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.
Hi Roger,
Your site is very informative. I have taken New York pass for 2 days with hop on hop off bus. I will be arriving NYC on 4th July with my husband and will leave on 6th July morning. We can start our trip at 10:00 AM. Along with the attractions we want to go to see firework.
We are planning to visit ESB and TOTR. Which one should I visit in day and which one in night time. Could you please suggest what would be best way to visit NYC.
Nishtha,
I’m always happy to hear that people find this information useful. As for the Empire State Building vs. the Top of the Rock, I think I’d do the Empire State during the day and the Rock in the evening. Both are amazing day or night. The main difference is that the ESB has great views of the Financial District (where the World Trade Center used to be and its replacement now stands), and Top of the Rock has better views of Midtown and also of Central Park. It’s the Central Park part that I think looks so stunning at night.
As for as the “best way to visit NYC” what I’d recommend is to do the HOHO bus early on your first day, and stay on it the whole way around. It’s an excellent way to get oriented in the city and see most of the attractions from the street, but it’s not great as efficient transportation between attractions. Once you are done with a bus tour you should take the subway to get from one attraction to another, although you’ll find that many of them are close together so you can see many things in the same neighborhood. In some cases you might be near a HOHO stop and another sight you want to visit is not far away along the route. In that case you might just wait at the stop and then hop aboard the bus. Once you do the whole tour on the first day you’ll have a good idea of where everything is and if that might work for you.
Also, I’d highly recommend downloading the free New York Pass iPhone or Android app before you go. With that you’ll see all of the included attractions on an interactive map, along with the opening hours and description of each place. In some cases you might find yourself a short walk from something interesting that you had never heard of. Since it’s included free with the New York Pass, it can be fun to just pop into any attraction and give it a look. Have a great trip and let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hi roger,we are visiting NYC on march 14th next year for 4 days. Was planning to get a 3 day pass with hoho bus pass as recommended by a work colleague. Im still undecided,would it be worth it? Also do you have to pre book tickets for the 9/11 memorial and museum even with the pass or just turn up?
Chris,
As I’ve mentioned above, I think the New York Pass is an ideal tool for people who want to see the famous highlights in a short amount of time. As for the HOHO bus, I also think that is very worthwhile, but only as a tour and not as transportation between sights. The thing is, the bus can get crowded and it stops at all the major attractions, so it’s usually inconvenient and slow as a way of getting from one attraction to another.
I’m not sure about the 9/11 Memorial in particular but in general the New York Pass allows users to skip the ticket queue and go straight to the entry door. If there are special requirements at one place I’m sure you’d see it on the page on the New York Pass website. Also, you can download the free New York Pass smartphone app, even right now, and it will show you all of the info you need on each place. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger,
Your article is really informative. I need your suggestion for below:
We will be in NYC from Sep 13-16 We are 3 adults + 1 infant and going to purchase 3 day pass. Our Stay will be in times square area.
My mother uses wheel chair for long distance walk (she can walk short distance only as her foot get numb). Please advise what is best way of moving around in between attraction in this case.
Thanks,
Abid
Abid,
I’m not an expert on this, but I believe it’s fairly easy to book a taxi cab that can carry a wheel chair. New York City is loaded with taxi cabs that are vans, and many of them are equipped for chairs.
Once you get to the various attractions I believe that all of them are set up for wheelchair visitors if needed. Also, many (but not all) of the busiest subway stations have elevators for this reason. Have a great trip. -Roger
Thanks for a great article and useful advice. My 22 year old daughter and I will be visiting next week and have already purchased the 5 day pass with the 3 day HOHO bus option. (Wish I had seen this site earlier) At any rate, how would you suggest that we maximize the usefulness of the 3 day HOHO bus? Do we go see the popular sites early, then sit on one of the loops of the bus for a rest and informative tour? Or do we use our HOHO bus days early in the trip to get the lay of the land? Also, is a trip to Coney Island worth it? How about to Atlantic City (we are not gamblers, so it would be for site seeing purposes only). Thanks in advance!
Mary,
Thank you. As I’ve mentioned before, I think the HOHO buses are excellent for general sightseeing, but usually not great for transportation between sights. Since you have the 3-day option you’ll be able to do a full loop of each route and then use it for some short hops as transportation in some cases. But generally speaking the New York subway is the fastest way between most places and it’s easy to use once you’ve done it once. So I’d recommend just staying on the bus for the full loop on each tour, and only hop off near the end if it takes you to a place you want to visit. Otherwise you might be waiting longer than you had hoped for the next one. And yes, I’d do the HOHO early in your trip because they are a great way of getting your bearings. Also do the Circle Line boat tour, which will give you another great perspective of the area, and very interesting commentary.
I’ve only been to Coney Island once and I don’t think it’s worth it. It’s really not all that special, and it’s really more of a nostalgia thing for people who grew up in the area. The main problem is that it’s a LONG subway ride to get there, and it’s not near anything else interesting.
Atlantic City is similar in a way. The boardwalk area is kitchy and kind of fun for a short time, but the rest of the city is pretty much a nightmare, and it takes a long time to get there. If you were a gambler or if you had a special place in your heart for an old-timey New Jersey boardwalk, it might be worth it. Otherwise, it’s just not special enough to justify the long travel time, and there are better things closer to NYC. Have a great trip. -Roger
Roger,
I’m flying in soon for 4 nights. Can I get a 3 day attractions pass direct to my android phone with the app? I’m coming from the UK, so want to book in advance & avoid waiting for documentation. The only other alternative is printing the online booking & take it with me. Not quite sure how it works really!
Thanks in advance,
Trevor.
Trevor,
At this point the New York Pass is still only a physical product (a magnetic card) plus a guidebook and a few other things to help. Your best and only option is to buy it online and pick it up in person once you get to NYC. There are several locations for this, 3 of which are in or near the Times Square area so even if you aren’t staying near there, you’ll be nearby for many of the better included attractions. Best of luck with it. -Roger
Hello Roger,
Thank you for the heads up and specifically the pick up points which is very helpful.
Trevor.
Hi, can you actually walk straight in to attractions or do you have to collect tickets at desks and how do you get a time for top of rock timed entry?
Chris,
Most attractions have a ticket queue and an entrance queue, and with the New York Pass you can go directly into the entrance queue, which is usually much shorter or just a person who will let you right in. As for Top of the Rock, I went there last year and went straight into the special New York Pass queue and then into the elevator. I’m not sure you can do a timed entry, and I’m not sure you need it if you have a New York Pass. In other words, I think you can pretty much always go when you want and it only takes a few minutes to be headed into the elevator. Have a great trip. -Roger
Is entry to the Hayden Planetarium include in the ticket for the American Museum of Natural History on the New York Pass?
Carisma,
Yes, the New York Pass does include entry to that. The Hayden Planetarium is part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space, which is part of the museum itself. This is what it says on the New York Pass site:
“The New York Pass grants you free admission to the Museum and Rose Center. Tickets to the Space Show are available at a reduced rate.”
So you can enter the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium for free with the New York Pass, but it costs extra for the scheduled shows. Have a great visit. -Roger
Hi,
I will be in NY in 3 days and i am excited about it.
I am studying this NY pass issue and i am not sure what to do. It is my first time in NY and i want to see as many places as i can. At least, the main attractions. So far, for my case NY pass is the solutions. But then again, i have read that the hop on hop off tours get so crowded, you have to wait hours to get into one.
And where can i see what are the attractions included in a 2 day pass? And which are free entirely and which only offer discounts based on NY pass?
And what do you recommend? Because i will not stay 2 full days there, i will get in NY at noon, 12:00 PM with a big luggage which i have to drop off where i will be staying and i will leave on the 3rd at 4 or 5 PM. So, added up, it more like a day and 2-3 hours.
Regards,
Cristina L.,
All of the attractions listed on the main “Attractions” page on the New York Pass website are free for pass holders. The discounted things are on the “Special Offers” tab on that same page, and they are almost all shopping discounts and small discounts off of specialty tours. All of the famous attractions will be free.
You are in a tricky spot when it comes to the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. I don’t recommend them for transportation to get from one attraction to another, mostly because the subway tends to be much faster and the buses can be very crowded at peak times. BUT, I do recommend the hop-on, hop-off buses as a quick tour of most of the city’s most famous buildings and neighborhoods. In other words, I recommend doing one loop around the city on the bus as a way of seeing a lot in a short time and also getting helpful commentary. They are especially helpful for people on short visits like yours. The Circle Line boat tours are also an excellent way to see the main highlights of New York City, with unobstructed views from the water.
I think if your top priority is to see as many of the best attractions as possible in a short time, then the 1-day or 2-day New York Pass will be very helpful, partly because it lets you skip most of the longer queues so you can actually see more things in a day. The HOHO bus might also be good, but it could also cut into your other sightseeing time.
By the way, many of the top attractions are open well into the evening, so you could still see a lot on that arrival day. For example, the Top of the Rock observation deck is open until midnight, and in some ways it’s even more impressive at night. Madam Tussaud’s as another example allows visitors in up until 8pm on weeknights and 10pm on weekends. So if you want to see a lot, you’ll still have 8 good hours on that first day, and obviously the whole day on the following day. Have a great trip with whatever you decide. -Roger
Hi Roger
Thanks for the article. I just stumbled upon this as I have a 4 day to NYC booked for early June. I am going to get the 3 day pass as that seems like great value for money and includes many of the things I was looking to do.
How do I use the NYP for a river cruise? Do we just turn up at the pier and hope there’s room on the boat? I can’t seem to se a way of reserving tickets in advance on the Circle Line site, using the NYP numbers.
Mary,
First off, the Circle Line sightseeing cruises are my favorite thing on the New York Pass and I’m sure you’ll love it. The New York Pass provides “Fast Track Entry” for the Circle Line, which means that you can go to the Will Call booth instead of the main ticket booth with the long queue. In any event, the boats are large and I don’t think they sell out often, if at all. It’s more a matter of maybe having to wait up to an hour in line if you don’t have a New York Pass. I’ve done the Circle Line about 5 or 6 times (on different routes) and I’ve never seen a sell out. Also, there are several of each cruises going each day, so even if you miss one you can catch the next one.
If you want to be sure, I’m certain you can go to the pier the day before you want to go, and get tickets for the sailing you want. My guess is that the reason they don’t have an online reservation system is that the boats are big enough for everyone who shows up on time in person. Have a great trip. -Roger
Thank you so much for your prompt reply, Roger. We are travelling ito NY next Sunday from the UK and the weather forecast is looking good! Really looking forward to the trip.