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SAN FRANCISCO Discount Passes
LOS ANGELES Discount Passes
SAN DIEGO Discount Passes
Sightseeing Passes: When to use them, when to skip them
Even California locals like to use tourist discount passes, when they’re good ones. If you’re sightseeing in the city (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego), combo passes can be just the thing, especially the new and improved passes. The best ones let you save on just the places you want to go, over 9 to 30 days (and you can show on your smart phone for entry).
Don’t forget to browse my California museums & attractions category for specific places of interest. À la carte or combo pass, you’ll save either way.
Save with California Sightseeing Passes
SAN FRANCISCO Attraction Passes
Review of San Francisco Tourist Passes, Combo Cards, & Coupon Books
If you’re visiting the San Francisco Bay Area (or entertaining visitors from out of town), attraction passes and ticket booklets are a frugal way to hit all the local museums and attractions (and the popular tourist traps for first-timers). Here are the most popular San Francisco passes and coupon books.
1. Go San Francisco Card:
{Deal details} With the most SF attractions and activities available, you now can choose between the All Inclusive pass, and two custom passes. My favorite is the “Build Your Own” option where you choose any two or more and save 20% to 55% (the more you pick, the more you save). And check out their custom Explorer Pass where they suggest the most popular attractions that get you the best savings.
You have 30 days to use Go San Francisco cards from the first time you activate (your first visit). Special offer (from a different source): On one-day passes only you can save $4/adult, $3/child from this savvy source, no hidden fees. (Otherwise use the link above for multi-day passes.)
Go San Francisco Cards include free admission to:
Alcatraz Cruise
California Academy of Sciences (Golden Gate Park)
Aquarium of the Bay
Exploratorium
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
California’s Great America
Golden Gate Bay Cruise
Madame Tussauds Bay
Muir Woods and Wine Country Tour
Conservatory of Flowers (Golden Gate Park)
de Young Museum (Golden Gate Park)
Legion of Honor
USS Hornet Museum
Asian Art Museum
Hop-On/Off Trolley
And more …
2. San Francisco CityPASS:
{Get it HERE best price} A favorite choice among locals, this attraction pass booklet offers free tickets to a select group of five popular attractions that you can use over a week, Saves you 45% on gate prices and you can skip most of the lines, too.
San Francisco CityPASS includes free admission to:
3-Day Muni Cable Car and Bus Passport
California Academy of Sciences
Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise Adventure
Aquarium of the Bay
Option Ticket: Exploratorium OR SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)
3. Pier 39 Attraction Pass:
{Deal details} Pier 39 is the most visited attraction in San Francisco — mostly by tourists. But this pass not only gets you all the first-timer stuff, you also get in free to some of the most popular attractions that locals like, too.
You’ll also get the PIER 39 Fun Pack of coupons and discounts at more than 110 stores, 14 Bay view restaurants, and a variety of attractions.
Pier 39 Pass Free Admission to:
Aquarium of the Bay
Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise
Authentic motorized cable car 1-hour narrated tour
LOS ANGELES & ORANGE COUNTY Attraction Passes
Los Angeles & Orange County Discount Passes, Coupon Books, Combo Cards
If you’re visiting the Southern California (or entertaining visitors from out of town), attraction passes and ticket booklets are a savvy way to hit all the top attractions in the Los Angeles area. Here are the most popular SoCal passes so you can choose the one that works best for you and your family:
1. Go Los Angeles Card:
{Deal details} This popular combo discount card for SoCal includes 39 attractions with their “All Inclusive” pass. It saves you up to 55% off the gate prices, and in many cases skip the line at the front gate. Savvy Tip: If you visit them all you save around $135. Now you can also choose one of their custom passes. The “Build Your Own” option let’s you choose any two Southern California attractions or more and save 20% to 55% on each.
You can also choose one of their theme packages. You have 30 days to use Go Los Angeles Cards from the first time you activate (your first visit). Special offer from an alternate source: On one-day passes only, you can save $3.75/adult, $3.25/child from this this savvy source, no hidden fees. (Otherwise use the link above for multi-day passes.)
Go Los Angeles Cards include free admission to:
Universal Studios Hollywood
Knott’s Berry Farm
Knott’s Soak City Waterpark
LEGOLAND California
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Aquarium of the Pacific
The Queen Mary
OUE Skyspace LA
California Science Center IMAX
Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier
Madame Tussauds Hollywood
Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour
Sony Pictures Studio Tour
Hollywood Movie Star Homes Tour
LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens
And more …
2. Southern California CityPASS
{Get it HERE best price} (Best if you want Disneyland): Our savvy source saves you at least 31% (a better deal than on the CityPASS website). This popular ticket coupon booklet is valid for 14 days from first use — and includes back-and-forth admission to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park for any three days during your chosen 14-day period.
You can also skip some lines. It has just the Theme Parks you want and saves you the most. The best thing about this pass is that it’s simple to use and offers the most popular SoCal attractions.
SoCal CityPASS includes free admission to:
Disneyland & Disney California Adventure Park (3-day Park Hopper plus “Magic Morning”)
LEGOLAND California
SeaWorld San Diego
SAN DIEGO Attraction Discount Passes
Balboa Park (photo: Bernard Gagnon)
Review of San Diego Discount Passes & Coupon Books
If you’re visiting the Southern California (or entertaining visitors from out of town), San Diego attraction passes and ticket booklets are a savvy way to hit all the top attractions in San Diego. SAVVY TIP: Sometimes these passes are on sale, so you can get them at a better price and enjoy even more savings.
We’re on the list to receive updates on coupon codes special offers for the cards below, so we’ll add that info here as it comes our way.
1. Go San Diego Card:
{Deal details} This SoCal sightseeing pass gives you up to 55% off with one ticket to 50 attractions and activities in San Diego. No one does them all, but if you choose wisely, you can save a ton, more than with any other discount option — the more you see the more you save.
Only want to visit a few? Their new Go San Diego “Build Your Own” option let’s you choose any two or more from 55 things to do in San Diego.
Print at home or show on your smart phone. Special offer (from a different source): On two-day passes only, you can save $5.25/adult, $5.25/child from this savvy source, no hidden fees. Otherwise uses the link above for the best price (and sometimes extra discounts).
All Go San Diego Cards include free admission to:
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
SeaWorld San Diego
LEGOLAND California
Knott’s Berry Farm
Knott’s Soak City
USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum
Belmont Park Unlimited Rides
Coronado Bike or Kayak Tour
Whale Watching Cruises
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center + IMAX
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Art Institute
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
Miramar Speed Circuit
And Many More …
2. Southern California CityPASS:
{Get it HERE best price} This pass gets you 32% off at four Theme Parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, Universal Studios Hollywood and more. What we like about this pass is they don’t overwhelm you but offer just the best of the best. And you have nine days from your first stop to use it.
SoCal CityPASS includes free admission to:
Disneyland & Disney California Adventure Park (3-day Park Hopper plus “Magic Morning”)
LEGOLAND California
SeaWorld San Diego
3. Balboa Park Explorer Pass:
{Deal details} This Combo package lets you experience the Balboa Park museums PLUS one-day admission to the San Diego Zoo (includes One-day admission, guided bus tour and Skyfari aerial tram). You get free admission to 17 Balboa Park museums, and is valid for seven days.
Balboa Park Explorer Pass includes free admission to:
Japanese Friendship Garden
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Photographic Arts
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Museum of Man
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Museum of Art
And More
Sightseeing Passes: When to use them, when to skip them
Are attraction discount passes savvy or sorry? Anyone who looked into these in the past might just take a pass on the tourist pass. Typically they offered too many choices of activities and attractions — more than we could possibly do in a short time. So we felt pressured to play or pay for things we weren’t going to do. Plus they added shipping charges, and you had to order in advance and hope they came in time.
Sorry, no. The good news is today’s discount passes are available right away, you can show them on your smart phone, and you can often customize your choice of attractions.
If I buy one of the discount passes reviewed above, do I have to pay anything else to get in? No you do not. These passes are your tickets into every attraction and activity on the list. The discounts posted are what you can expect to have saved over the gate prices if you didn’t have a card to get you in free.
Which Discount Attraction Pass is Best? That depends. Want to save at least 20 percent or more on just a couple of activities you can do over a month? I’d go with the custom option of the Go City Card that now gives you the option to choose as many or as few at two attraction. It activates the first time you use it and is good for 30 days. The CityPASS has also gotten easier to use. CityPASS features a smaller number of attractions, but they’re all popular places. And you can skip the ticket line in most cases. Scroll up this page for other options I’ve reviewed that might work for you.
What if I’m a local? The new discount cards appeal to both visitors and locals, planners and procrastinators. I’ve been using San Francisco combo attraction passes to catch up with museum exhibits. SoCal locals often buy San Diego passes or Los Angeles passes for family trips to popular theme parks, and to entertain guests visiting from out of town.
When to skip them? If you’ live here, check for local deals offered by specific attractions and then compare the savings with any current deals on these discount attraction passes. And you may find something better with museum free days and discounts for residents (and sometimes nonresidents). If you’re visiting but are looking for a less commercial, more personal experience, skip the attraction passes. Check out my “California Tours Worth Taking” category for small group tours and DIY getaway ideas.