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Here is our New York CityPASS Review 2019 in which we are working out whether it will save you money.

I’ve used quite a lot of Welcome Cards and passes for cities over the years so initially I was really confused about the pricing of the New York Citypass. When you read the information on the website and in reviews it talks about saving 42% and getting money off and I just couldn’t work out exactly how it worked.   I’ve used cards where transport is free but then the attractions are different discounts, and ones where some attractions are included but some are at an additional cost but with discounts so I think I was overcomplicating the idea.

It turns out that the New York Citypass is very straightforward. You buy it for the prices advertised and then you have free access to 6 attractions in New York City. At the time of writing  (25th April 2019) the price of the New York CityPass was  ADULT :  £106.53 /$132     CHILD :  £87.16/$108

So how does the New York CityPass work? And perhaps more importantly is the New York CityPass a good fit for you and your family and will it save you money?

The New York CityPASS  allows you to visit 6 attractions over 9 days. The 9 days begins on the day you first use the pass rather than on a certain day, meaning the longer you are in New York the more likely you are to use all the benefits of the pass.

3 of the attractions are pre-set – being the Empire State Building, the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art – while the other six come in an “either/or” format

Which attractions are on the New York CityPASS?

The New York CityPASS includes entry to six out of nine of some of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City.

Three are included with every New York CityPass, and then you can choose three other attractions which are offered to you on an either/or basis.

Attractions on all New York CityPass are  

• Empire State Building ($40 for adults) ($34 for kids 6-12)
• Metropolitan Museum of Art ($25.00 for adults) (kids under 12 are free)
• American Museum of Natural History ($28.00 for adults) (kids 2-12 $16.50)

Additionally, you can visit three of these:

• Either Top of the Rock Observation Deck ($38 for adults) ($32 for kids 6-12) or Guggenheim Museum ($25.00 for adults) (kids under 12 are free)
• Either Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry ($18.50 for adults) (kids 4-12 are $9) or Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises ($31 for adults) ($26 for kids 3-12)
• Either 9/11 Memorial & Museum ($26.00 for adults) ($15 kids 7-12)  or Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum ($33.00 for adults) ($24 for kids 5-12)

(*Pricing as at 25th April 2019)

So in order to work out if it is going to save you money you need to work out what you are going to definitely see, and also work through the kids ages and work out what they will need to pay for too. Only then can you decide if it will save you money.

I was gifted two New York City Passes but still needed to decide if it was going to be worth buying 1 adult pass and 4 children passes for the rest of the group.

Why not PIN this New York CityPASS Review 2019

Example of savings with New York CityPASS

Example 1

I decided that we were definitely going to do 5 of the attractions being the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Top of the Rock and Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry.

Adult Cost without CityPass for those 5 was $149.50 the cost of the CityPass per adult is $132 so it was close, but for 3 adults would have been a saving of $52.50. For the 6 attractions we ended up doing including the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum the cost would have been $182.50 a saving of $50.50 per adult.

Children Cost (ages 7-10) without CityPass for those 5 was $91.50 and the cost of the CityPass was $108 so in this example we actually had to be using the CityPass for all 6 attractions to make sure it was worth the money. We actually visited the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum meaning we would have spent $115.50. Still only a saving of $7.50, but per child that added up to $30.

Example 2

If you’d decided to do Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History (3 pre-set)  and Top of the Rock, Circle Line Sightseeing and Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Adult Cost without CityPass for those 6 would be $195 the cost of the CityPass per adult is $132 so a saving of $63 – $189 for the 3 of us.

Children Cost (ages 7-10) without CityPass for those 6 would be $132.50 and the cost of the CityPass is $108 so a saving of $24.50 per child.

So does the New York CityPASS save you money?

The answer to that question is it depends what you want to see and whether you will use all the benefits. The savings are much greater for adults and much easier to see than they are for children, so with kids you need to check the numbers carefully.

Additional benefits of the New York Citypass

There are however additional benefits to using the New York Citypass:

You may get to skip some of the lines.

You may also need to stand in separate queues to use different tickets if you choose CityPass for adults and not for kids.

In summary just check carefully as to whether it’s worth it! It was for us and we found them very easy to use following the instructions for each ticket.

There are a hundred more things to do in New York with kids and we have a really detailed post with lot of ideas of Things to do in New York with Kids here, together with 1o Tips on how to make a trip to New York easier with Kids

We also have a great post on what to do in New York with Jet Lag which includes two CityPass attractions.

Why not PIN this New York CityPASS Review 2019