Traveling on a budget

Vacations are a time to splurge and spend our hard-earned money on a good time, but we still want to stay within a reasonable budget. Certain destinations are known for being pricey. One particular destination in the U.S. is New York City. However, tourist sites like to advertise different ways to save money on some of the museums, monuments, and tours that charge admission to visit. One such package is the NYC Explorer Pass.

I recently used this pass during my week long trip to New York (see also my post about my trip: Kermit’s Adventures in New York City). Below, I list the pros, cons, and tips for using the NYC Explorer Pass.

About the NYC Explorer pass

The NYC Explorer Pass is a website that offers package deals on over 90 New York City attractions ranging from 3-10 attractions for a set price. The prices of these packages constantly fluctuate.

When I first started researching the pass in April 2019, the cheapest package started at $89. As of August 2019, the three attraction pass started at $94.

However, you’re likely to see discounts offered no matter when you book the pass. So, make sure you look into these offers before you buy.  Also, look for other websites that offer discounts on the pass.

The company that I work gives me access to special travel and entertainment discounts through a website called Working Advantage. I was able to get a $35 discount on each pass that I purchased.

Of course, they tack on taxes and fees. So, expect to pay close to the actual price of the pass, even with a work discount.

The pass can be printed out or downloaded to your phone. The QR code is loaded with the number of attractions that you have chosen. You don’t have to choose your attractions ahead of time. So, if you change your mind about a going to a specific museum or a building happens to be closed on the day you plan to go, you just change your plans.

The pass is good for one year from the date purchased, and you have 30 days from the day of your first use to use up all of the credits on the pass. So, you can purchase them way in advance of your trip and have it ready to go by the time you get there.

Before you buy

The first step you should take before buying your pass is to go through the list of attractions and make a list of all of the places you’d like to visit. Be aware of how much time you plan to spend in the city. You’re not going to want to buy a 10 attraction pass if you’re only staying the weekend.

We went through the list online with the intention to write down any and all attractions that interested us and planned to narrow it down to no more than 10. However, we only came up with seven attractions that we really wanted to visit that were included on the list. So, we ended up buying the seven attraction pass.

Admission fees and hours of operation

My sister and I were staying a week. So, we had the time to visit 10 attractions, but there were places that we wanted to visit that weren’t on the list.

This included free places like Coney Island and the Brooklyn Bridge. Then there were paid attractions such as The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens which doesn’t accept the NYC Explorer pass. I suggest you look up the fees for every place you want to visit, whether they’re part of the NYC Explorer pass or not.

Write down:

• Their admission fees
• Hours of operation
• Any scheduled closings, including particular museum installations that you may want to see but may not be open during the time you are going or might be closed on certain days of your trip

This is when it pays to plan ahead. You’re going to want to know the best times to go to the attractions that you plan to pay for with your NYC Explorer pass. Make those your priority. At least decide which day you’re going to go to each attraction on your list.

 Also, look up if any of the museums on your list are free on particular days when you will be in town. See if you can arrange to go to those attractions on that day and in between those times so that you don’t have to use your pass on that particular attraction.

There’s no need to book any attractions ahead of time, besides the walking tours (see below). Every attraction is going to get busy. Start early with any skyscrapers or ferry tours that you want to visit, and visit the museums and walking tours later in the day. You’ll save time waiting in line.

The paper vs. mobile pass

Once you pay for your pass, you receive an email with two links: one for the printable pass and one for the mobile. The printable pass comes as a PDF and includes the full printable list of attractions available along with descriptions of what they offer. A great feature is if you lose the pass, you can always reprint it or provide your confirmation number at the attraction.

The pass includes just one QR code, but it can be scanned multiple times depending on how many attractions are loaded onto it. I saw some pass users just holding out their phones with the code on it, and employees would easily scan it. The main reason why we opted for the paper pass was because we didn’t trust our old phones more than we trusted our ability to hold on to that piece of paper and pull it out when needed.

• 9/11 Memorial and Museum
• Empire State Building
• Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
• Greenwich Village Walking Tour
• The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
• The Met
• The Museum of Modern Art

As you can see, the majority of these were museums. The average museum admission is $15. Incidentally, the Greenwich Village Walking Tour was the most expensive attraction at $38. We didn’t go into any buildings or get any food or souvenirs with this price besides a digital photo of our group that was emailed to us after the tour. However, you do get a tour guide who keeps you from getting lost, points out major landmarks, and recites fun facts along the way.

The Greenwich Village tour was just one of many on the list. So, if you’d rather have a tour guide take you through Central Park or The Statue of Liberty, you can opt for those tours instead. It depends on how much walking you want to do and how much of your day you want to spend at a particular place.

Some attractions on the list are very similar, such as admission to the Empire State Building versus Top of the Rock. Our research told us to do one or the other. So, we went for the Empire State Building.

This being said, make sure you review your picks before you decide on a pass. If you see too many of one type of attraction on your list (such as five museums on your five attraction pass), you might want to consider mixing it up a bit.

Also, check the individual admission prices of each attraction and compare it to what you plan to pay for the pass. Make sure you’re getting the best value for the number of attractions you purchase.

We ended up paying about $20 per attraction. In some cases, we paid more than the general admission, but we made up for it with the savings on other attractions. Still, if you’re considering purchasing more attractions than you originally anticipated, consider if it’s worth it to save a few dollars versus just paying the general admission.

A few other tips

Here are some other tips that might not be clear or addressed at all on the NYC Explorer Pass website:

• The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour fee is just for the ferry ride to get to the islands. The attractions themselves are free unless you want to go inside the statue. Then, there are two different prices for the pedestal and crown admissions.

If you decide that you want to go inside The Statue of Liberty, don’t use the NYC Explorer Pass for this attraction. Pay for it separately, and book your tour way in advance. The crown tickets especially sell out fast.

• If you’re going to the Empire State Building, go early! We arrived about a half hour after it opened, and there were no lines. We were ushered right to the elevators and had clear views on the observation decks. The building stays open until 2am. So, the lines will start to build up as the day goes on. On a clear, sunny day like the one we had, the view is just as awesome at 9am as it would be at any other time. On top of that, the atmosphere is a lot more mellow.

• The Met pass is good for three days. We didn’t necessarily need three days to see it all. But if you do, make that one of the first places you visit on your trip. That way, you’ll have time to go back if you need to.

• Madame Tussaud’s Museum has three different admissions. The ticket scanner at the front desk asked us if we just wanted general admission. I said “yes,” and that did not grant us access to the 3D show or the Mission: Undead Experience that was playing at the time. So, our tickets were denied at these two attractions. If you want to go to these extra experiences, make sure you ask at the front desk if they can give you these tickets. However, you may have to shell out a few extra dollars.

Honestly, though, I would have gone for the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum instead. We had already been to the one in Atlantic City. So, we went to the wax museum instead, but there wasn’t much to it.

You’re also going to be bombarded with salespeople trying to sell you a pass to the wax museum if you go anywhere within a one mile radius of Times Square. So, be prepared to ignore them at every crosswalk.

• The Walking Tour should be booked in advance. We booked ours about six weeks in advance. The booking is just to hold your place. You just indicate that you plan to use your pass, and the tour guide will use their phone to scan your ticket when you get to the meeting spot.
• You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance without getting charged. The meeting place is usually a street corner or in front of a building.
• The tour guide will be holding a little orange flag so that you know it’s them. They’ll also have your name on a list that they will check off as you arrive.

• The walking tour guides are usually young actors who take these jobs to pay the bills. They don’t work for tips, and they probably won’t ask for them (ours didn’t), but they will accept them. So, bring a few bucks to give them after the tour.

• In general, having the pass gets you through the lines easier. In some cases, you get to skip the first part of a line where other tourists are buying their tickets. They also scan really fast. No one has to make change or mess with a payment pad. The tickets and admission stickers print out right away. Then you’re off to go see the sights.

Have you ever used the NYC Explorer Pass while visiting New York City? Are you planning to visit NYC soon? Leave your answers in the comments below!

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