SAVING DOLLARS: PASSES FOR COMBINED ATTRACTIONS IN NEW YORK, ARE THEY WORTHY?

Updated November 21st, 2018

There are 2 more or less similar passes according to price and atracctions they allow you to visit. In our opinion, NO, THEY ARE NOT WORTHY, because with one fo them the amount saved is barely 10 $, and the other is even more expensive than paying those attractions one by one. The trick is: they include the admission to some museums, which actually are suggested donations, they are free.

Prices are for adult passes:

NY City Pass costs $132. It includes access to 6 attractions in New York. The first three ones are mandatory, from the fourth to the sixth you must choose one of the two on offer:
- Empire State Building.
- Museum of Natural History.
- Metropolitan Art Museum.
- Top of the Rock observatory OR Guggenheim Museum.
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island OR Circle Line Crosières (cruise).
- Memorial and Museum 9/11 OR Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

The New York Pass. 1 day 132 $, 2 days 179 $, 3 days 199 $, 4 days 229 $, 5 days 254 $, 7 days 284 $ and 10 days 329 $. Access to over 100 attractions, including the previous ones.

Let’s have a look at the main ones one by one.

Empire State Building. Between $38 and $42 depending on the day. You can take advantage and use your pass up twice in the same day, during daylight and at night. This is not really necessary, it is advisable to go up an hour before the dusk and wait until it’s dark. Going up twice involves queuing twice.
Natural History Museum: IS FREE. For this and the rest of museums included, read the post: New York’s most popular museums.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: it used to be free, but now cost $25.
MoMA is free on Fridays from 4 pm to 8 pm.
Top of the Rock observatory OR Guggenheim Museum.
- Top of the Rock: $38.
- Guggenheim Museum: $25 but FREE SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island OR Circle Line Crosières (cruise).
- Statue and Ellis Island: $18.5.
- Circle Cruise Line: depending on the cruise you choose, between 29 and 36 $
Memorial and Museum 9/11 OR Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
- September 11th Memorial and Museum: $24.
- Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum $33, although you can visit some of its sections for free.

Passes have something good: you can skip the line to buy tickets, but they do not allow access to attractions by express line unless an extra fee is paid. For example, in the Empire State Building you have to queue three times: to go through security check, to buy your ticket and to enter the building itself. With passes you will skip only the second queue, but the same can be done by purchasing tickets in advance, online or through an official street vendor. In museums, you’ll skip the line, but if you want to enter for free, it’s mandatory to get your ticket in the main desk.

You will have to ponder how many attractions you want to see and make your calculations. In the most expensive case, a visitor would be required to pay Empire State Building ($38) + Top of the Rock ($38) + Met ($25) + Statue of Liberty (18.5 $, let’s face it, almost no one would choose the cruise instead of the Statue) + Intrepid Museum ($33), total $152.5, that would represent $20 saving. However, while entering any of these attractions you will find official vendors offering packs of several of them with the consequent savings.