Testing if the Go City Boston Pass is Worth It.
When traveling I usually see advertisements for passes that allow you into multiple tourist sites in a single day. I have never participated in one of these deals because I was unsure if I would be able to get my monies worth and visit enough attractions.
On my latest trip, I travelled to Boston and took a chance on a two day pass to test my luck and determine whether the pass is worth the price.
TIP: Before buying the pass I would urge you to look for deals and discounts through your employer, plum benefits, or Groupon. I was able to get a twenty dollar discount on my pass which helped out with the price. This also put less pressure on us to visit even more attractions for the sake of not wasting money.
I used the Go City Pass (Boston). Including taxes and fees, we paid $170.36 for two adult passes. That comes out to about $85 each. Throughout this post I will walk through the cost of each so you can see if it would be worth it for you!
While researching our trip to Boston we had a vague list of the things we wanted to do. Museums, the Aquarium, a boat tour, and the Freedom Trail. We decided to go on a Thursday-Sunday, using the pass Friday and Saturday, celebrating B’s birthday! After an uneventful ride from New York Thursday night, the Boston skyline suddenly popped into view and the excitement began!
Our hotel, the Hyatt centric Faneuil hall was but a few turns off the highway, and valet came and took our chariot away for us. Super simple check in! We were able to afford this classy joint by utilizing credit card points thankfully making our total trip cost so much cheaper than it would have been. The hotel was nice, clean, and relatively small which gave it a nice personal vibe with less hustle and bustle. No pool, but we were so busy we wouldn’t have even had time to swim!
My journey Friday morning began by venturing out of the hotel on a mission to secure our spots for the 4pm historic cruise included with our tourist passes. It was a short- simple walk from our hotel, and even though it was a same day reservation, I got two seats on the boat with no issues.
Next I took a break in the rose Kennedy greenway, a park that stretches along much of the harbor near Boston’s financial district. After I gathered myself I began my journey to do recon on lunch. Our sites were set on either Faneuil hall area or Quincy market. Who doesn’t love a good food truck?
The ambiance inside of Quincy market was hectic but friendly. There were so many options and groups of people milling around pushing past one another to check out what was in the display cases, and to read the menus. I went back and got B, lunch spot secured. Quincy market was a brief walk from our hotel, right on the freedom trail.
I decided to go with a create your own poke bowl, and B chowed down on a lobster mac and cheese pie. B’s lobster mac and cheese pie was a hit! We saw a lot of people walking around with them. There were a few places to buy one, but the stand we liked best was Boston Chowda.
Faneuil hall also known as “the cradle of liberty” was my next stop while b went back to the room to get some remote work done on the computer and take some calls. I explored the different levels of Faneuil taking in all of the history. The lower level was historically used as a market and still is! Gift shops and the visitor booth are located on the main floor. Going up the stairs I entered the great hall, with the main stage where debates took place and anti British sentiment grew leading up to the American revolution. Upstairs, is the museum and armory of the ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. I browsed so many neat pieces of history like patches and these cool cobalt lens glasses from the 19th century!
The museum is free so definitely check it out after eating at Quincy market!
I headed back to the room for a quick rest and to meet back up with B. He was able to get off of work a bit early for his birthday so we decided to make our way towards the waterfront, where our historic cruise would depart from later!
I had read online after Jennifer Lee’s bake shop and was determined to try it out. They cater to people with allergies and are extremely safe about cross contamination. I was so excited to be able to choose from so many different baked goods and went with the cannoli. It was delicious! (We ended up stopping back the next day and the morning we left to grab another!) I wish we had one close to us!
By the time we had scarfed down the cannoli, it was time to start heading over to the cruise. Everything in this area was a short walk, down very clean streets. We had no problems navigating, there were signs everywhere, and we felt very safe.
The historic cruise normally costs about $40 a person for an adult pass. We love to go on boats and ferries so this was one of our must-dos. It was easy to board, and we chose inside seats as the booths looked more comfortable than the plastic chairs up top.
TIP: the whole tour is done looking out one side of the boat. The starboard side. So keep that in mind when choosing a seat! They didn’t announce it for us until most people had boarded
It was nice to sit back and cruise around and see the city skyline from a different angle. We were able to move inside and outside, still hearing what our guide was saying. And B was able to get another birthday beer from the snack and beverage area that they have on board.
For dinner we stopped into provisions. We had actually planned on eating at one of the historical spots in the area, but found that the waitstaff was rude when we entered, or it was too crowded and loud. I am SO glad that we came across provisions. The inside was beautiful, and we were able to get a nice window seat with a booth. The servers were constantly filling waters, checking on us, and brought our food out so quickly. It was a very impressive restaurant.
We each ordered a lobster roll, they were cheaper than the ones we get in Montauk, and tasted better! Plus! These ones came with fries as a bonus. I got mine on a lettuce wrap since the buns had dairy cooked in. I would recommend provisions to anyone looking for a nice place to eat in the area!
We pondered what to do next as many of the historic sites close around 5 and it was now nearing 6pm. We decided to chug on down to the Boston Tea Party Ship to view it out on the water. There is a museum with paid admission you can visit but we decided to save that for another time as it wasn’t included in our passes.
After a brief re-enactment we headed back towards the Sam adams tap room a block or so from our hotel room to finish the night off.
The Sam Adams tap Room was great, the video games downstairs are free to play. B preferred the grande Ariana amber ale over the wicked Fenway IPA but both were great and he had fun trying two exclusive beers that we can’t get back home!
To tally off friday we really only used our pass to go on the historic cruise. This is when we wanted to go to the zoo possibly or isabella stewart gardener museum, but we really enjoyed just walking around, and didn’t want to drive over. B having to work remote part of the day also held us up a bit, but we got $40 out of our pass!
Daylight come and we wanna walk the freedom trail! Saturday morning started somewhat early and we were out of the room by 9:30 and on our way to the first trolley stop. We had picked up our passes the day before from one of the stands scattered around the faneuil hall area.
A regular 1 day hop on hop off ticket would have been $40. With our pass we got a 2 day ticket, but we only used it on Saturday. The two day ticket would cost someone without a pass $78.00 online.
If you dont have the pass I would really suggest maybe just doing the one day. The thing with this pass is that they tell you you cant do a second loop. Once you get to the end of the line you have to get off. So one chance at each site to get off and back on, no second loop.
First we made our way to Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution. We decided to head up to bunker hill first and get the walk out of the way, since the trolley had dropped us off right next to the Constitution. After walking around and reading the historical plaques, we went across the street to the free Bunker Hill Museum. Here we saw artifacts like a cannonball, sword, and snare drum. It was nice to stop in before heading back down to the ship.
Our time aboard the USS Constitution started with a bang! Literally! Historical re-enactors fired off shots on deck and explained how to reload their weapons and the function of their uniforms. After this demonstration we climbed below and explored the different sections of the ship open to visitors.
Right next door is the USS Constitution Museum. The Museum has a recommended donation of $10-15 for adults. When you walk in, there is a booth where an employee called us over to collect a donation, but in our case she scanned our passes. We really enjoyed this museum. It was VERY interactive, letting you adjust the sails of miniature boats to learn how wind affects the speed and direction of travel, test different types of wood, lay down in a sailors hammock, and learn about the different food they would have eaten and conditions on the ship.
We could have spent even more time here but decided to go back to the trolley stop for pickup because the rain was starting to begin.
The morning was nice, but at about 11am it started downpouring for most of the day. It took a bit for a trolley to arrive at the USS Constitution, about 20-25 minutes, but once it arrived we had made a new game plan for the day and hopped back on!
The Trolley took us across the Charlestown Bridge and past the TD Garden, past City Hall, Faneuil Hall and the Old State House. We stayed on the trolley as we went around the Boston Common, America’s Oldest Park!
We decided to hop off at the Old Granary Burial Ground, walk over to Kings Chapel (the pew where George Washington once sat is still here!), and the Old South Meeting House. The Old South Meeting House was part of a combo ticket, normally $15 that allowed us to also visit the Old State House.
We decided to grab lunch from the Old Corner Bookstore, now a Chipotle! The Old Corner Bookstore is the oldest commercial building in Boston constructed in 1718 and right across the street from the Old South Meeting House.
Because of the rain, we went back to the hotel to change out of our soaking wet clothes and ate our tacos happily in the room.
Next up was the second part of our dual $15 dollar pass. The Old State House. We were lucky that you could see the site from the front steps of the hotel, so it was a quick walk over.
This museum was nice, a little small, but there were some great artifacts. The Old State House is the oldest public building in the United States and survived the American Revolution, Boston Massacre (the plaque is right out front!!) and the Great Boston Fire!
We spent probably about 20-25 minutes in this museum, and decided to make our way to the aquarium. This part of the day had the heaviest rain so we wanted to spend a lot of time indoors.
The aquarium is located right near provisions and the dock for the historic cruise. We had called in advance and confirmed no reservation was needed if we had our passes. Unfortunately for many people outside the aquarium, it fills up QUICKLY. There was a huge crowd of people lined up for tickets that had already sold out. This situation alone made the passes even more worth it to us.
The cost of admission online currently is $38.00 a person.
The aquarium was terrific. Their were so many great exhibits and we managed to catch the penguins being fed! It was very crowded, as they had sold out of tickets, so if the rain had been different we would have definitely tried to get there in the morning. Crowds aside though, this was one of my favorite places we went in Boston!
Afterwards, we decided to grab a quick dinner at the Boston Public Market about two blocks away. Bummed we hadn’t seen the Paul Revere house, we decided to see at least the outside of the building as well as the Old North Church. This is the spot where the signal was sent to warn of the British troops, “one if by land, two if by sea”. It was cool to see even from the outside! (The Paul Revere House admission is included with the Go City Pass!)
Walking through the Italian section of Boston was nice as well, with the rain lightening up. It was hopping with younger people, and lines of folks waiting outside of small restaurants. We saw our sights, wishing it hadn’t rained so much and we could have stopped in. (Both of these sights accept the Go City Pass)
Walking back to our hotel we stopped in the park and sat on one of the large metal swings, listening to a performer play on the trumpet. It was a beautiful end to our trip.
All in all I would say that pass was definitely worth it for us. Our total tally of spending for activities would have been $186.00
- Cruise = $40
- Aquarium= $38
- Kings Chapel and burial grounds= $5
- Old state house combo= $15
- Trolley= $78
- Constitution Museum= $10
If we had had more time on Friday, and less rain Saturday we would have been able to see even more! I recommend checking out the website, you can take food tours, true crime tours, historic pub crawls, tours at Harvard and MIT, Fenway, more museums, lots of options even in Salem.
Make sure you look up all the things you are interested in, and if they are available before paying for the pass! I have read some reviews of people having a hard time using the pass, or not looking up hours/ seasonal schedules ahead of time.
I really enjoyed Boston. The city was filled with history and charm. I would definitely go back, with or without a tourist pass.
Do you have any favorite spots in Boston? Comment below and let me know! 🙂
Thanks for reading!