City attraction passes, you gotta love them for their money-saving potential!
And if you’re visiting San Diego, you are in a great spot to save tons of money on attractions because you actually have a choice between multiple attraction passes such as Go City and CityPASS®.
And yes, these passes include all of San Diego’s heavy-hitter attractions like SeaWorld San Diego, LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo, USS Midway Museum, and more!
Whenever I’m in a new destination and in the mood to dabble in a few tourist attractions in a city, my go-to is to find admission tickets at a discounted price. And this is where attraction passes come in handy!
These passes can be a great way to see a lot more of a city for a lot less money, but how do you choose which brand of attraction pass is right for you? And more importantly, are they worth the money?
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at two city attraction passes that are available in San Diego — the Go City and CityPASS® — and dive into what they offer, how they’re similar and how they differ, so you can ultimately decide which one will be the best choice for you.
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Table of Contents
What Is A City Attraction Pass?
A city attraction pass is a ticket or pass that provides access to a selection of popular tourist attractions in a particular city. These passes often offer a discounted rate for the included attractions, making them a cost-effective option for travelers who plan to visit multiple attractions during their trip.
City attraction passes can be purchased for a set number of days, and typically include a variety of activities such as museum visits, sightseeing tours, and theme park tickets. Some even come with free transportation around a city, which is great if you plan to get around via public transportation rather than on foot or by rental car.
The two attraction passes that we’ll be looking at in detail for San Diego are Go City and CityPASS®.
What Is The San Diego CityPASS®?
CityPASS® is a popular city attraction pass that is available in a number of cities in the United States and Canada. With a CityPASS, you get access to a selection of popular tourist attractions for just one price.
CityPASS tickets are valid for a set number of days and typically include access to a variety of museums, sightseeing tours, and theme parks.
After you purchase your CityPASS online, you’ll receive an email afterward with an e-ticket for each individual in your party.
Depending on the attraction, you will either present your CityPASS tickets (electronically or printed), your attraction reservation, or both. If the attraction does not require advance reservations, then you’ll just need to show your CityPASS tickets–easy peasy!
San Diego CityPASS
At the time of writing, the San Diego CityPASS (original version) offers admission to 4-5 total attractions of your choosing.
You get admission to one of these 2 activities, or both if you want:
- SeaWorld® San Diego
- LEGOLAND® California Resort
Plus your choice of 3 of the below:
- San Diego Zoo -OR- Safari Park (You get to choose one)
- USS Midway Museum
- City Cruises
- Old Town Trolley Tours
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Maritime Museum of San Diego
Things To Know About The CityPASS
- Cost: Adult (12+) starting at $177.00 | Child (4-11) starting at $152.00
- The final price will depend on if you choose a pass that includes SeaWorld, LEGOLAND, or both.
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): 43%
- Validity period: 9 consecutive days starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. You have one year from the date of purchase to start using your tickets.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
What Is The Go City San Diego Pass?
Go City is a digital attraction pass that’s available in a variety of popular cities around the world, including San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Amsterdam, Seoul, London, Paris, Sydney and a bunch of other cities.
The Go City Pass provides easy access and admission to a city’s most popular museums and excursions. With certain excursions, you’re even able to skip the line, saving you both money and time.
In some cities like San Diego, Go City offers two versions of their passes– the All-Inclusive Pass and the Explorer Pass. Let’s compare the two.
Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass
The Go City All-Inclusive Pass is really great for travelers who want to see as much as possible while they’re in a destination.
With the Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass, you can choose between a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7-day pass that will give you free admission to 50+ museums and attractions throughout the city. Here’s a sample of what the pass offers:
- SeaWorld® San Diego
- LEGOLAND® California
- San Diego Zoo
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park
- USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass
- San Diego Speed Boat Adventures
- San Diego Natural History Museum
- The Fleet Science Center with IMAX
- San Diego Air and Space Museum
- Gaslamp Ghost Walking Tour
- Haunted Old Town Walking History + Paranormal Investigation
- Historical Old Town Walking Tour
- One Hour San Diego Harbor Cruise by City Cruises
- Whale Watching by City Cruises
- Maritime Museum of San Diego
- Petco Park Tours – Home of the San Diego Padres
- Plunge San Diego
- San Diego Hiking Tour
- San Diego Pier Fishing
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Kayak Rental
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Stand-Up Paddle Board Rental
- Museum of Us
- Mingei International Museum
- Japanese Friendship Garden
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – La Jolla
- San Diego Automotive Museum
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Gaslamp and Balboa Park Bike Rental with Unlimited Biking
- Knott’s Berry Farm
- Knott’s Soak City Water Park
- Coronado – 90-Minute Tandem Kayak Rental
- Coronado – Stand Up Paddle Board Rental
- … and MORE!
You can check out the full list of included attractions here.
Things To Know About Go City All-Inclusive Pass:
- Cost:
- Adult (12+) ranges from $144 for 1-day pass to $439 for 7-day pass
- Child (3-12) $129 for 1-day pass to $409 for 7-day pass
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): ~43%
- Validity period: for the duration of your pass, starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. Non-activated Explorer and All-Inclusive passes are valid for two years from the date of purchase.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
Go City San Diego Explorer Pass
If you don’t plan on visiting a ton of different attractions and would like to handpick your activities, Go City also has an Explorer Pass. With the Explorer Pass, you’ll pay one flat fee for a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7-choice pass.
You’ll then have 60 days to use the Explorer Pass on whichever attractions you’d like. There is also no need to pick attractions ahead of time, so you’ll have the flexibility to choose attractions as you go.
A lot of the same attractions included with the All-Inclusive pass are available, but some do differ. You can check out the full list of included attractions here.
Things To Know About The Go City Explorer Pass:
- Cost:
- Adult (12+) ranges from $124 for a 2-choice pass to $224 for 7-choice pass
- Child (3-12) $99 for 2-choice pass to $174 for 7-choice pass
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): ~45%
- Validity period: for the duration of your pass, starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. Non-activated Explorer and All-Inclusive passes are valid for two years from the date of purchase.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
👉 Pro Tip: Looking to save even more money with the Go City pass? Buy a pass with more days or more choices. As you can see from the prices above, the Go City passes actually get cheaper from a cost-per-day perspective if you opt for more days or more choices.
For example, a 2-choice Explorer pass costs $124 for the 2 activities, which means each activity effectively costs $62 each. But, if you were to buy the 7-choice activity pass for $219, the cost per activity drops to $32 each. Big price drop.
DEAL ALERT: For a limited time, use the above link + the promo code AFFGOALL for an additional 5% off your Go City pass. This code is valid for any Go City pass in any destination!
Main Differences Between CityPASS and Go City
Available Cities
In general, Go City is available in a wider range of cities around the world, while CityPASS is currently only available in cities in the United States and Canada. Both are available in San Diego.
Attractions Included
Both Go City and CityPASS offer access to a selection of popular tourist attractions in each city, but the specific attractions included in each pass may vary. In this case, you’ll find more San Diego attractions on the Go City Pass.
Here’s what the two passes have in common:
- SeaWorld® San Diego
- LEGOLAND® California Resort
- San Diego Zoo / San Diego Zoo Safari Park (With the CityPASS and Go City Explorer, you get to choose one. But with the Go City All-Inclusive pass, you get to visit BOTH)
- USS Midway Museum
- City Cruises
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Maritime Museum of San Diego
- Hop-on Hop-off San Diego Trolley by Old Town Trolley Tours
Here’s what Go City has that CityPASS does not have:
- Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass
- San Diego Speed Boat Adventures
- San Diego Natural History Museum
- The Fleet Science Center with IMAX
- San Diego Air and Space Museum
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Gaslamp and Balboa Park Bike Rental with Unlimited Biking
- Knott’s Berry Farm
- Knott’s Soak City Water Park
- Coronado – 90-Minute Tandem Kayak Rental
- Whale Watching by City Cruises
- Petco Park Tours – Home of the San Diego Padres
- Plunge San Diego
- San Diego Hiking Tour
- San Diego Pier Fishing
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Kayak Rental
- Gaslamp Ghost Walking Tour
- Historical Old Town Walking Tour
- … and more that are not listed here!
Pricing
Let’s look at how much each activity would cost if we were to do 5 activities with each of the passes. For this exercise, we’ll compare the CityPASS vs the Go City Explorer 5-choice pass.
Doing an apples-to-apples comparison (and assuming that you want to do both SeaWorld and LEGOLAND), the cost-per-activity price for CityPASS is $48.80 ($244/5 total activities).
The cost-per-activity price for The Go City Explorer 5-choice pass is $39.80 ($199/5 total activities).
As you can see, the Go City Explorer pass would save you more money than CityPASS would. You’d also have way more excursion/tour options with Go City. You could also get the price-per-activity down even more by:
- buying a 7-choice pass to get an even steeper discount on activities.
- getting an All-Inclusive Pass for a few days and seeing an unlimited number of attractions per day.
CityPASS vs Go City: Which Is Better?
Ultimately, the decision between Go City and CityPASS will depend on your specific travel plans and what you like to do within San Diego.
If you’re planning a trip to a city that is only available with ONE pass, then the decision is more straightforward–you only have one option.
However, in cities like San Diego, San Francisco, and Chicago, you have multiple attraction pass options available.
For San Diego specifically, I personally think the Go City San Diego passes provide access to a lot more choice of attractions than the CityPASS does.
They even offer activities in nearby cities like Buena Park (Knott’s Berry Farm) and Newport Beach — which is great if you’re road-tripping through Southern California!
Here’s a quick list of just SOME of the activities you would have access to that CityPASS doesn’t offer:
- Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass
- San Diego Speed Boat Adventures – I highly recommend it, this is SO fun!
- San Diego Natural History Museum
- The Fleet Science Center with IMAX
- San Diego Air and Space Museum
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Knott’s Berry Farm
- Knott’s Soak City Water Park
- Coronado – 90-Minute Tandem Kayak Rental
- Whale Watching by City Cruises
- Plunge San Diego
- Whale Watch & Dolphin Tour – Beautiful Newport Beach
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Kayak Rental
- … and more that are not listed here!
Plus, you’ll find that Go City passes are usually on sale on their site OR they offer discount codes that lower the price even more. (We have a discount code for you below!)
With all that in mind, my vote for “best” attraction pass in San Diego goes to Go City.
This is the option I would go with because pretty much everything offered on the CityPASS is included on Go City, AND you have the option to partake in a ton of other activities via the Go City passes.
Neither of the passes offers free public transit or cable car rides, so neither has a competitive edge on this front.
Having said that, Go City does offer a 2-Day Hop-on Hop-off San Diego Trolley by Old Town Trolley Tours as an activity on both the All-Inclusive Pass and the Explorer Pass, which will give you free transportation for at least two days!
CityPASS offers just 1 day of Hop-on Hop-off access. Therefore, the bonus point for transportation goes to Go City!
So, if Go City sounds like your jam, the next step is to determine which Go City ticket option is better for you–All Inclusive or Explorer?
If you have just a few days to travel and your main objective of visiting San Diego is to see as many museums and attractions as possible, then you’ll probably want to go with the All-Inclusive option. You can visit as many attractions as you want during the consecutive days your pass is active.
However, if you’re more selective about what attractions you plan on visiting OR you like taking it slow and just want to do 1-2 activities per day, then the Explorer Pass can be better for you. Because you can redeem your choices over the course of 60 days, you can really take your sweet time seeing and doing things!
DEAL ALERT: For a limited time, use the above link + the promo code AFFGOALL for an additional 5% off your Go City pass. This code is valid for any Go City pass in any destination!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is San Diego CityPASS worth it?
The San Diego CityPASS is only worth it if you are truly interested in doing all 5 of the included activities listed in the qualified attractions list.
If you are not interested or will not be able to make it to all five of the activities, then you might not get the full value of the pass, in which case it may make more sense to purchase individual tickets for the attractions you do plan on visiting.
What does the San Diego CityPASS include?
The San Diego CityPASS offers admission to 5 total attractions of your choosing. This is the breakdown:
You get admission to one of these 2 activities, or both if you want:
- SeaWorld® San Diego
- LEGOLAND® California Resort
Plus your choice of 3 of the below:
- San Diego Zoo -OR- Safari Park (You get to choose one)
- USS Midway Museum
- City Cruises
- Old Town Trolley Tours
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Maritime Museum of San Diego
Is the Go City San Diego Pass worth it?
For me, 99% of the time I contemplate using Go City, it’s worth the money! That means 99% of the time, I’m saving both time and money from using Go City instead of buying tickets at the box offices.
I love using Go City passes whenever I’m in a new destination chock-full of interesting museums, activities, and local tours I want to partake in.
Having said that, I don’t use Go City everywhere I go. I only use it in destinations where the attractions actually interest me. (Hint hint: not art museums). For reference, I’ve used Go City in Chicago, Oahu, and Cancun!
Ultimately, everyone’s travel style is different. If you’re like me and are not one who values art museums or spending $30+ on visits to observation decks, then you’ll need to see what else on the attraction list does interest you.
Once you have a list of all the paid attractions you’d like to do, I would recommend you do the math between the regular price of the attractions you want to visit and the total cost of the pass.
From there, you can factually determine whether or not the pass will save you money or not!
What does the Go City San Diego Pass include?
Depending on whether you get the All-Inclusive Pass or the Explorer Pass, you can pick between 50+ museums and attractions throughout San Diego.
The pass includes admission to the following heavy-hitter/iconic attractions:
- SeaWorld® San Diego
- LEGOLAND® California
- San Diego Zoo
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park
- USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Belmont Park Ride & Play Pass
- San Diego Speed Boat Adventures
- San Diego Natural History Museum
- One Hour San Diego Harbor Cruise by City Cruises
- Whale Watching by City Cruises
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Kayak Rental
- La Jolla – 90-Minute Stand-Up Paddle Board Rental
- Museum of Us
- Knott’s Berry Farm
- Knott’s Soak City Water Park
- Coronado – 90-Minute Tandem Kayak Rental
- Coronado – Stand Up Paddle Board Rental
- and more!
Which is better: Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass or Explorer Pass?
The one that’s “better” really depends on how you like to spend your time when traveling. Are you someone who wants to see it ALL when you’re in a big city or someone who doesn’t mind taking it slow?
Want to get all the sightseeing out of the way during the first few days of your trip? Get the Go City All-Inclusive Pass.
Want to take it slow and speckle in an activity or two while still leaving room to explore coffee shops, restaurants, bars, parks, and gift shops? Go for the Go City Explorer Pass.
I’m personally someone who’s always in the mindset that I’ll be back to a destination more than once at some point in my life.
This allows me to travel slower with less “FOMO” so I can actually relax while on vacation as opposed to cramming in all the sites/activities. I find that I’m just way less exhausted at the end of the day this way!
I like carving out a chunk of my day to sit and eat, walk through parks, and peruse local shops and businesses — with a maximum of 1 paid excursion per day.
This is why I tend to favor the Go City Explorer Pass over the All-Inclusive one. It’s just more my style!
But, again, that’s just me! You may not share the same feelings towards traveling as I do! Either way, if you love doing more while spending less money, I think either Go City pass option will be one of the best investments for your trip!
Looking for more San Diego travel tips? You may also like:
10 Best San Diego Neighborhoods To Visit
27 Exciting Things To Do In Downtown San Diego, CA
55 Fun-Filled Things To Do In San Diego, CA
La Jolla Sea Caves: How To Kayak San Diego’s Famous Caves
