Is the York Pass Worth It? (£ Values for 2024)

Welcome to my York Pass Review, a great way to save money whilst visiting the many cultural and historical attractions around York.

When we had finished our long weekend, I was interested to see if we had got value for money, so did some calculations.

So, is a York Pass worth it?

The average cost of entrance for an attraction on the York Pass is £11.73. To make a York Pass worth it, this means you’ll need to visit five of the attractions for a £59 one-day pass, sixish for a £75 two-day pass, and eight for a £90 three-day pass. If you do this, you’ll recoup your costs, and start saving money.

This is highly dependent on which attraction you visit though, with attractions such as the York Dungeon coming in at £21 for entry, York Minster at $16 and Castle Howard at £22 it is possible to recoup your cost with only three visits.

Personally, I would start by looking at which places you want to visit in York, check if they are included in the York Pass, then decide if the cost of the pass is worth it for your plans.

In this post, I will cover how much a York Pass costs, where to get one, what’s included and exactly how much we saved.

NOTE: This article was originally written after our trip in 2018; however, I come back and update it yearly, so the prices are up-to-date for 2024.

How much does a York Pass cost?

The cost of the York Pass is below, with passes being available for up to three days.

Is a York Pass Worth It? (Actual Savings)

Here is an real life case of how much we saved whilst on our trip to York.

We booked 2 x 3 day adult passes., arrived in York on a Friday lunchtime and left on Sunday afternoon.

You’ll find York is quite a compact city, so you can get to a lot of the attractions easily. It’s not unrealistic to see a lot of them over a weekend if you plan it well.

Initial Cost:

• 2 x tickets at £90 each = £180.
• There was a live discount code for 15% so we ended up at a cost of £153

Attractions Visited (Price for 1 ticket):

• York Minster £16
• York’s Chocolate Story £17.50*
• Open Top Bus Tour £16
• York Castle Museum £16
• Clifford’s Tower £12.50
• Roman Bath Museum £3.50
• Merchants Adventurers’ Hall £7
• JORVIK Viking Centre £15
• Richard of York Museum £10*
• Yorkshire Museum £9.50

So we would have spent £116 per person on tickets to attractions, a grand total of £232.

Over 3 days, this means the York Pass saved us £52 vs the regular price of a ticket (or £79 in reality as we had a discount code.

*Note, these two attractions are no longer available on the York Pass.

🎟️ Buy Your York Pass in Advance Here

York Pass Itineraries & Cost Saving

Here are some York Pass itineraries you could use in 2024 with cost savings.

It will mean dedicating most of your time to things included in the York Pass, but you can still see other great sights of York such as The Shambles as you walk through the city.

One Day Pass: £59 (£32.50 Saving)

Here is a route to follow for your first day in York.

It is ambitious, but all of these are in the city centre, so is achievable if you start early.

• City Sightseeing Bus £16
• York Minster £16
• York Castle Museum £16
• YORVIK Viking Centre £15
• York Castle Museum £16
• Clifford’s Tower £12.50
• Total £91.50 (£32.50 saving)

Two Day Pass: £75 (£63.50 saving)

If you’re staying for two days, here is an itinerary for your second:

• City Walls Experience £6
• Merchant Adventurer’s Hall £7
• Yorkshire Museum £9.50
• The York Dungeon £21
• Roman Baths Museum £3.50
• Total including day one £138.50 (£63.50 saving)

Three Day Pass: £90 (£84.50 saving)

The third day might be a great chance to get out of the city and use your York Pass to see other local places:

• Castle Howard £22
• Yorkshire Air Museum £14
• Total including days one and two £174.50 (£84.50 saving)

🎟️ Buy Your York Pass in Advance Here

York Pass Attractions List

Here is a list of all the attractions included within the York Pass, so you can use the itinerary above, or create your own using this, and the map further down.

The York Pass includes:

• Free entry to attractions, tours and museums. At the time of writing, there are 34 attractions included in the pass, of which 8 are outside the city walls.
• Free 1-Day City Sightseeing “Hop on Hop off” Bus Tour ticket to explore York and discover all of its iconic attractions.
• Free guidebook packed with helpful info and maps.
• Exclusive special offers, which currently include discounts at 39 different places: from money off shopping at the designer outlet to discounted rates for ghost tours! 

York Pass Attractions Map

I’ve mapped out all the attractions included with the York Pass to help you plan out a route.

How to use this map | Click on the top left of the map to display the list of locations, then click on the locations to display further information. Click in the top right corner of the map to open a larger version in a new tab, or the star to save to your Google Maps.  

How to Buy a York Pass

Buy your York Pass in advance here.

You can also buy a York Pass from the York Visitor Information Centre.

York Visitor Information Centre
1 Museum Street,
York,
YO1 7DT 
(close to York Minster) 

Opening times
Monday – Saturday: 0900-1700 
Sunday: 1000-1600

Before You Go

If you’re planning a trip to York, here are a couple of other articles that will interest you.

• Things to do in York: 13 Awesome Places to Visit over a Long Weekend
• York 3 Day Itinerary: A Long Weekend in Northern England’s Medieval Capital