New York Things To Do: How to Save on New York Sightseeing - New York CityPass

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:11:01 EST

As a part of TRCB, travel is part of the game for me. Due to a little research, (and luck) we found a system for seeing some of the great attractions, using something called New York CityPass.

CityPass is available in other cities, and we will look at those shortly. For now, let's focus on New York CityPass.

CityPass is a deal. If you are planning to go to the Empire State Building, currently tickets are $28. USD per person. If you pay for a New York CityPass, you drop $79. USD. And you add:

The American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center. Which is $24. USD

Guggenheim Museum @ $18. USD. AND The Museum of Modern Art, worth $20. USD.

See where this is going? Both Tcat and Gudrun would put the Guggenheim and MONA on the top of the Do-It list. Yet we're not done with New York CityPass.

Throw into the mix The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters with $20. USD saved.

Then you have your choice between:
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, worth $30. USD or heading to the statue of Liberty & Ellis Island ($12. USD). If you pick Circle Line, you would have spent $140. For ages 13-17 the math works out to $59. USD for New York CityPass, verses $101. This type of choice thing is common with CityPass and often has discount coupons for the site you didn't select.

For New York Sightseeing, you may want to present the coupon for bloomingdale's at 59th and Lexington Ave. If you spending $20. USD, you get a 15% off coupon and a Cappuccino or Dessert to boot.

Additionally, several Tour operators have discounted tours (including buy one, get one) in the New York CityPass.

At the end of the day, you have several steps in saving time. We got our CityPass on line. At our first stop, we picked up our booklets by handing over our printed receipt. You can purchase online and the dates for redeeming your pre-paid tickets does not begin until you actually take possession of your CityPass.

Once in your hands and used at first New York Attraction, CityPass is valid for 9 days. No matter how you slice it, that covers you for 2 full weekends.

Having grown up on the East Coast, I've been to NYC before. The largest challenge I see in this deal is telling you how you may best allocate your time.

For example, how long will you spend at MONA? If you want to almost run through it, it is still a 1/2 day event. Even if certain artists are not your cup of tea, something in there may really slow you down. Tcat was really sucked into the Industrial Art exhibits.

As we mentioned before, CityPass is valid for 9 days from first use. In New York, CityPass has an additional feature. Everything is pretty easy to get to via its public transportation system known as MTA. While some of the runs on the subway can be crowded, considering the distance to any of the airports, they are fast. The train to Newark airport is run by New Jersey. It is not too difficult to connect between the systems.

Other CityPass cites also appear to be public transportation friendly. I can say for certain that forgoing driving in:
Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, Canada is a viable option.

My last tip on CityPass is to look at the few ads in the booklet. I cannot promise any specific ad will suit your fancy.

As an experienced traveler, I feel a little dumb not knowing about CityPass before. I hope you learn from my mistake and take advantage of this. If you're taking kids, be sure to check for that option in the link I've given you. Enjoy the savings of time and money.

A final thought is CityPass is a Great way to see your own backyard! As I said, no lines, and a great discount! Now where did I put that link so you can squeeze the bucks and still keep your promise to the kids?

TIP: Buy an New York Sightseeing City Pass E-ticket today in a few clicks and you're done -- no shipping costs. Prefer a booklet in your hand? Buy now and you could have it tomorrow.

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New York Things To Do: How to Save on New York Sightseeing - New York CityPass