New Orleans attraction passes compared

The short answer

Choose by how many paid attractions you will fit in, and how fast. The Go City New Orleans Essentials Pass: 3 Attractions gives three experiences from a short list over 30 days.[1] The Go City New Orleans All-Inclusive Pass gives as many included attractions as you can manage on one, two, three or five consecutive days.[2] The City Sightseeing New Orleans Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour is transport with commentary for one day; it stops at landmarks but sells no admission to them.[4]

Both passes are entitlements to choose from a list. Neither promises that you visit every attraction on it, and both lists can change.[2][1]

Go City New Orleans Essentials Pass: three over 30 days

The single option, 3-Attraction Pass, lets you pick any three experiences, each visited once, and stays valid for 30 days from your first attraction.[1] SkyGate's list is the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Cruise, Ultimate Swamp Adventures, a St. Louis Cathedral self-guided tour, the Adventures in New Orleans Bus Tour, a French Quarter history or voodoo tour and a ghost and vampire tour by French Quarter Phantoms, and Longue Vue House and Gardens. Ticket types are adult (13 and over) and child (3 to 12).[1]

It suits a longer stay with a few set pieces: a river cruise, a swamp trip and a walking tour, spread out over the month. XTOUR's reading is that the 30-day window matters more here than speed.

Go City New Orleans All-Inclusive Pass: everything, by the day

Four options differ only in length: 1, 2, 3 or 5 days. According to SkyGate, once activated the pass runs for that many consecutive calendar days, whatever time of day you start, and Go City's own page also counts calendar days from first use.[3] SkyGate describes access to more than 25 attractions, tours and activities, and names among them The National WWII Museum, Vue Orleans, the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Cruise, a cooking demonstration, a true-crime tour, Ultimate Swamp Adventures, the Adventures in New Orleans Bus Tour, a ghost and vampire tour, a Southern meal at MRB Restaurant and the New Orleans Lantern Festival. SkyGate's listing points to the Go City app for the current list and for online reservations. Ticket types are adult (13 and over) and child (3 to 12).[2]

Start it early on a day you plan to fill: a pass day counts as a calendar day, so an afternoon start uses a whole one.[2] Go City's page presents the Essentials Pass as the alternative for seeing a few key attractions.[3]

City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus: one day on the red route

The single option is a one-day ticket on the red route of an open-top double-decker bus, with an English-speaking guide. SkyGate's listing says you can board at any designated stop, redeem the voucher with customer service staff at any stop, and use the bus without limit within the timeframe from your first ride. Ticket types are adult (13 and over), child (3 to 12) and infant (0 to 2); infants travel free without a seat.[4]

SkyGate lists 18 red-route stops, starting at Jackson Square and the French Market and including Tremé, Canal Street, The National WWII Museum, Magazine Street, the Garden District, the Convention Centre and Mardi Gras World, and the Arts District.[4] The operator describes 18 stops on a loop through the Garden District, the French Quarter and the CBD, with a guide on every bus, and a ticket office at Jackson Square, 700 Decatur Street.[5] The museum and the other landmarks are stops, not admissions; pay for entry separately or through a pass that lists them.

How to choose

• Three set experiences over a longer stay: the Go City New Orleans Essentials Pass.
• Several attractions a day, including The National WWII Museum: the Go City New Orleans All-Inclusive Pass, sized to the days you will fill.
• An overview of the city with a guide, and transport between neighbourhoods: the City Sightseeing New Orleans Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour.

The bus and a pass can work together. XTOUR's reading is that a first day on the bus helps you choose which pass attractions are worth the time; the listings themselves do not combine them.

Before you book

• Check the Go City app for current attractions and any reservations needed.[2]
• All-Inclusive pass days are consecutive calendar days.[2]
• Each Essentials attraction can be visited once.[1]
• Bus infants travel free but get no seat.[4]