A flexible attraction pass lets you pick how many different attractions you want to visit. It’s a smart choice if you want to be able to visit a specific number of attractions at a comfortable pace, with the option, if need be, of spreading out that sightseeing over an extended period of time.
After you’ve done your homework and decided that a flexible attraction pass is right for you, the question then becomes: What flexible attraction pass should you buy? If you’re in the market for a New York City flexible attraction pass, you’ll have several choices.
The New York Explorer Pass and the New York Sightseeing Flex Pass are really flexible attraction passes. With one of these passes, you’ll be able to pick exactly how many attractions you want to visit from a massive list of possible choices. You’ll position yourself to save a whole lot of money, but you’ll also need to set aside additional time to plan out how best to maximize your attraction pass.
The New York CityPASS and the New York C3 Pass are simpler flexible passes. They offer a smaller list of attractions to choose from, but feature the majority of New York City’s most popular attractions. You won’t necessarily save quite as much money using one of these simpler passes, but they’ll still prove very useful as you’ll have an easier time planning your trip.
| Features Chart | Explorer Pass | NY Flex Pass | NY CityPASS | CityPASS C3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
|
| Company | Go City | Sightseeing Pass | CityPASS | CityPASS |
| How Many Admissions? | 2 to 10 Admissions | 2 to 12 Admissions | 6 Admissions | 3 Admissions |
| Cost for an Adult | $73 to $229 | $74 to $264 | $136 | $87 |
| Cost for a Child | $51 to $175 | $51 to $210 | $112 | $67 |
| Child Age Range | 3-13 Years | 3 to 12 Years | 6-17 Years | 5-12 Years |
| Number of Total Attractions | 75 | 81 | 9 | 12 |
Use the chart below to quickly compare included attractions on each pass. Use the pulldown menu if you want to refine the type of attractions you want to compare. You selections will appear below the pulldown menu. You can click on any of them to delete a selection. Also note that only the first 30 tours and attractions are show at first. You can choose to see them all at once or click the next/previous buttons to see more.
| Name | NY Explorer Pass | Ny Flex Pass | NY Citypass | NY C3 | Narrow Down by Tour and Attraction Types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire State Building |  | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, |
| Top of the Rock Observatory | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, |
| Edge at Hudson Yards | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, | |
| Big Bus Hop On Hop Off: 1-Day | | | Not to be Missed,Tours,Bus Tours, | ||
| 9/11 Memorial and Museum | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Museums, |
| One World Observatory | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, | ||
| Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Tours, | |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Museums, |
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||||
| Madame Tussauds New York | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||
| American Museum of Natural History | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Museums, |
| Best of NYC Cruise: Circle Line | | Not to be Missed,Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Hornblower - Alive after 5 Cruise | | | Tours,Boat Tours, | ||
| Hornblower Hop-On Hop-Off Cruise | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Hop-on-hop-off ferry, City Sightseeing | Tours,Boat Tours, | ||||
| Central Park Full Day Bike Rental | | Bike Tours, | |||
| Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, |
| Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |
| The RIDE | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Circle Line NYC Landmarks Cruise | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tours,Boat Tours, |
| High Speed Harbor Tour, RIBNewYork | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Guggenheim Museum | | | | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions, |
| Liberty Super Express Cruise | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Rockefeller Center Tour | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Tours, | |||
| Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour | | Not to be Missed,Tourist Attractions,Tours, | |||
| Madison Square Garden All Access Tour | | Tourist Attractions,Tours, | |||
| Holiday Markets & Lights Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| St. Patrick's Cathedral Tour | | | Tourist Attractions,Tours, | ||
| SPYSCAPE | | | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||
| Harbor Lights Cruise: Circle Line | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Whitney Museum of American Art |  | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||
| The TOUR | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Central Park TV and Movie Sites Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| NYC TV and Movie Tour by Bus | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Movie tour: When Harry Met Seinfeld | Tours,Bus Tours, | ||||
| 9/11 Tribute Museum & Memorial Tour | | | Not to be Missed,Tours,Museums,Walking Tour, | ||
| Museum of Sex | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Christmas Lights Walking Tour Brooklyn | | | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||
| Grand Central Terminal Audio Tour | Tourist Attractions,Tours, | ||||
| Luna Park (Leisure Park) | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||||
| Brooklyn Bridge Full Day Bike Rental | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Catacombs by Candlelight Tour | | Tourist Attractions,Tours, | |||
| New York Airport Transfers | Bus Tours, | ||||
| National Geographic: Ocean Odyssey | Just for Fun, | ||||
| Central Park Bike Tour | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Central Park Bike Tour or rental | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Brooklyn Bridge Bike Rental | Tours,Bike Tours, | ||||
| SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown Walk Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| SoHo and Little Italy Walking Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Brooklyn Museum & Botanic Garden | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Brooklyn Botanic Garden | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Brooklyn Childrens Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Secrets of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island | | Tours, | |||
| Central Park Zoo | | Tourist Attractions,Zoos and Aquariums, | |||
| Bronx Zoo | | Tourist Attractions,Zoos and Aquariums, | |||
| NYC Bus Tour of Bronx, Brooklyn & Queens | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Best of Manhattan Bus Tour - Gray Line | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Brooklyn Hop-on, Hop-off Bus, Gray Line | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Downtown Hop-on, Hop-off Bus - Gray Line | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Night Tour - Gray Line CitySightseeing | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| Uptown Hop-on, Hop-off Bus - Gray Line | | Tours,Bus Tours, | |||
| 9/11 Museum Workshop: Hands-On Tour | | | Tours,Museums,Walking Tour, | ||
| Graffiti & Street Art Walking Tour Brooklyn | | | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||
| Harlem Bike Rental (Full-Day) | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Brooklyn Bridge Guided Bike Tour | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Vessel | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Top of the Highline and Vessel Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Escape Virtuality | | | Just for Fun, | ||
| Food on Foot Tours | | | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||
| Marvel & DC Superheroes Tours | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Tastes of the Lower East Side Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Greenwich Village at Night Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Broadway & Times Square Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| LOL Times Square Comedy Club | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| LOL Times Square Magic | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Harlem Jazz Series | | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | |||
| Pride Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Best of Brooklyn Walk Tour, Williamsburg | | | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||
| Street Art Workshop | Tours, | ||||
| The New York Botanical Garden | | | Tourist Attractions, | ||
| Fotografiska New York | | Tourist Attractions,Walking Tour, | |||
| Central Park Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Central Park Walking Tour, Beyond Tours | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Central Park Walking Tour - CP Sightseeing | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Greenwich Village Walking Tour | | | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||
| Greenwich Village Walking Tour - NYTour1 | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Lower Manhattan Walk Tour - Exp First | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Lower Manhattan Walking Tour - NYTour1 | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Secrets of Hudson Yards, High Line & Vessel | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Secret of Downtown Walking Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Wall Street Walking Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Bronx's Little Italy and Arthur Avenue Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Spirits On Foot - Beer, Spirits & Wine Crawl | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Queens-Flushing Meadows Food Excursion | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| NYC Fashion Window Walking Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Masters of the Camera NYC Photoshoot | | Just for Fun, | |||
| High Line, Chelsea, Meatpacking Walk Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| Guided Harlem Highlights Bike Tour | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Museum of Jewish Heritage | | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||
| New York City Sketching Art Tour | | Tours, | |||
| The Met Cloisters | | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||
| Ghosts of Greenwich Village Tours | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| The Museum of The City of New York | | | Tourist Attractions, | ||
| LEGOLAND® Discovery Center New Jersey | | | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||
| SEA LIFE Aquarium New Jersey | | | Tourist Attractions,Zoos and Aquariums, | ||
| Escape Game New York | | Just for Fun, | |||
| Scavenger Hunts - New York | | Tours,Just for Fun, | |||
| NYC Slavery & Underground Railroad Tour | | Tours,Walking Tour, | |||
| South Street Seaport Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| New York Historical Society Museum | | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||
| Brooklyn Historical Society | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| Hamilton Happy Hour Tour | | | Tours, | ||
| Surrey Bike Rental on Governors Island | | Tours,Bike Tours, | |||
| Perfect Picnic | | Tours,Just for Fun, | |||
| Woodbury Common Bus Tour | | | Tours,Bus Tours, | ||
| LEGOLAND Discovery Center, Westchester | | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | |||
| Staten Island Ferry Audio Guide | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Liberty Cruise: Circle Line Sightseeing | | Tours,Boat Tours, | |||
| Clipper City Tall Ship: Statue Sail | | | Tours,Boat Tours, | ||
| Shearwater at North Cove: Statue Sail | | | Tours,Boat Tours, | ||
| Brooklyn Bridge Bike Rental | Tours,Bike Tours, | ||||
| Brooklyn Museum of Art | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| Museum of Arts and Design | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| New Museum | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| Intro to New York Live Interactive | | Tours, | |||
| The Cathedral of St. John the Divine | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Walk This Way Thru Harlem Hip Hop Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Harlem Walking Tours - One Stop Tours | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Hush Tours - Walk This Way Thru Harlem | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour | Tours,Walking Tour, | ||||
| Harlem Highlights Bike Tour | Tours, | ||||
| Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| New York Hall of Science | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| Fraunces Tavern® Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| El Museo del Barrio | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| MoMA PS1 | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| The Museum of Chinese in America | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| International Center, Photography Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Museum at Eldridge St. | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| The Skyscraper Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| New York Transit Museum | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | ||||
| National Lighthouse Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Staten Island Zoo | Tourist Attractions,Zoos and Aquariums, | ||||
| Staten Island Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Staten Island Children's Museum | | Tourist Attractions,Museums, | |||
| Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Garden | | Tourist Attractions, | |||
| Deno's Wonder Wheel | Tourist Attractions,Just for Fun, | ||||
| The Paley Center for Media | Tourist Attractions, | ||||
| Macy's Historical Tour | | Tours, | |||
| NY Aquarium | | Tourist Attractions,Zoos and Aquariums, | |||
| Bowlmor Times Square | | Just for Fun, | |||
| Buffalo Wild Wings - Brooklyn | | Just for Fun, | |||
| Buffalo Wild Wings - Times Square | | Just for Fun, |
Each one of these attraction passes has its strengths and weaknesses, but no matter what you’re wanting out of your flexible pass, there’s one that’s well-suited to your needs.
New York Explorer Pass
Take your pick: the New York Explorer Pass is available for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 10 attractions, and it’s valid at around 75 different attractions throughout the city. No matter what number of attractions you select, the Explorer Pass is good for 60 days. It is accepted at the majority of the city’s most prominent landmarks and museums, but it also includes many less-famous but still-worthwhile attractions, too.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the great things about the New York Explorer Pass is the way in which it mixes access to some of the city’s most popular attractions with an assortment of hidden gems. The New York Explorer Pass will get you in the door at places like the Empire State Building and the Metropolitan Museum of Art—but it’ll also cover Central Park bike tours, themed neighborhood walks, multiple botanical gardens, and so much more.
For a travel pass covering some 75 distinctive experiences, the New York Explorer Pass is missing the odd notable attraction, like for instance Madison Square Garden. Just something to keep in mind as you make your plans.
New York Sightseeing Flex Pass
One of two attraction passes promoted by New York Sightseeing Pass, the Flex Pass is a terrific option for visitors to New York City who are seeking a flexible attraction pass with a lengthy list of available attractions. The New York Sightseeing Flex Pass may be purchased for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 or 12 attractions. It’s good at over 100 unique attractions throughout the city.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The true strength of the New York Sightseeing Flex Pass is its expansive attraction list. The list is large and diverse: you’ll find among its offerings New York City landmarks, one-of-a-kind museums, eclectic guided tours, deals on food and drink, and a whole lot more. And even better, not only does the New York Sightseeing Flex Pass provide you with a huge list of approximately 100 different attractions, but it can frequently be found for sale online at a discounted price.
Though it’s tough to beat the New York Sightseeing Flex Pass attraction list, it should be noted that not everything it advertises on its website as an “exclusive” attraction is actually unique to its brand. Many of these “exclusives” are still also available from other passes.
New York CityPASS
The New York CityPASS covers your admission to six of New York City’s most famous attractions from a list of nine possible choices. Your New York CityPASS comes standard with admission to the Empire State Building, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It also lets you pick three more attractions to visit: the Top of the Rock Observation Deck or Guggenheim Museum; the 9/11 Memorial & Museum or Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum; and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or a ticket on a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The New York CityPASS is a very targeted attraction pass. If you’re in New York City for a short period of time and want to prioritize seeing some of its absolute most famous attractions, this could be a great option for you. Though it has a limited attraction list, the CityPASS does still cater to diverse experiences, covering as it does museums, observation decks, and cruises. It’s a convenient, direct way to get the New York Experience on a time-sensitive budget.
The narrow focus of the New York CityPASS means that it doesn’t include some of the prominent attractions available via other flexible attraction passes. If you’re especially interested in Madame Tussauds New York, or really want to go on a bike, walking, or bus tour of New York City, be advised that these attractions aren’t covered by the CityPASS.
New York C3 by CityPASS
New York C3 is perhaps the most straightforward flexible pass on the market right now. For one flat price, it’ll cover your admission to three classic New York City attractions. Attractions offered as part of the New York C3 pass include the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock Observation Deck, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Edge at Hudson Yards, and several offerings from City Cruises and Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises.
Strengths and Weaknesses
New York C3 is very similar to the New York CityPASS—except it ultimately is good at three attractions, not six. This means it’s perfect for those visitors who want to save some money while visiting only the most iconic New York City destinations. Its hyper-focused attraction list will help you narrow your sightseeing focus in no time at all.
If you’re interested in seeing a different side of New York City—or just want to make sure you combine doing something famous with experiencing something unique—you’ll likely be best served looking elsewhere.
Which Flexible Pass is Right for Me?
As you can tell from the comparisons conducted above, the New York City flexible attraction pass marketplace is full of great options for all kinds of visitors. There’s a fair amount of overlap from pass to pass, but each flexible attraction pass certainly has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, too.
At the end of the day, though, broadly speaking you can separate the available New York City flexible passes into two distinct camps. To that end, you’ll find the New York CityPASS and New York C3 on one side and the New York Explorer Pass and New York Sightseeing Flex Pass on the other side.
If you want a degree of flexibility in terms of your travel schedule, but yet know you’ll still need to keep things moving along while you’re in New York, you’ll likely want to go with either the New York CityPASS or New York C3. You’ll have nine full days to use either of these attraction passes. These passes are perfect for those visitors comfortable with hitting just a handful of New York’s highlights.
If you’ve got more time to play around with, and you want to experience more than just a few of New York’s biggest landmarks, consider the New York Explorer Pass or the New York Sightseeing Flex Pass. You’ll have 60 days to use either of these flexible attraction passes, and their attraction lists include a nice mixture of New York’s greatest hits and its lesser-known treasures.