5 tips to make the most of your New York pass

Sightseeing passes are one of the best ways to save money on attractions in New York. These packages offer significant discounts off regular admission prices. Learn more about passes in our guide to what a sightseeing pass is and discover the 5 reasons to buy a pass in New York.
Once you have your pass, here are a few tips to make the most of it:

1/ Use skip-the-line access

• Beyond saving money, many passes include skip-the-line access at certain attractions. Take advantage of this benefit. Before each visit, check whether your pass includes skip-the-line access so you know when you can bypass the regular line.
• Find the complete list of skip-the-line benefits for each pass in our article on skip-the-line access with New York passes.

2/ Redeem your pass at an attraction without skip-the-line access

• Most passes come as a voucher that you exchange for the actual pass at the ticket counter of your first attraction.
• Redeem your pass at an attraction that doesn’t offer skip-the-line access. This way, you can save the skip-the-line benefit for busier attractions. A great place to exchange your pass is Castle Clinton, the ticket office for the Statue of Liberty. The exchange counter has no skip-the-line access, but once you have your pass, you can use skip-the-line security screening. Smart move!

3/ Check your pass validity period

• Before using your pass for the first time, check how long it remains valid. If you’re staying 12 days in New York and bought a New York City Pass, remember that it’s valid for 9 days from first use. Plan when to activate your pass based on your schedule.
• Here’s the validity period for the four main passes:
  • New York City Pass: 9 days from first use.
  • New York Explorer Pass: 30 days from first use.
  • New York Pass: valid for 1 to 10 days, depending on the duration you choose.
  • Pass New York C3: 9 days from first use.

4/ Keep track of your remaining visits

• As you use your pass, keep count of how many visits you have left. This prevents you from wasting visits or arriving at an attraction with no visits remaining on your pass.
• The New York City Pass makes this easy—it’s a booklet of tickets that you hand over at each attraction. With the New York Pass, tracking is simple: the pass is valid for a set number of days, and you can visit any of the 80 included attractions during that time.

5/ Always carry your pass with you

• Keep your pass with you at all times, even on days when you don’t have planned visits. You never know when you might want to change plans.
• Depending on the weather or your mood, you might decide to visit the Empire State Building even if it wasn’t on your schedule. Passes give you that flexibility, so make the most of it.