that the New York Pass can definitely save you money if you are able to plan ahead and start early. New York City also tends to be crowded, but there are great included attractions that are not crowded in the mornings, and others that are open until 10 PM each day. Read on for our advice and feel free to ask questions in the comments at the bottom.
Note: This article was last updated March, 2024. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, which helps keep this site going.
Price of the 2024 New York Pass
Adults (ages 13+)
- 1-day: $154
- 2-day: $214
- 3-day: $259
- 4-day: $299
- 5-day: $339
- 6-day: $359
- 7-day: $379
- 10-day: $399
Children (ages 4 – 12)
- 1-day: $114
- 2-day: $169
- 3-day: $199
- 4-day: $229
- 5-day: $264
- 6-day: $279
- 7-day: $289
- 10-day: $299
The attraction pass is good for one year so you can buy now and validate it anytime in the next 12 months.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for PriceOfTravel readers: Save 5% off all New York Passes using the link below and the promo code “GO5POT”. Look for “Have a promo code? Click here” in Review Your Order in the checkout process to enter the code. If a larger discount is available you’ll get the lowest price with the link.
Note: If you decide to purchase you can buy the New York Pass here at 5% off or the lowest available price.
As of 2024, the New York Pass is all online and downloadable instantly for free. You’ll download the New York Pass app and your purchase will activate the valid pass that you’ll show when you enter each attraction.
Most popular attractions included with the New York Pass
- Big Bus Hop-on, Hop-off Double Decker Bus Tour: $80
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum: $33
- Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry: $24
- Empire State Building: $51
- Edge (new open-air glass platform 100 stories high): $50
- Circle Line harbor cruise: Up to $49
- Museum of Modern Art (MOMA): $30
- Guggenheim Museum: $30
- American Museum of Natural History: $28
- Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum: $33
- Madame Tussauds + MARVEL Universe 4D: $48
- Madison Square Garden All Access Tour: $37
- Top of the Rock observation deck: $43
- One World Observatory – New observation deck on the 102nd floor: $48
- RiseNY – Simulated ride over New York’s rooftops and more: $42
Most of the other included attractions are at least a bit cheaper than those listed above, but these are the most popular (and expensive) ones that nearly everyone wants to visit. Interestingly, the New York Pass includes every one of the best attractions in the city. Most passes in other big cities don’t include at least one or two of the most popular sights, but this one is complete unless you want to do the Ground Zero Museum Workshop, which isn’t all that great anyway.
New for 2024: There are now FOUR observation decks included!
The Empire State Building and Top of the Rock observation decks have been included with the New York Pass for decades, but as of 2024 there are two new and very impressive observation decks in town and both of them are also included.
Edge, located in the new Hudson Yards complex might be the most impressive of all of them. It’s a huge glass deck on the 100th floor with views of all of Midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River, with only a glass retainer holding you back so you can get the best photos without all sorts of gates in the way.
One World Observatory is also new in the landmark building where the World Trade Center used to stand, so you’ll be passing by it for sure anyway.
These observation decks each cost around $45, which seems expensive, but isn’t so bad if you have the New York Pass and can literally do all of them in a day or two. Better still, all of them are open until at least 8 or 9 PM each evening, so it’s perfect to save at least one for after sunset. You’ll be tired and almost everything else will be closed for the day, but you don’t need much energy to hop on an elevator that takes you to an observation deck.
Recommended New York Pass attractions in brief
Hop-on, hop-off bus tour ($80)
New York is filled with famous sights and the best way to see most of the top sights in a short time is on the double-decker hop-on, hop-off bus. All two included routes (Downtown Loop and Uptown Loop) have convenient stops in or very near Times Square. I highly recommend taking the full Downtown Loop on your first full morning in town. The Downtown Loop is more interesting and runs more frequently (every 20 minutes compared to every 60 minutes). Both leave from the same place in Times Square, so you can easily jump on the next Uptown Loop after you finish Downtown. The Uptown Loop gives you a great tour of Central Park and Midtown Manhattan.
Circle Line Cruise ($41 to $49)
You’ll see more than half of the famous sights from the hop-on, hop-off bus, and you’ll see all the rest on these excellent Circle Line Cruises. Combine the cruise with one lap on the HOHO bus and you’ll feel like you’ve seen most of New York City in one day.
Better still, they all spend 10 minutes right in front of the Statue of Liberty, so this is the best way to see it up close and to take the best photos. When I lived in NYC I would always take the Circle Line cruise with every visitor who came to town, so I’ve done it at least 6 or 7 times now. It’s a bit of a hassle getting to the dock, but once onboard it’s WAY better than anyone expects.
Empire State Building and Top of the Rock Observation Deck (about $50 each)
Manhattan looks impressive from the ground, and even more impressive from the observation decks on the tops of these buildings near Midtown. Do one during the day and the other at night for the best combination.
Madame Tussauds + MARVEL Universe 4D $48
If you’ve never been in one of these wax museums, you’ll honestly be amazed. You can be in and out in an hour or so, and since it’s included with the New York Pass and located in the heart of Times Square, it’s a quick thrill and excellent value. The attraction now includes a “4D” cinema experience featuring various characters from the Marvel Universe.
Here's a great way to build an itinerary for 2 or 3 days with a New York Pass
If you are like most others, your visit to New York City will be 4 days or fewer and the 2-day or 3-day New York Pass will be all the time you have. If this is the case you can maximize your time AND see the most memorable sights by starting with an itinerary like this.
Day 1: Hop-on, hop-off bus tour, Empire State Building (daytime), Madame Tussauds, and one other attraction of your choice
Day 2: Circle Line Cruise, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Met Museum (or something else), and Top of the Rock observation deck at night.
Even if you only have two sightseeing days in New York City, you can do the attractions above quite easily in two days. Altogether they would cost around $350 for an adult, and a 2-day New York Pass is still under $200 (using a discount). If you have a third sightseeing day you can usually get a 3-day New York Pass for only a bit more because there are often promotional prices, and you’ll still have another full day to get value and see the things that interest you most.
The New York Pass includes a free smart phone app that is very helpful
Any visitor to New York City might consider downloading the free New York Pass app for iPhone or Android. It’s well organized and a very comprehensive look at the most popular sights in New York City, complete with a map and the opening hours for each. I used the app on a visit in late 2018 and it was a great helper for using my New York Pass, but honestly it’s probably worth a free download even if you don’t buy a New York Pass.
The advantage of the New York Pass
Not only are you very likely to save quite a bit of money if you plan your day well, but you’ll be skipping most of the longest lines at ticket booths, which means you’ll have time for at least one more sight per day than someone paying for each one separately.
And since New York City can be so expensive on a quick visit, locking in literally all of your sightseeing funds at once can help you worry less about the ever-mounting costs. It can be shocking and depressing when the day nears its end and you realize each person has spent $150 on admission fees. Once you download the New York Pass app, which you can do for free before buying, you’ll see that more and more attractions require an advance reservation. You can make most of those reservations in the app as well, so it saves time before you even get there..
The downside of the New York Pass
Of course the price itself seems like a lot of money all at once, so those on tight budgets might be ruled out altogether. Another thing to seriously consider before buying a New York Pass is that doing even 3 or 4 main sights in a day is going to be busy and probably frantic.
There are plenty of free and cheap things to do in New York City, so for many people they are better off visiting perhaps one major sight per day and then spending the rest of the day shopping or visiting neighborhoods or taking photos. A trip like that might be more memorable in the long run, and it will certainly be more unique than rushing from sight to sight. If you prefer a more relaxed sightseeing schedule, don’t buy the pass.
Who SHOULD get the New York Pass?
- Visitors who want to see the most things in a short time
- Anyone who already plans on going to many of the most expensive attractions
Who SHOULD NOT get the New York Pass?
- Backpackers or those on very tight budgets
- Those who’ll be staying in New York City for over a week and would prefer to see sights at a slow pace
Important advice: Start early and plan ahead
Once in a while I’ll get a message from someone who bought the New York Pass and didn’t feel like it was good value. I’ve noticed that these unfortunate visitors tend to make two major mistakes, and if you can avoid them you should be very happy with your purchase.
1. Start early in the day, around 9am if possible
Believe it or not, even New York City’s top attractions tend to be somewhat uncrowded in the morning, so getting an early start is essential. If you can leave your hotel by around 9am you’ll have time for two popular attractions before lunch, and then time for two or three more before dinner. You’ll still have the whole evening open for dinner and other fun, or you can visit the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock observation decks for amazing views as they are at least as impressive at night and you should plan on doing at least one of them after dark. But if you don’t get out until almost noon, you’ll feel rushed and behind schedule all day because every place you go will be crowded.
2. Plan your route ahead of time
Many of NYC’s top attractions are clustered together, so if you plan ahead you can see a few things in a short time on foot. The New York Pass comes with a free and handy smart phone app (you can download it before you even buy a NY Pass), and it has all the included attractions on one map, with the hours and description for each just one click away. If you plan your route before you leave in the morning you can see a lot, but if you only plan one thing at a time you’ll quickly get frustrated.
About the hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus that is included
Even though they are officially “hop-on, hop-off” buses, it’s really not advisable to try to use them as transportation between attractions. While they do come about every 15 minutes in Manhattan, they can get crowded and there are many stops where almost no one ever gets off. This means that you might wait 15 or 20 minutes for the next bus and then find that you’ll have to stand on the bottom floor (instead of the open deck on top), and you might have to squeeze in.
My advice is to take each bus tour all the way around starting from one of the most popular stops, and then maybe ride it a bit more later if it looks to be convenient. That way you get the whole tour at once and if you use it again later it will just be a bonus. If you only need to go one or two stops to see your next attraction, it will be faster to walk. And if you need to go a longer distance you’ll find that the subway system is much faster and also very efficient. You’ll get more out of your New York Pass by moving quickly between attractions rather than waiting around for a tourist bus.
The bottom line
For the New York Pass, it’s actually a really good deal for many people. Honestly, the sights included are almost all very worth visiting, which isn’t true of the expensive sights in some other cities. For example when we investigated if the Paris Pass is worth it, the answer is no for most people. Our review of the London Pass shows that it’s actually very good value as long as you are interested in the famous attractions it includes rather than the many free museums.
On the other hand, New York City is a destination that many people will return to over and over, so you might consider pacing yourself on the major sights, only taking in a few on each trip. On this latest update in early 2024 we noticed that prices of MOST of the top attractions have gone up by around $5 each in the second half of 2023. The New York Pass price went up a bit as well, but it’s still now an even better deal for those who want to see the most famous attractions on their visit.
It might also be worth considering getting only the 1-day or 2-day New York Pass, even if you are in town for much longer, and just planning on fitting as many things as possible into those days. It would be a mistake to try to see 4 major sights every day you are in NYC, so be sure to schedule some time to just wander around and take the city itself in.
Buy your New York Pass
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for PriceOfTravel readers: Save 5% off all New York Passes using the link below and the promo code “GO5POT”. Look for “Have a promo code? Click here” in Review Your Order in the checkout process to enter the code. If a larger discount is available you’ll get the lowest price with the link.
Note: If you decide to purchase you can buy the New York Pass here at 5% off or the lowest available price.
Thank you so much for your reply Roger. One more question please. If I get a five days ticket can I use the HOHO bus at the last two days or do I have to use them soon as I start to use my New York pass? Thank you:)
Vivian,
It’s my pleasure to help. With a 5-day New York Pass, you’ll get a 48-hour ticket on the HOHO bus, which you can start on any of your first 4 days there, or even your 5th day if you are only going to use it for one day. Have a great trip. -Roger
Thank you for the review. I’m still a little confused about how to redeem the tickets for each attraction. Do I have to line up for the ticket box at each location to get the tickets first and then wait in another line to get in? Or is there a separate ticket box for New York pass holders? I’m planning to visit NYC during the week of Thanksgiving. Will the weather be really cold? I’m assuming it will be a very busy time then. So I’m planning to do most of the major attractions on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Will this help at all? Thanks a lot
Vivian,
For most attractions, you just walk up to the entry door with a New York Pass, and it is the same as having a ticket. They scan the NY Pass and you walk in. For some of the larger attractions they actually have a dedicated line for New York Pass holders. It’s almost always shorter and faster than the ticket-buying line, but not 100% of the time. The New York Pass is very popular for those visiting these big attractions, so the system is well established and all employees know exactly where you should go. I know it sounds a bit strange before you get there and start using it, but once you are there you’ll see how well organized it is.
It’s usually chilly in New York City in late November, but you’d be very unlucky to get snow or even freezing temperatures. And almost all of the sights are indoors, so you won’t be spending much time outdoors anyway. If you take the Hop On Hop Off bus and the Circle Line Tour, you’ll be inside the cabin for those. Otherwise, you’ll probably get around by subway, or short walks in the Times Square area. It’s fun and there is ample shelter in case it rains.
New York City does get crowded in some places around Thanksgiving because many tourists do come, but many locals are gone for the week or at least for the long weekend, so some places are even less crowded than usual. I’d say your plan of doing things on Tuesday and Wednesday is good, but I think you’d be okay any of the days. The places that get big crowds on some days, can put more staff on. And it’s not as popular as summer anyway. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger,
As for the NY Pass — a few questions. Does the HOHO bus run at night as well? I notice it doesn’t have a Brooklyn bus tour in the NY Pass — best suggestion for that? If I buy a 3 day NY Pass, does the HOHO bus good for all 3 days? Reason I ask is because the attraction shows a 24/48 hr HOHO. Is there a special line for the HOHO bus with the NY pass?
Erin,
From the New York Pass website:
Downtown Loop has daily departures from 8am to 5pm from November to March and 8am to 6pm from April to October.
Uptown Loop has daily departures from 9am to 5pm from November to March and 9am to 6pm from April to October.
You can’t see much at night on the bus routes because most of the key buildings aren’t lit well after dark. It’s best to start as early as possible, by the way.
Unless you have something specific in mind, I would not focus on Brooklyn. I lived there for a couple years and it’s mostly very residential with narrow streets, and the few sights there are quite spread out. There are a few interesting things to visit in Brooklyn, but for me a bus tour would be way down the list of things that I think would be enjoyable. About 95% of everything you’ve heard of in New York City is in the southern two-thirds of Manhattan.
The New York Pass includes a 1-day HOHO bus pass for 1-day NY Passes, and a 2-day HOHO bus pass for all multi-day NY Passes. To be honest, that is all you need because the buses are really slow to use as general transportation. In other words, do the loops all the way through, or maybe hop off once if the timing is good. But once you complete the bus loops, use the subway to get around from then on. It’s much faster and it’s safe, even late in the evening.
I’m not sure if there is a special queue for New York Pass holders, but I don’t think the queue is ever too long and the office is conveniently located in the Times Square area. Have a great trip. -Roger
Awesome! Thanks Roger, appreciate your honest feedback on Brooklyn, I’m now convinced to take it off my list while in NYC and agree that it would not be the best use of our short time.
Hello, thank you for some good feedback on the New York Pass. We are coming over mid November this year and one thing I really want to know and can’t find the answer for is that I have heard from a few of our friends that have just been that the New York Pass holders line is much longer and they didn’t experience the ‘avoid the lines’ advertising on the website at all….in fact they said if they didn’t have the pass, they would have been able to just walk up buy the ticket and go faster…. is it really worth it then?
Allie,
I do think that what you’ve described happens on rare occasions, but in my own experience the New York Pass queues are usually quite a bit shorter than the normal ones. For example, I went to the Top of the Rock a couple years ago and they have one special queue for NY Pass holders, and another for paid visitors. Evidently, 10 or 20 NY Pass holders arrived shortly before I did, and that line was a bit longer at that moment. But typically it’s the other way around, especially with the most popular attractions.
The New York Pass is quite popular for tourists so it seems that sometimes we do temporarily overload the queue. But even then, the queue goes quickly because all they have to do is scan your pass and you walk in. In the cash queues, half the people use credit cards and those can get REALLY slow. -Roger
You are a great helper for everybody doing the NY. Big Thank for you Gentlemen!!!. I am coming to NY on 17th Sep and leave on 19th Night first time. I am a fast walker and very fast on sight seining. Spend no more than half hour for any, usually. I am planning to buy a NYP today (2D) as it include 15% dis for Labor Day. Basically I want to cover almost all big things in NYP. Please suggest some good itinerary to do so. I can leave the hotel at 8 am. I like ESB, Top of the rock, Circle Line, Stat Liberty, American Natural His try Museum, MET, Time Square, Madam Tussauds Newyork, Rose Center for Earth and Space,Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Brrokline Bridge New York Botanical Garden minimum…. Appreciate all your valuable inputs
Priyantha,
I’m happy to help when I can. Thank you for the kind words. Actually, I covered this exact topic in a recent article on the best New York Pass itineraries for 1, 2, or 3 days. I cover the best and most popular attractions that are easy to string together in one or two fast days, with some additional options that some people might prefer down the page. Starting as early as you plan to, you’ll be able to do everything on my list and a couple others in one day if you focus on it. Let me know if you have any more questions. -Roger
Hi Roger,
When I go to the New York Pass website, it does not include the NBC Studio Tour as an attraction, so I was going to buy separately. If it is included, how do I make reservations with my Pass? We plan on doing the tour on a Saturday afternoon, so want to make sure we have a spot.
Ann,
Thank you for pointing this out. The NBC Studios Tour was actually closed down for about a year, I think, and evidently it just reopened and is no longer part of the New York Pass. It’s not surprising really because they don’t have a big capacity and there are a lot of New York Pass visitors out there. For what it’s worth, the Radio City behind the scenes tour is now included, which is in the same building.
So sorry about the confusion, and I’ve updated the article above. You’ll need to book the NBC Tour on its own. -Roger
My sister and I are visiting for a week in October staying near the Empire State Building. Wonder if you could answer a few questions for us:
1. We are flying into JFK, would you suggest booking our transfer before we leave the UK or just sort one when we arrive?
2. Which method of transfer is the easiest/cheapest, as my sister has some walking difficulties?
3. We are planning to visit the following sites Statue of Liberty (via the Circle Line Cruise), Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre, Natural History Museum, World Trade Centre/911, Brooklyn Bridge (walking), Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station and other free sites. We believe it would be cheaper to pay for these rather than buying any passes, would you agree?
4. Going on the venues we plan to visit would you suggest purchasing any tickets before we leave the UK or just turn up and buy the tickets on the day?
Lisa,
I normally prefer to focus this comment section on the New York Pass, but I’ve got a bit of time so I’ll try to answer all of these.
1. and 2. There are some slightly cheaper airport transfer services that you can book in advance, but I prefer to just use a taxi from the fast-moving queue in front of the terminal. It’s a flat-rate of US$52 plus tolls and a couple small fees, so about US$60 or a bit less. It’s hard to find a private vehicle for less than that, unless you don’t mind making a few stops before you are dropped off. After a long flight, I think it’s worth it to just go straight to my hotel. Also, with the non-taxi options you have to find them after you leave the terminal, which isn’t always easy. The taxis are large sedans or minivans, so plenty of room.
3. It looks like you are only planning on doing a few of the “premium” attractions covered by the New York Pass, so better to skip it.
4. You might consider buying tickets to the Empire State Building and Circle Line in advance, and perhaps the 9/11 Memorial as well. Those should save you a bit of time, at least. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger
I will b in new York for 2 nights and two days staying in Times Square. We want to visit Empire State building, Intrepid and 911 museum and hopefully use the Statten Island ferry to see statue of liberty.Is the pass worth getting and also which order should I do these attractions in to save going backwards and forwards please
Kim,
If you only plan on doing those 3 attractions plus the free Staten Island Ferry, then a New York Pass probably isn’t good value for you. However, if you were interested in the Circle Line Ferry instead of the Staten Island Ferry, it would be worth it. Not only are the Circle Line cruises really good in general, but they all take you right in front of the Statue of Liberty for the best possible photo opportunities. The boats spend about 10 minutes there, so you can get all the looks and photos you want. The Staten Island Ferry doesn’t come nearly as close, and it takes quite a while to take it to Staten Island and back just for the distant look at the statue.
Go to the Empire State Building as early in the morning as you can for the shortest ticket lines. You can do the others in any order and it shouldn’t matter so much. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hello,
I’m a little confused about how booking things in advance works? You get a confirmation number but do websites have a space for you to enter the confirmation code? (i.e.: circle line cruise or bike rentals)
Also, for tours like the liberty tour, can you book those in advance? Or do you just show up and hope for the best? I read a comment earlier that stated “Be aware that when you get a timed pass you may have a 2-3 hour wait until you are admitted.” How accurate is this still? I don’t really want to get screwed over in my schedule by assuming we will be able to get in when we get there.
The main attractions we’ll be doing are:
Circle line cruise
Empire State
9/11 Museum
Top of the Rock
Bike rentals (Central Park or Brooklyn Bridge
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
MET
Thanks
Ramneek,
For the Circle Line Cruise, there is a special queue for New York Pass holders to get tickets for the specific cruises that are covered. You shouldn’t have to wait more than 15 minutes or so, although the place does get busy at times. For the bike rental, you just show up and they will give you a single-speed bike for 24 hours. There are no reservations and shouldn’t be a long queue.
For the others, you’ll find information on the New York Pass website. Many of the most crowded attractions include “fast track entry” which is usually a separate queue for New York Pass holders. That queue is usually shorter, but even those can get long if you go during the busiest times of day.
Your main attractions should all be easy to do in two days or so. One thing, however, is that when you are on the Circle Line Cruise the boat goes right next to the Statue of Liberty and allows for the best photo angels. If you mainly just want to see it and take some photos, you can do it on the Circle Line. The actual ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island is usually crowded, and to be honest both of those islands are a bit “dry”. Unless you prebook a trip up into the statue, there isn’t much to see or do on the island, and the views are better from the water. And Ellis Island is interesting, especially if you want to learn about immigration into the US, but it is quite boring for children or anyone without a special interest.
Plan on doing either the Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock during the day (mornings are least crowded), and do the other at night, for a different view. Both are open until around midnight, so you’ve got plenty of time.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m sure you’ll have a great trip. -Roger
Most city passes we have used include underground systems/metros. Do any of of the passes include the subway?
Teddy,
I’m not aware of any New York city passes that include the subway. The actual New York Pass includes the hop-on, hop-off bus, but that’s really not a great way to get around for more than a couple stops. Fortunately, it’s cheap and easy enough to buy a NYC Metro Card in any subway stop once you get there. You can get a 7-day unlimited Metro pass for US$31, so that’s really the most you’ll spend on public transport for up to a week, and the subways go everywhere and run 24 hours a day. -Roger