The idea behind an admission pass for a specific destination is to make your travel money work more efficiently. Pay one price for unlimited admissions over a specific period of time. Enjoy a discount over what you would pay for individual tickets.
But even this concept, rooted in efficiency, can be decidedly inefficient.
Have you seen the passes that offer admission to 50 top attractions in a given place? Even if you stay two weeks, odds are you'll visit a small fraction of those 50 attractions. The reality: you might make it to five or perhaps 10, but no more. When you add up what the five attractions would have cost without the pass, you might find your savings is minimal or non-existent.
Perhaps mindful of this, Smart Destinations has developed the Go Select pass. With this pass, you bundle a small number of attractions you are highly likely to visit. The company guarantees your admission costs will be less than what people are paying at the door. You also skip the ticket lines at busy attractions.
How it Works
Pre-packaged Go Select bundles are offered for five U.S. destinations. You cannot eliminate any single attraction from a package, but you may add sites that are not included for an additional charge. When you finish customizing your pass, you will be shown what straight admission fees for these places would total. Be certain you will visit most or all of the attractions. The minimum number of attractions on any Go Select pass is two.
After checkout, you download and print PDF files that contain bar codes for each attraction. On arrival, those codes are scanned and your admission is complete. You must retain the codes for each attraction. Simply having a receipt for buying the overall Go Select pass is not enough.
That's it. No standing in line for tickets and no full-price charge.
Destinations Offered
There are 34 Boston attractions that are accessible through the Go Select option. One option is the "Historic Heritage" package for $31.65 (adult) that includes a Freedom Trail Foundation Walking Tour, Old State House Museum, Old South Meeting House, Paul Revere's House and a 45-minute Boston Harbor Cruise. The website says regular admissions costs for this group of attractions is $45 USD, and that the Go Select option saves 30 percent.
In Chicago, 27 area attractions can be accessed with Go Select. Among the packages is "Chicago Highlights Pass," which includes Navy Pier, SkyDeck Chicago, a North Side Tour and Shedd Aquarium for $60 (adult). The website says regular admission for these would total $85, so the savings for this package is 28 percent.
Seven packages and 43 potential attractions are listed for New York. Among the packages is "Pass to New York City," which would cost $109 if purchased separately but is $78 per adult here. Attractions in this package include the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art, Top of the Rock Observatory and Statue of Liberty.
Greater Honolulu and the island of Oahu are in the Go Select menu, offering up to 33 attractions and two packages. One base package includes Germaine's Luau, Grand Circle Island Tour and both a Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour for $114; regular admission for these, according to the website, is $168.
San Diego has 40 attractions and four base packages in Go Select. The "Balboa Park" package includes San Diego Zoo, Diego Air Space Museum, San Diego Natural History Museum and Fleet Science Center for $70 (adult), which the website says is a $96 value.
Notes:
The prices quoted here will change with time, so use them only as a general guideline. They are per person, not per family. Children (ages 3-12) typically pay 25-35 percent less than adults.
Remember that you can add additional attractions to the base packages for an additional cost, but you cannot subtract anything from those packages. If you're unlikely to visit one or more of the base package attractions, this option might wind up costing you more money than straight admission prices at the gate.
Passes are good for up to one year from date of purchase and 30 days from first use. Smart Destinations will refund the full cost of any unused, unexpired passes bought from website with no cancellation fees.
