Is the Seattle City Pass Worth It?

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Are you planning a trip to Seattle, Washington? Then you may be considering purchasing the Seattle CityPASS. Today, we’re going to go over a detailed cost breakdown so you’ll know exactly when the Seattle City Pass can save you money – and when it’s not worth it, too!

How the CityPass Works

With the CityPass, you can get admission to 5 different attractions in Seattle, but for just one price. It’s designed to be a way to save money but still get to have amazing experiences.

As their website states, the Seattle CityPASS can save you 47% at 5 Seattle attractions. This is a huge savings!

And they are great attractions, too. The sightseeing pass includes the Space Needle (Day/Night admission, which means you get 2 visits to the top within 24 hours) and the Seattle Aquarium. You can also choose 3 out of the following 5 activities: Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Woodland Park Zoo, Pacific Science Center, and Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Here’s how much these activities cost for an adult if you purchased them all separately (please note that for the last 4, the box office prices may vary depending on when you visit):

If you instead decide to buy the Seattle CityPass, for an adult it costs $139.00.

So, as we mentioned before, you can save 47% if you visit the 5 most expensive attractions included in the pass.

But what if that’s not part of your plans?

What if, for example, you think you might only be able to visit 4 of those places during your vacation? Or less than 4?

Would the Seattle CityPASS still be worth it?

Let’s take a look at when it would be a good decision to buy the Seattle CityPASS – and when it would be cheaper not to.

For our discussion, we’re going to use the approximate adult prices. And keep in mind that we’re only looking at 1 adult CityPASS. If you’re traveling with more people, that means even more potential savings!

Note: If you aren’t interested in the math and just want to know when it will or won’t save you money, just scroll down to the Conclusion at the end.

4 or 5 Attractions

Let’s say you only visit the 4 cheapest options.

Of the attractions where you choose 3, that would be:

• Woodland Park Zoo – $37.50
• Pacific Science Center – $38.45
• Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) – $44.95

Of the other 2 options, the cheapest would be:

• Seattle Aquarium – $49.95

This comes to $37.50 + $38.45 + $44.95 + $49.95 = $170.85.

Since the CityPASS only costs $139.00, you’ve already saved $170.85 – $139.00 = $31.85.

And if you do all 5 attractions, or choose an option that’s more expensive, then you save even more money.

Thus, if you are going to visit 4 or 5 attractions, getting the CityPass will save you money.

3 Attractions

But what if you only visit 3 of the attractions on your Seattle trip? Let’s take a look at how much money you potentially would – or wouldn’t – save.

Space Needle & 2 Other Attractions

Let’s say you take advantage of the Day/Night Space Needle admission, as well as the 2 cheapest options. So you’d be visiting:

• Space Needle – $76.13
• Woodland Park Zoo – $37.50
• Pacific Science Center – $38.45

This would cost $76.13 + $37.50 + $38.45 = $152.08.

Since the CityPASS only costs $139.00, you’ve already saved $152.08 – $139.00 = $13.08 by getting the CityPass.

If your other 2 attractions were the more expensive ones, you’d save even more money.

So if you are going to visit 3 attractions and one of them is the Space Needle, getting the CityPASS will save you money.

3 Attractions (Not Space Needle)

What if you’re going to visit exactly 3 attractions and none of them are the Space Needle?

We crunched the numbers and came up with the sums of all combinations of three attractions (not including the Space Needle):

$49.95 + $48.29 + $45.05 = $143.29
$49.95 + $48.29 + $44.95 = $143.19
$49.95 + $45.05 + $44.95 = $139.95
$48.29 + $45.05 + $44.95 = $138.29
$49.95 + $48.29 + $38.45 = $136.69
$49.95 + $48.29 + $37.50 = $135.74
$49.95 + $45.05 + $38.45 = $133.45
$49.95 + $44.95 + $38.45 = $133.35
$49.95 + $45.05 + $37.50 = $132.50
$49.95 + $44.95 + $37.50 = $132.40
$48.29 + $45.05 + $38.45 = $131.79
$48.29 + $44.95 + $38.45 = $131.69
$48.29 + $45.05 + $37.50 = $130.84
$48.29 + $44.95 + $37.50 = $130.74
$45.05 + $44.95 + $38.45 = $128.45
$45.05 + $44.95 + $37.50 = $127.50
$49.95 + $38.45 + $37.50 = $125.90
$48.29 + $38.45 + $37.50 = $124.24
$45.05 + $38.45 + $37.50 = $121.00
$44.95 + $38.45 + $37.50 = $120.90

As you can see, the total of the three attractions is usually less than the cost of the CityPass ($139.00), which means it would be more expensive to buy the CityPass.

The only exceptions are the first three combinations in the list:

$49.95 + $48.29 + $45.05 = $143.29
$49.95 + $48.29 + $44.95 = $143.19
$49.95 + $45.05 + $44.95 = $139.95

In those three cases, the sum of the individual attractions is greater than the CityPass price ($139.00), so you would save money if you bought the CityPass.

And those combinations correspond to the following activities:

$49.95, $48.29, $45.05: Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Chihuly Garden and Glass
$49.95, $48.29, $44.95: Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP)
$49.95, $45.05, $44.95: Seattle Aquarium, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP)

So, if you’re going to visit 3 attractions and none of them are the Space Needle, then you should NOT get the CityPass unless it’s one of these combinations of attractions:

• Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Chihuly Garden and Glass
• Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP)
• Seattle Aquarium, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP)

1 or 2 Attractions

The two most expensive attractions are:

• Space Needle – $76.13
• Seattle Aquarium – $49.95

Together, they cost $76.13 + $49.95 = $126.08. This is less than the CityPass price of $139.00. And if instead you did 2 less expensive attractions or only 1 attraction, they would also be less than the cost of the CityPASS.

So if you only have time on your trip for 1 or 2 activities, then you should not get the CityPass because it’s cheaper to pay for them separately.

Conclusion

So you may be wondering what all this means for your Seattle vacation – and if you should get the CityPass for your trip.

Let’s recap, based on how many attractions you’ll be visiting.

• 5 Attractions: Worth It – the CityPass will save you money
• 4 Attractions: Worth It – the CityPass will save you money
• 3 Attractions: Worth It, but only if you’ll be visiting the Space Needle and two other attractions; Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, and Chihuly Garden and Glass; Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, and Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP); or Seattle Aquarium, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP).
• 2 Attractions: Not Worth It – the CityPass won’t save you money
• 1 Attraction: Not Worth It – the CityPass won’t save you money

Click here if you’re ready to purchase the Seattle CityPASS.