New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world, yet millions of visitors visit it every year. It is one of the largest cities in North America, so if you spend a few weeks in New York City, you will still have something to do. Now you can save a lot of money on the various attractions the city has to offer during your stay. The NYC Sightseeing Pass will help. If you’re wondering how it works, read on.
New York City appears to be a city of skyscrapers, and you will find many interesting and beautiful places worth visiting. Most tourists head to the famous Times Square, visit the Statue of Liberty, or stroll along the Brooklyn Bridge. People also come here for shopping; you can buy nearly anything here. Popular stores with cheap branded clothing but also electronics. If you’re looking for cultural enjoyment, New York City will feel like paradise.
The world-famous Broadway theatres offer a wide selection of performances to choose from. The Metropolis also offers a wealth of museums, exhibitions, galleries, and other cultural events. If you eat out of it, then you’re not afraid of eating in New York City. There are fast food stalls, fruit juices and other snacks on the streets. Almost every corner has a buffet, a shop, a farmer’s market, or other dining establishments. New York City offers cosmopolitan cuisine so that you can taste the whole world in one place.
How to save in New York City
If you’re thinking about visiting New York City and don’t want your finances to be too constrained, then we have a simple solution. Be smart and don’t pay each attraction separately but get a prepaid card. There are several companies in New York that offer prepaid cards that entitle you to visit attractions for free or with discounts: NYC Pass, NYC Explorer Pass a NYC Sightseeing Pass. The differences between the services of individual companies aren’t so big, but we liked the NYC Sightseeing Pass the most when comparing them. We also used the prepaid card during our visit, and it really helped us save a lot of money.
If you are thinking about suitable accommodation, we recommend that you look for it near Manhattan. It isn’t ideal to stay in the centre because of the high prices. We chose hotels close to the subway station.
How does the New York City Sightseeing Pass work?
The New York City Sightseeing Pass offers you the freedom to adapt to any budget. It’s up to you how many attractions you visit and how many days you will use the card, and these decisions will determine whether the price will rise or go down. In addition, you can buy the Pass online in advance or at any NYC Visitor Center. After purchasing it, you just need to print it or save it on your mobile device and scan the QR code on the spot. You have a full one year to activate the Pass, and if you are still unsure whether you can fly to New York City before then, you can insure yourself. You can pay 4% of the Pass price for the insurance, and you can claim the full amount without giving any reason when not using the card.
The NYC Sightseeing Pass attracts tourists with the possibility of exclusive offers and unique entrances. With the card, you have unlimited access to Hop-on Hop-off buses, the time of free rides depends on whether you have FLEX Pass or Day Pass. Lovers of history and art will appreciate the benefit of free daily entry to all three locations of the renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET); no other New York City prepaid card offers such a benefit. They exhibit has art backing up to five thousand years at the MET and these days, they are attracting visitors to the exclusive drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. If you like natural activities, NYC Sightseeing Pass holders have access to a full tour of the Central Park Zoo, the Bronx and the Aquarium. Other exclusive attractions include the famous ice rink in the central park, the harbour tour and more.
Flex Pass or Day Pass?
New York City Sightseeing Pass offers customers two kinds of cards. You can choose from a Flex Pass or Day Pass. What are the differences between them?
Flex Pass
When buying this Pass, you choose the exact number of attractions you want to see (max 10). You have thirty days to visit them, so you can plan your stay in New York City so that you can visit everything in peace. We also decided on this type of card, and we would recommend it.
Day Pass
When purchasing this card, you select a number of days (max 10) during which you can visit hundreds of attractions without any restrictions. Since everyone wants to make the most of that day, it’s a bit of a chase. But it still pays off.
How much does the NYC Sightseeing Pass cost?
The NYC Sightseeing Pass price varies depending on the number of days or attractions. The cheapest passes can cost just a few dozen dollars and the most expensive even hundreds. But the NYC Sightseeing Pass site says that if you’d like to visit all the landmarks on their list without a prepaid card, you’ll pay nearly $4,000. That means that you will get back the price of the pass after visiting the third attraction.
When does the Sightseeing Pass pay off and when not?
Not every visitor buys a NYC Sightseeing Pass. We would recommend this prepaid card in the following cases:
- If you want to visit many attractions and do a lot of activities.
- You’re in New York City for the first time.
- You are planning to visit really expensive attractions.
- You would like to use the Hop-on-Hop-off bus service.
- You would like to use skip the line ticket on several attractions.
However, buying a New York Sightseeing Pass doesn’t pay you much when:
- You have a very limited budget, and you can’t afford to buy the pass.
- You want to see only a few paid attractions.
- You are a student with a valid student card – students have discounts in New York City (check before departure).
Our experience with the NYC Sightseeing Pass
During our first visit to New York City, we paid for all the entries separately because we had no idea that there was a prepaid card to visit this city. However, during our second stay, we were a little smarter and bought a Sightseeing Pass. Here is a list of the attractions we visited and the prices we paid:
Flex Pass cost $155 (for 2019)
Visited attractions/tours (prices are for 2019 if you didn’t buy Sightseeing Pass):
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum – $26
- Buffalo Wild Wings – $25
- Manhattan Hop-on Hop-off bus – $89
- National Geographic Encounter – $39.50
- One World Observatory – $34
- The Ride show – $69
The total price of the standard tickets for the visited attractions is about $ 282.50 as of 2019, so we saved $127.5 to the Pass price!
Have you ever been to NEW YORK CITY and used any city pass? Share your experience in the comments with us.
A fried just returned from a week in NY and said how terribly expensive everything was in NY, especially in comparison to Washington D.C. but she said they saved a lot of money by getting the NYC pass! So, this will come in handy soon!
Yes, we have to confirm that NY is a really expensive city, but it is worth visiting, it is beautiful. NY Pass helped us save a lot of money! I’m glad we’re not the only ones and more people using it.