With so many things to do in New York City, planning your itinerary is very important before you leave for your trip! We bought our Explorer Pass on KKday.com and looked at the full list of valid attractions on their website. KKday is Asia’s leading travel platform where you can book amazing experiences for your next destination. The Explorer Pass has over 80 things to choose from, but figuring out what items you’d like to see depends on a few things. If you decide to purchase the Explorer Pass, I have a few tips! Your choices depend on how long you’ll be in the city and what area you are staying in. Some tours take a few hours so you want to make sure you time it accordingly. Also be sure to look at hours of operations and if there are lines. Below are the activities we got to experience while in New York, having an Explorer Pass definitely made planning easier!
1. Madison Square Garden
We had an exclusive inside look at the famous Madison Square Garden. Home to many iconic concerts, basketball and hockey games! We had an opportunity to view the stadium at different angles, from a box suite and the sky bridge where media sit. They had a VR experience that allowed to have front row seats to a few events held at the venue. At the end of the tour, we got to visit the locker rooms, where the athletes get ready and take breaks.
2. Natural Geographic: Encounter
An immersive and education experience all about sea life without having animals in captivity. During the guided part of the tour, you journey through different parts of the world, like the deep sea, coral reefs in the south. We became anchovies with 3d glasses and played with sea lions in the digital kelp forest. By using cutting-edge technology, Nat Geo Encounter was a unique way of learning about our ocean and why we need to protect it.
3. Biking in Central Park
We used the Explorer Pass to book an all-day bike rental. The pickup spot was only a couple blocks from Central Park. The rental included a lock so we used it while we visited the American Museum of Natural History. In Central Park, there is a bike route that loops around. It was a fun way to sightsee in the park, definitely faster than walking and saves you a lot of time!
4. American Museum of Natural History
During our bike ride, we stopped at the American Museum of Natural History. This museum is must see! There are so many things to see, my favorites were the dinosaur fossils and the animal displays. You can spend hours in here reading all the information and getting lost in history!
5. Museum of Modern Art
6. Hop-on, Hop-off Big Bus Tour
With our explorer pass, we had access to the Uptown and Downtown routes, which are both super convenient if you are trying to see most of the top attractions in NYC. Make sure you get a boarding pass from a rep, before getting onto a bus. They have an app which has live tracking of the buses and a map to show you where each stop is located. Make sure to board first so you can get a seat on the open upper deck. They have complimentary headphones if you want to plug in and listen to the guided tour.
7. Top of the Rock
I highly recommend Top of the Rockefeller Center over the Empire State building! We arrived at around 9:30 pm on a Thursday and we only waited in line for about 10 minutes before going up. While going up 65 floors they have a projection on the ceiling of the elevator. Once you get to the top they have various observation levels. The first two have glass panes, but if you want an unobstructed view go to the third upper deck. You will get an amazing view of the Empire State Building! It was breathtaking seeing all the city lights at night, and I’m sure the view during the day is just as beautiful too!