Monique West Philadelphia has so many attractions, museums, and historical sites to visit. We wanted to visit as many as possible during our 3-day trip to Philadelphia but needed to stay within a certain budget so we purchased a 3-day all-inclusive Philadelphia Go City pass.
Our all-inclusive 3-day Philadelphia Go City Pass was worth every penny. It provided us with access to over 30 attractions. We paid $302 for our family of 4. If we had paid for our attractions separately, it would have cost us over $543. That’s a savings of over $240!
Keep reading to learn more about the different Philadelphia Go City passes, whether they are the right choice for your family, and where to find the best prices.
How the Philadelphia Go City Pass Works
There are two different types of Philadelphia Go City Passes: the Explorer Pass and the All-inclusive pass.
The Explorer Pass
The Go City Explorer pass is based on the number of attractions you plan to visit. You can purchase a 3, 4, 5, or 7 attraction pass. The cost is based on the number of attractions you choose and you can choose from any of the attractions on the list of included attractions. The Explorer Pass is good if you live in the area or are going to be in the area for a while and want to visit attractions over an extended period of time. The Explorer Pass is valid for 60 days.
The All-inclusive Pass
The all-inclusive pass is based on the number of days you plan to visit. You can choose between 1, 2, 3, and 5 days and the price depends on the number of days you choose. With this pass, you can see as many of the included attractions as you are able to fit into the number of days you choose. The pass expires at the end of the time frame you chose.
Attractions Included with the Philadelphia Go City Pass
The Philadelphia Go City Pass includes 30 of Philadelphia’s most popular attractions. Below are some of the best attractions if you’re traveling with kids:
- Franklin Institute Science Museum
- Adventure Aquarium
- Philadelphia Zoo
- Legoland Discovery Center Philadelphia
- Academy of Natural Science
For a full-list of attractions, click here.
How to Decide Which Go City Pass is Right for you
It can be easy to overestimate what you can accomplish in a day, especially when traveling with kids. Our post, How to Spend 3 Days in Philadelphia with Kids, will show you just how much we were able to accomplish during our trip and explain some of the challenges we encountered. This post will help you understand what the limits may be for your family and how much you may be able to accomplish in a day. This in turn will help you figure out how many days you need to see the attractions you want to see and which pass will be best for your family.
We planned a long weekend for our trip to Philadelphia, from Thursday morning to Sunday morning. Since we planned to head home Sunday morning, and wanted to see as much as possible in that time, we chose a 3-day all-inclusive Philadelphia Go City Pass.
How We Used Our 3-day All-inclusive Philadelphia Go City Pass
At the time of our trip, a 3-day pass was $91 for adults (13+) and $60 per child (ages 3-12). The total cost for Go City Passes for our family of 4 was $302.
Day 1
We arrived early enough on Thursday (day 1 of our pass) for the opening of the Adventure Aquarium. General Admission depends on the day of your visit. For the most accurate pricing, visit the Aquarium’s website HERE. At the time of our visit, general admission for adults (13+) was $43.99, seniors (65+) cost $41.99, and children (2-12) cost $33.99. The total cost for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children) would cost $155.96 (tax not included).
After the Aquarium and checking into our hotel, we went to the Legoland Discovery Center. At the time of our visit, general admission for adults and children (2 and under are free) cost $27.99. The total cost for a family of 4 would cost $111.96 (tax not included). For the most accurate pricing, visit Legoland Discovery Center’s website HERE.
At the end of Day 1, our total cost for the two attractions without Go City Pass would have cost $267.92 (tax not included).
Day 2
We began Day 2 with a tour on the Big Bus, a double-decker hop-on hop-off bus. At the time of our visit, adults (13+) cost $36, and children ages (4-12) cost $17. Our youngest is 3 so for our family of 4, it would have cost $89 (tax not included). Visit the Big Bus website HERE for the most accurate prices.
Later that afternoon, we went to The Franklin Institute, a hands-on science museum. At the time of our visit, general admission for adults (12+) cost $23 and for children ages (3-11) cost $19. For the most accurate pricing, visit the museum’s website HERE. For a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children), the total cost would have been $84.
At the end of Day 2, our total cost without the Go City Pass would have been $440.92 (tax not included).
Day 3
Our original plan for Day 3 was to go to the Philadelphia Zoo. Instead we decided to explore more of Philadelphia since there was so much we did not get to see. We also went back to the Franklin Institute, which we would not have been able to do without the Go City Pass without paying for admission again.
For the purpose of this blog, let’s pretend that we stuck to our plan and went to the zoo. At the time of our visit, general admission to the zoo for adults (12+) was $24 and children (2-11) was $19. The total cost for our family of 4 would have cost $103 (tax not included). For the most accurate pricing, check the zoo’s website HERE.
Philadelphia Go City Pass Review- Is it worth it?
For my family, the Philadelphia Go City Pass was absolutely worth it. Little things like waiting in line for tickets can be time-consuming and cause added stress when traveling with young children. The Go City Pass made it so easy to skip the lines and walk into each attraction by just showing the Go City Pass on our phone.
Without the Go City Pass, at the end of the third day, we would have paid over $543, taxes not included. The 3-day unlimited Go City Pass for a family of 4 cost $302. That’s a savings of over $240!
When deciding whether a Philadelphia All-inclusive Go City Pass will be worth it for your family, there are a few things to consider:
- How many days will you be visiting attractions?
- How many included attractions are on your list of must-visit places?
- How many of those attractions will you have time to visit?
- What is the general admission to those attractions?
- How many people are in your party?
How Much Does the Philadelphia Go City Pass Cost?
The price of the pass depends on the type of pass you choose.
All-inclusive Pass Prices
| Pass | Adult (13+) | Child (2-12) |
| 1-day | $52 | $32 |
| 2-day | $76 | $51 |
| 3-day | $91 | $60 |
| 5-day | $110 | $77 |
Explorer Pass
| Pass | Adult (13+) | Child (3-12) |
| 3 Choice | $55 | $40 |
| 4 Choice | $73 | $51 |
| 5 Choice | $83 | $63 |
| 7 Choice | $111 | $75 |
Where to Buy Your Philadelphia Go City Pass
When you’re ready, there are a few different places to buy your Philadelphia Go City Pass so I suggest shopping at some of the places below to find the best price.
[…] For this trip, we purchased a 3-day all-inclusive Go City Pass. This gave us unlimited access to a number of museums and attractions for 3 days. To see the full list of attractions, click HERE. You can read our review of the Go City Pass to find out whether we thought it was worth it HERE. […]
[…] Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this blog, you may enjoy Philadelphia Go City Pass Review: Is it worth it? […]
[…] about Philadelphia, you’ll want to consider buying the Go City pass and spending at least 3 days there when visiting with kids. Read our 3-day itinerary for visiting […]
Thanks for the itinerary. I’ve been looking at the Go City website and am going to copy your travel plan to book the holiday for next month. Can’t believe how much we can save from using the passes! Can’t wait to take the kids to Philly!
Thank you so much for reading Becky. Our Go City passes made our trip so much simpler. I hope your family has the same experience. You all are going to love Philadelphia!
[…] trip to Philadelphia will be incomplete without a Philadelphia Go City Pass. Read our Philadelphia Go City Pass Review to find out […]