City Passes: Explore Your Next High-Octane City Like A Local

Jani Davids
6 days ago
8 min read

First-Time Travelers: Your Guide to City Passes

First-time travelers often wonder and is confused about whether they should get a city pass when visiting a particular city.

They obviously know much about the place they want to visit, based on what they might have read or heard about the city. This includes the recommendations about the landmarks they can visit, which in most cases often focuses on the main attractions only, in the particular city.

The first question that any first-time traveler should be asking him/herself then, is what do I want to see and do when I visit a place?

This has to do mainly with your social interests, for example, you might have an interest in exploring nature, want to see all the famous landmarks, learn about the history, art and culture of a destination, discover places that are not as well-known to outsiders, and the list goes on and on.

Establishing your taste for travel therefore has much to do with your interests and character. Combine these two factors and your research will become easier.

Your next question should be “how do I satisfy my particular interests?” This is the reason you want to make that trip, and it’s important to know what will be the best way to satisfy your travel itch.

And this is where the question of City Passes/Cards come into the picture.

So without much and further ado, let’s explore what they are so you can decide early on in your planning whether you want, or need to get one.

What is a City Pass or City Card?

It’s a card with a set fee that offers travelers admission to a collection of popular sites. Some offer you admission to a number of different sights; while others offer you a large list of things that you can do during a given amount of time.

Many cities across the world offer such cards, which usually include unlimited use of public transportation and free access or discounts on attractions and sights. Some cards also have special offers like free guided tours and discounts at restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

Because of the difference in what cards have to offer, it’s important to do your research before purchasing one.

The first thing to consider before purchasing, is your budget and the savings that you can make on each item. The following items need to be considered during your research:

Pass Validity:

It’s important that you check how long the pass is valid for. This depends on how long you’re visiting a city for, and how much time you’d like to spend sightseeing. If your visit to a city is fleeting, a 24-hour pass might be what you should be considering.

However, if your stay in a city is for more than 24 hours, you might consider a 48-hour pass. You can usually buy a city pass for between one to four days, and 10 days max.

Site Visits:

Decide beforehand which sites you’d like to visit. Is it a well-known site or a site that is often overlooked by other tourists? What are the admission fees, and what’s included in your visit? Keep in mind that some sites offer free admission, especially for individuals.

Skip-the-Line:

If you’re visiting well-known sites, you can expect that there’ll be long queues. If you hate standing in long queues, this is a good option to bypass the long wait to get access to a site.

Transportation:

If you’re going to use public transport during your stay, you should consider the distance between your accommodation and access to public transport. Next would be to check distances between attractions and sites – are they close to each other or scattered around the city? How much time will it take to get from one site to the next? Research the cost of tickets for buses, trams and trains to evaluate when you’ll need to make use of them.

What to Look for Before Purchasing a City Pass

* Is it for sale to tourists?

* Does it offer free or discounted admission to major attractions?

* Does it offer free or discounted use of public transportation?

* Does it offer a traveler-friendly duration? These exclude annual passes.

* Is it sold by the local tourism board or consortium, as opposed to an independent for-profit travel agency?

If you’re on a budget, your best option would be not to buy a city pass online, as shipping costs could be quite high. Another factor to take into account, is that you have to collect the city pass in-person. This means it’s better for you to buy your city pass upon arrival in your destination.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should totally ignore buying a city pass online. What you should look for when buying online, is for discounted passes. In this case, a city-run tourist information office should be the place to go; just make sure that you can download a digital version of the pass.

Great City Cards for Your Travels in Your Dream Cities

Have you ever wondered how you could visit as many places as possible during a short stay in a high-octane city? Whether you’re a solo traveler or traveling with a group for a fleeting visit, your best option would be to get a city pass.

But there are so many available to choose from it makes your head spin. To ensure you get access to some of the attractions and activities that you’d like to discover and explore, we’ve selected city cards from which you will derive great value for money.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town City Explorer Pass

This amazing all-day city pass gives you numerous choices to see what you want on your visit to this stunning city. Get to know the city of Cape Town on this extensive hop-on hop-off tour covering four tour routes. The routes include the Red City Tour, Blue Mini Peninsula Tour, Purple Constantia Valley Wine Tour and the Yellow Downtown Tour for you to choose from, and gives you access to three attractions of your choice.

Attractions include:

* A visit to the historic Groot Constantia Wine estate including tasting;

* World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park;

* Imizamo Yethu Township Walking Tour;

* Drumbeat Charters: Seal Colony Cruise;

* Circe Charters: Seal Island Cruise;

* Fish and Chips at Muriel’s in Hout Bay;

* The Cape Wheel: Priority Entrance;

* City Sightseeing: Waterfront Harbor Cruise;

* City Sightseeing: Canal Cruise;

* Mojo Bar

* V&A: Cave Golf at the Scratch Patch.

Cape Town Mega City Pass

This super pass is ideal if you’re staying in Cape Town for up to five days. The pass gives you easy entry to more than 80 of Cape Town’s most awesome experiences. You get unlimited trips on the city’s hop-on hop-off bus to see the highlights of Cape Town. Included in this pass are family-friendly activities and visits to the city’s most prominent museums:

* Table Mountain Cable Car;

* Cape Wheel;

* Wine-tasting;

* Seal, Harbor and Sunset Champagne Cruises;

* Two Oceans Aquarium;

* Wine-tasting.

New York City, USA

The New York Sightseeing Day Pass: Admission to 150+ Attractions

Planning a trip to NYC but haven’t decided on a date yet? Why not purchase a pass that gives you a year to activate it and build your itinerary around it?

This extraordinary pass is perfect if you’re spending up to 10 days in New York City and the combined admission fees to over 100 NYC attractions allows you to save up to 50%. You get unlimited access to hop-on hop-off buses for the duration of your pass and it can be activated within a one-year period after purchase. This gives you an opportunity to include the attractions mentioned in the pass in your itinerary well in advance.

London, UK

London City Card

Get an amazing 10% discount and get access to London’s most iconic landmarks and other attractions during your trip on a hop-on hop-off Thames cruise or bus panoramic tour. Here are some of the places that you’ll discover with this card and not to mention the fact that you can use your code up to five times:

* Westminster Abbey;

* Buckingham Palace;

* London Tower and access to the Crown Jewels;

* London Eye;

* Kew Gardens;

* Kensington Palace;

* London Transport Museum … and more.

Barcelona, Spain

The Barcelona Pass + Sagrada Familia Towers

With this pass you get to visit the most outstanding sights in Barcelona, explore the city on the hop-on hop-off Barcelona Turistic Bus, as well as take advantage of an awesome 10% discount to see other attractions in Barcelona.

The handy all-in-one pass allows you to not only admire the stunning architecture of the Sagrada Familia Church and Towers and Park Güell, but also gives you exclusive access to them. You also get a variety of city tour options to immerse yourself in the local and extraordinary Catalan culture. The hop-on hop-off bus gives you 24 or 48 hours access to three routes covering the highlights, romantic spots, and stretches of beach if you purchase it for your summer vacation.

Lisbon, Portugal

The Lisbon Pass

This pass is for the history buff who always wanted to learn more about the amazing Portuguese voyages of discovery to the New World and other historical sites of importance. Apart from having access to 24 or 48 hours on the hop-on hop-off Yellow Bus Lisbon, there is a fantastic 10% discount for you to discover other attractions in Lisbon that you always wanted to experience.

You will visit and admire the imposing architecture of the Belém Tower and magnificent Jerónimos Monastery. The handy audio city guide allows you to hit the streets to experience the warm Portuguese culture and discover places that you might not have known about.

Your Visit to Other Cities Across the Globe

A Variety of Passes at Your Fingertips

Not planning to visit any of the destinations we’ve selected but will need a city card for your journey elsewhere? No problem – we’ve got you covered.

Best Online Platform to Get City Cards

Go to this platform if you would prefer to book yours online:

Tiqets Website

https://www.tiqets.com/en/

Tiqets is an online booking platform (OTA) which partners with museums and attractions worldwide.

Through their partnerships, they are able to offer a wide variety of activities to suit every travelers' need. They are directly connected to venues, professional guides, attractions and landmarks to enhance traveler experiences.

I hope that the info will help you to get the city pass that’s best suited to your journeys.

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