You are planning a trip to New York and want to visit some of the most popular sights? You do not want to buy each ticket individually, but get everything from one source if possible and also save money?
Then the New York Explorer Pass is just right for you!
On this page you will learn everything about the New York Explorer Pass by Go City:
How the New York Explorer Pass works
The New York Explorer Pass is a sightseeing package from the company Go City. This product can be used to visit 2 to 10 attractions and museums. There are about 90 attractions and tourist offers to choose from. These include sightseeing tours by bus as well as several boat trips, guided city tours and bicycle tours.
You have up to 60 days to take advantage of up to ten offers. The New York Explorer Pass is a digital product that you can download to your phone. The Explorer Pass is available and ready to use immediately after purchase.
1
Digital product
Buy the Explorer Pass online and then download it to your phone. It's ready to use right out of the box.
2
Valid 60 days
After the first use, the Explorer Pass is valid for 60 days. During this time you can visit 2 to 10 attractions.
3
2 - 10 attractions
There are about 90 attractions to choose from. Visit between 2 and 10 attractions. Show your digital pass at the ticket office.
Some important attractions
- Empire State Building
- The Edge at Hudson Yards
- Top of the Rock
- Ferry to Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Museum of Modern Art
- Madame Tussauds
- Hop-on/hop-off bus
- 20+ guided city tours
Flexible scope: The New York Explorer Pass is suitable for travelers who want to visit only a few attractions. You can choose between 2 and 10 attractions. You only pay for the services you want to use. Time is hardly an issue with the Explorer Pass: the pass is valid for 60 days.
Digital ticket for the phone: The New York Explorer Pass is a digital-only product that you can conveniently save to your phone. Alternatively, you can also print out a QR code. For use on the phone, you can use the free Go City app, which contains useful information about all participating attractions.
Prices for people over 13 years:
- 84 (2 attractions) = $42.00 per attraction
- 109 (3 attractions)
- 144 (4 attractions)
- 169 (5 attractions)
- 194 (6 attractions)
- 214 (7 attractions)
- 289 (10 attractions) = $28.90 per attraction
These are reduced prices because Go City is constantly running price promotions. Prices may vary slightly from week to week. Reduced prices apply for children under 12 years old.
Exclusive Offer: 5% Discount with Discount Code BESTNYPASS05
The more attractions included in the Explorer Pass, the cheaper the price per attraction. The pass is especially worthwhile from five attractions. Those who want to visit a lot can save the most with the Explorer Pass.
New York Explorer Pass: Attractions
The New York Explorer Pass includes around 90 attractions - including all the major viewing platforms, numerous museums, as well as guided city tours and boat trips. Up to ten of these attractions can be visited free of charge with the New York Explorer Pass.
The main attractions are listed in the table below. You can choose up to ten of these services without having to buy additional tickets.
Category | Top attractions with New York Pass or Explorer Pass | Price without New York Pass |
Viewing platform | Empire State Building | $55.52 |
One World Observatory | $52.91 | |
Top of the Rock | $43.55 | |
Edge | $50.08 | |
Museums | Museum of Modern Art | $28.00 |
American Museum of Natural History | $28.00 | |
9/11 Memorial & Museum | $33.00 | |
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum | $36.00 | |
Bus & Boat | Hop-on/hop-off bus | $77.00 |
Ferry to the Statue of Liberty | $25.00 | |
Circle Line Cruise | $53.00 | |
Bus Tour: Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens | $79.00 | |
Guided tours | Broadway & Times Square Tour | $39.00 |
Best of Brooklyn Tour | $31.80 | |
High Line & Hudson Yards Tour | $39.00 | |
Central Park Bike Tour | $51.69 |
Many attractions in New York are quite expensive. If you visit the expensive attractions, the New York Explorer Pass will pay for itself quickly.
In addition, the New York Explorer Pass offers free admission to other museums and attractions, as well as various tourist services. A complete list of all 80+ offers can be found at the provider: New York Explorer Pass Attractions.
These attractions are missing
There is hardly an important attraction that the New York Explorer Pass does not cover. Only two sights are missing from the scope of services:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
- SUMMIT One Vanderbuilt
If you really want to visit one of these sights, you will need to buy individual tickets. These attractions are not included in any other New York Pass.
In some cities, it is common to also use public transportation for free with a Sightseeing Pass. Unfortunately, this is not possible with the Explorer Pass and is not offered by any other product.
Reservations required
Please note that reservations are required for many attractions. This is especially true for all guided tours. Only in this way you can be sure that you can really participate in a tour.
Once you have purchased the New York Explorer Pass, you should make the important reservations. There is a convenient online portal for this at every provider. Booking alone does not activate the Explorer Pass. The pass is not activated until you visit the first attraction or join the first guided tour.
If you have booked a guided tour, you must attend. Otherwise, your credit card will be charged a participation fee. Only if you participate as scheduled, the tour is free for you.
Reservations are required for some museums and attractions:
- Museum of Modern Art
- American Museum of Natural History
- Empire State Building
- Ferry to the Statue of Liberty
Here you will find an overview of all services subject to reservation: Reservations with the Explorer Pass.
Notes on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus
With the New York Explorer Pass you can use the hop-on/hop-off buses of the company Big Bus for free for one day. A free ticket must be purchased at the Times Square stop before the first ride.
After that, you can get on and off as often as you like for a day. The buses run daily on two routes through Manhattan. There is a downtown route and an uptown route.
The downtown route with ten stops runs every 15 to 20 minutes (somewhat less frequently in winter). The uptown line with only five stops is served only once an hour.
Information about the stops, travel times and routes: Hop-on/hop-off with New York Explorer Pass.
What we like about the Explorer Pass
The New York Explorer Pass is one of the best products for sightseeing in New York. There are some arguments in favor of the Explorer Pass by Go City:
90+ attractions to choose from
The New York Explorer Pass can be used to visit many of the city's attractions free of charge. These include several viewing platforms (e.g. Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, One World Observatory) and popular museums (e.g. Museum of Modern Art, American Museum of Natural History).
Many tourist offers included
In addition, New York Explorer Pass allows you to use the hop-on/hop-off buses and choose from several boat tours. You can also choose between numerous guided city tours and bike tours. With the New York Explorer Pass you are spoiled for choice.
Flexible scope
Decide for yourself how many attractions you want to visit (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10). You only pay for the services you actually use.
Digital product
Download New York Explorer Pass to your phone quickly and easily. You don't have to pick up the pass anywhere, you can use it immediately after purchase. The free Go City app also contains useful information about all participating attractions.
Good value for money
With the New York Explorer Pass you get a lot for your money. Since many of the top attractions, city tours and sightseeing tours are very expensive, the Explorer Pass quickly pays for itself on expensive attractions. The more attractions you visit with the Explorer Pass, the more money you can save.
Convenient sightseeing package
The Explorer Pass is a convenient sightseeing package. With a single booking you get access to numerous sights and museums. You hardly need any additional tickets. Just load the pass on your phone and off you go.
5% save with coupon code
Save 5% off the purchase price with our exclusive discount code BESTNYPASS05.
What we like less
The New York Explorer Pass is a good product, but not perfect. There are some drawbacks that we like less:
No public transport
The New York Explorer Pass does not entitle the holder to use public transportation.
A few attractions missing
Some attractions are not included in New York Explorer Pass: Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and SUMMIT One Vanderbuilt. Also, access to the base of the Statue of Liberty is not possible.
Worth it only for expensive attractions
The pass is hardly worth it for cheap services. You need to visit mainly expensive attractions to make the Explorer Pass worthwhile.
No Fast Track admission
You will not receive priority admission with the New York Explorer Pass. You will have to queue with other visitors at the box office. For some attractions you can reserve a time slot in advance.
Reservations required
For some attractions you need to reserve a time slot ticket. This also applies to guided tours.
Is the Explorer Pass worth it?
Our opinion is: Yes, the New York Explorer Pass is worth it for many visitors. The pass is suitable for travelers who want to visit between two and ten attractions. Those who choose mainly expensive attractions can save a lot of money with the Explorer Pass.
Especially the Explorer Pass with ten attractions offers a very good price-performance ratio. Since the Explorer Pass is valid for 60 days, you don't have to worry about the time available. In addition, it is very convenient that you can simply load the pass on your phone.
One drawback is that you don't get priority entry with the New York Explorer Pass. Only a few sights and museums allow you to reserve a time slot. Often you have to queue at the ticket office to pick up your free ticket.
New York Explorer Pass
Conclusion
In our opinion, the New York Explorer Pass is worth it if you mainly visit expensive attractions. Then you save a lot of money with the Explorer Pass.
Tip: The more attractions that can be visited with the Explorer Pass, the better the value for money. Most visitors buy a pass that is valid for at least four attractions.
Where can you buy the Explorer Pass?
The New York Explorer Pass is available through the official GoCity.com website as well as some ticket websites.
The most convenient way is to buy at GoCity.com. There you can get the New York Explorer Pass directly from the supplier. You can print a QR code or save it on your phone. You can also download the free Go City app and import the digital pass. The app contains useful information about all participating attractions.
Even if you buy the pass at Tiqets.com or GetYourGuide, you can conveniently download it to your phone as a digital pass afterwards.
Questions & Answers
How does the New York Explorer Pass work?
The New York Explorer Pass is available online and can be used immediately after purchase. Download the digital Explorer Pass to your phone and show the QR code at participating attractions. Within 60 days, you can visit 2-10 attractions for free. There are more than 90 attractions and tourist offers to choose from.
Is the New York Explorer Pass worth it?
Yes, from our point of view, New York Explorer Pass is worth it for many visitors. It is most worthwhile if you visit at least four expensive attractions. With ten attractions, the price-performance ratio is very good.
Does the New York Explorer Pass grant fast entry?
Unfortunately, no. With the New York Explorer Pass you have to queue at the box office for most attractions. For some attractions you can book a time slot ticket online.
Can I use public transportation with the Explorer Pass?
Unfortunately not. The New York Explorer Pass does not entitle you to free use of public transportation.
How do I reach Go City customer service?
You can reach the customer service of Go City via a contact form or by phone at +1 800 887 9103 if you are already in the USA. Outside the US, other phone numbers apply and can be found on the Go City website.
Can I cancel the purchase free of charge?
Yes, if you buy the New York Explorer Pass from GoCity.com, you have a money-back guarantee valid for up to 365 days after purchase. If you buy the Explorer Pass from Tiqets.com or GetYourGuide, you can usually cancel your purchase for free until just before your trip.
