New York Explorer Pass

If you're planning a trip to New York, the New York Explorer Pass is an option you should definitely consider to save a lot on your visit so you can do more. Read on and I'll tell you why!

Tourist card

Go City: New York City Explorer Pass - Choose 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 attractions

Choose from more than 100 activities and attractions

If you are going to be in New York for several weeks, this pass allows you to choose how many attractions you want to visit and gives you the opportunity to do so for 30 days. It's the longest duration pass in the city.

From £68 at Hellotickets

The New York Explorer Pass can be purchased from £68, although it's a pass that you pay according to the number of attractions you want to visit. It's perfect for personalising your New York experience, as you can choose 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 attractions and pay according to the number of attractions you want to visit. From the moment you activate the pass, you have a full month to visit the attractions, an advantage over other passes that are usually valid for less time.

You can choose to receive it by email or directly to your smartphone (the most convenient way), have it delivered to your home, or pick it up at one of the distribution points around New York. Plus, with your New York Explorer Pass you'll receive a New York guidebook that will show you the most efficient way to visit the attractions you've selected.

Why I like this option: Besides allowing you to pay only for the number of attractions you want to visit, it gives you up to 30 days to do so, which makes it the perfect pass if you're going on a long trip.

A tip: If you want to get the most out of it, I recommend choosing the most expensive attractions to maximise your savings. Make a list of the places you want to visit and compare whether it's better to buy tickets separately.

The New York Explorer Pass is a great way to save on New York's top attractions, as it allows you to cut costs by seeing a range of attractions at a fixed price, as well as offering many other benefits. For example, a ticket to the Empire State Building costs from £37, while a bike tour of Central Park costs £37

Visiting both attractions, the total cost would be €88. However, an Explorer Pass for 2 attractions costs around €80. Plus, you don't have to choose at the time of purchase, tickets are skip-the-line, it includes discounts in shops, restaurants and shows, and you'll get a New York travel guide.

• For a family of four, the savings are even greater. If you're going to visit the Empire State Building, the American Museum of Natural History, which is priced at £25, and take a bike tour of Central Park With a 3 attraction family Explorer Pass the cost is around €285, while the sum of the individual tickets is considerably higher.
• For couples and individual travellers, the pass also offers financial savings. For example, a couple visiting the Top of the Rock, which costs £44, to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which is priced at £25, will spend €142; while a 2-attraction Explorer Pass for two people costs approximately €135.

The New York Explorer Pass is perfect for a comprehensive tour of New York as it allows you to save as much as possible on the most expensive attractions so you can do the rest on your own. So, I've done the maths for you and found the two best combinations of attractions for the New York Explorer Pass to make it as cost-effective as possible. As a general rule of thumb, if you can get the pass for 25 euros per ticket, you're on the right track.

The best combination if you want 3 activities

The best combination if you want 7 New York Explorer Pass activities

• Classic Sightseeing Bus: The Big Bus Classic Hop On Hop Off bus tour lasts one day and is a perfect way to explore the whole of Manhattan. With stops from Battery Park (south of the island) to Central Park, you can hop on the bus and use it as a form of transport to visit the main sights of New York, or hop on at the end of your trip to see it all one last time.
• Night Sightseeing Bus: Exploring the City That Never Sleeps at night is an experience that, as you can imagine, is not to be missed. What makes this night bus tour of Manhattan so special is that you'll be able to drive through Times Square when all the screens are lit up, and you'll get to see the Empire State Building and One World Observatory illuminated.
• Top of the Rock: The Top of the Rock has for me the best views of New York: not only will you see Manhattan's most famous skyscrapers, but you'll have a wonderful panoramic view of Central Park guarded by the new skyscrapers being built in the Big Apple. Tickets for Tof of the Rock cost €35 for adults and €30 for children. In this case, you can use your pass to get an online ticket with a set timetable, or present your pass at the ticket office to validate your ticket.
• Empire State Building: This is one of the icons of the New York skyline and a true time capsule, with its impressive art deco interior and museum dedicated to the building's construction. However, the main reason all visitors go is for the views from its observatory, which are undoubtedly one of the most impressive ways to see the city. With the pass, you'll skip the line to buy tickets for the Empire State Building and just go to the security checkpoint, where you can show your pass and they'll let you in.
• NYC TV & Movie Bus Tour: It's no wonder that New York has been the setting for a million movies and series, and on this tour you'll visit over 60 locations that have been used as sets for them. To name a few, you'll see the flat from 'Friends', Washington Square Park (familiar if you're a fan of 'Girls'), the hotels from 'Home Alone 2' and 'Ocean's 8', and filming locations from 'Avengers: Endgame', 'Mr. Robot', and 'Modern Family'.
• Luna Park 24 Ride Pass: Luna Park is a waterfront amusement park located on Coney Island, south of Brooklyn, with a somewhat decadent, vintage, fairground style. With this pass, you can access 24 different rides such as a roller coaster or a merry-go-round. In my opinion, the rides are not impressive at all, so visiting Luna Park is more worthwhile for its retro atmosphere.
• Clipper City Sailing Cruise: This is a cruise around Manhattan... but on a sailboat! It's a great way to do an activity that I recommend you take advantage of your New York Explorer Pass. Don't be fooled by how tacky it may seem to ride a sailboat when you could do a normal cruise, because it has a huge advantage: you'll enjoy a much quieter, uncrowded experience, avoiding most tourists.
• Ripley's Believe it or Not: This famous museum with locations all over the world is a must-see if you're visiting New York with kids. You'll find rare artefacts and devices, and curiosities, as well as interactive experiences such as a medieval torture chamber and a black hole simulation.

When booking the New York Explorer Pass you should be aware that some popular attractions, such as the Edge and One World Observatory, require advance reservations to guarantee access at the desired date and time. For this purpose, New York Explorer Pass has a mobile app to manage reservations easily and conveniently.

• Download the Go City app: Available for iOS and Android devices.
• Registration and pass linking: Once the app is installed, register with your details and link your Explorer Pass.
• Attraction selection: Within the app, browse through the list of available attractions and you will see that those that require pre-booking will be indicated. For example, when you select Edge, the app will display the available dates and times.
• Book tickets: Choose the date, time and confirm the booking. You will receive a digital confirmation that will be saved in the "My Bookings" section of the app.

Regarding the cancellation and change policy, if you need to change the date or time of a booking, changes are allowed for most attractions as long as they are made at least 24 hours in advance. Cancellations can be made from the "My Bookings" section, with no penalty in most cases if made at least 24 hours in advance.

After all this information, you're bound to be a little bewildered. Choosing the perfect sightseeing pass for your trip to New York isn't easy, but here's what you need to consider in a nutshell. The New York Explorer Pass is for you if:

The Explorer Kids Pass

Children between the ages of 3 and 12 have their own Explorer Pass at a reduced price. Normally the price difference is between 20 and 50 euros less than the adult pass.

You may already know that New York is one of the most popular cities in the world for tourists, and as such, there are many different types of passes available to suit all tastes. If you prefer to have unlimited access to as many attractions as possible (an open bar of attractions), I recommend the New York Pass (you can read my handy guide to the card here: New York Pass).

The New York Pass is booked (and paid for) based on the number of days you want to use it and as long as the card is active, you can visit as many attractions as you want from the list of 100 available attractions.

The good thing about the New York Explorer Pass, as you already know, is that it is valid for 30 days from its first use, so if you are going on a long trip to New York you can take it easy... as long as you don't choose 10 attractions and you are going to be in the city for 3 days, then you'll have to run!

Finally, I would like to remind you of my most important recommendation: enjoy your visit to New York! Although the New York Explorer Pass requires you to visit as many attractions as possible to maximise your savings, remember to leave a little time each day of your trip to wander the streets of the Big Apple and see what you discover on your own.

In case the New York Explorer Pass doesn't quite convince you, there are other passes for New York and one may be a better fit for the trip you are planning. To make it easier for you to choose, here are the handy guides I've written about the other passes available and a compilation comparison of them all:

On your trip to New York, you need to consider which New York City Sightseeing Card to book. To do this, take into account the length of your stay, the number and type of attractions you want to visit and, of course, the type of traveller you are, depending on the pace you set. This will allow for your time and budget.

• New York Explorer Pass (Go City): Offers the possibility of selecting between 2 and 10 attractions from a list of more than 80 options, valid for 30 days from the first activation. Ideal for those who want a slower pace and a personalised selection of activities that don't have to be the most visited.
• New York CityPASS: Includes access to 5 major attractions, of which 2 are fixed (Empire State Building and American Museum of Natural History) and the other 3 can be chosen from 6 options. It is valid for 9 consecutive days and is perfect for those who want to visit New York's most iconic attractions.
• New York Pass: Offers unlimited access to over a hundred attractions for a set number of days (1 to 10 days), always consecutive. Ideal for those who want to make the most of their stay.
• Sightseeing Pass: Available by number of days (Day Pass) or by number of attractions (Flex Pass). It includes more than a hundred attractions and tours. Ideal for short stays and intensive itineraries.