Amsterdam Pass Guide: Which One Is Worth Buying?
Four passes. Completely different products. The right one depends on a single question.
Prices verified June 2026.
The right pass depends entirely on which attractions are on your list
For museum-focused visitors, the I amsterdam City Card (72h, €115) combines Rijksmuseum, ARTIS, transport, canal cruise, and bike rental in one product. For experience-seekers wanting flexibility over 3–5 stops, the Go City Explorer (from €44) covers canal cruises, Moco Museum, A'DAM LOOKOUT, Madame Tussauds, and day trips to Zaanse Schans. For first-time visitors who want the broadest coverage over 2–3 days, the Go City All-Inclusive is the only product with both major museums and day trips included. Skip all passes entirely if Van Gogh Museum or Anne Frank House is your priority: neither is on any Amsterdam pass.
Prices verified June 2026Amsterdam has four sightseeing passes worth knowing about. Two of them include the Rijksmuseum. One of them includes public transport. And one of them — the most popular flexible option — deliberately excludes some of Amsterdam's most-visited paid attractions by design.
Before comparing prices, you need to understand what each product is actually for. The Go City Explorer Pass and the I amsterdam City Card are not two versions of the same thing at different price points. They solve different problems for different travellers. Choosing based on price alone — without checking which attractions are on which pass — is the most common and most expensive mistake visitors make.
If you want the short answer, skip to the pass profiles — five traveller types, each with a named recommendation. Or read on for the full breakdown.
The two attractions excluded from every Amsterdam pass
Start here, because no pass comparison matters if your top priorities are off the table entirely.
The Van Gogh Museum (€22) is not included in any Amsterdam sightseeing pass — not the I amsterdam City Card, not any Go City product, not anything else currently available. Book directly at vangoghmuseum.nl. In peak season (April through August) slots sell out weeks in advance; in summer, plan on booking a month ahead at minimum.
The Anne Frank House (€16) is also excluded from every pass. One important clarification: the Go City All-Inclusive Pass includes an "Anne Frank walking tour," which is a neighbourhood walking tour of the streets around the house — it is not entry to the museum. If the Anne Frank House is on your list, book via annefrank.org only; tickets for popular dates sell out 2–3 months in advance.
If your Amsterdam itinerary is primarily Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House, skip all passes. Buy individual tickets, save the pass budget, and spend the difference elsewhere.
What each pass actually covers
I amsterdam City Card — from €67
The I amsterdam City Card is Amsterdam's official city card, operated by the city's tourism organisation rather than a third-party aggregator. It works on an hours-based model: you buy 24, 48, 72, 96, or 120 hours of access, and that clock starts from the moment you first scan in — not from midnight on a calendar day. A 72h card used from Thursday morning at 10:00 remains valid until Sunday at 10:00.
The card's standout feature is that it combines three things no Go City product offers: GVB public transport (unlimited trams, metro, and city buses), a free canal cruise, and 24h bike rental, alongside free entry to 70+ museums and attractions. The Rijksmuseum (€25 individually), ARTIS Royal Zoo (€29.50), NEMO Science Museum (€21.50), Stedelijk Museum (€25), Moco Museum (€23), and Rembrandt House Museum (€23.50) are all included. For a museum-focused visitor spending two or three days in Amsterdam and using trams to move between neighbourhoods, the maths often work in the card's favour before you've counted a single museum.
The card does not cover regional buses to Zaanse Schans (line 391) or Volendam (line 316), which are operated by Connexxion, not GVB. If a windmill day trip is on your list, you'll pay separately regardless of which pass you hold.
One practical gotcha: the Rijksmuseum requires a timed-entry reservation for all visitors, including I amsterdam Card holders. Book your slot at rijksmuseum.nl before you arrive — non-negotiable during peak season.
Prices: 24h €67 / 48h €94 / 72h €115 / 96h €130 / 120h €140.
Go City Essentials Pass — €59
The Essentials Pass is Go City Amsterdam's entry-level product: three attraction picks at a flat €59. What makes it structurally distinct from the Explorer Pass is its mandatory first pick. The pass requires you to choose exactly one of three anchor attractions — ARTIS Royal Zoo, Rijksmuseum, or a third option — as your first selection. The remaining two picks come from a pool of 15 further attractions including A'DAM LOOKOUT, Moco Museum, Madame Tussauds, canal cruise, and THIS IS HOLLAND.
If ARTIS or Rijksmuseum is your priority and you only plan two or three paid attractions in total, the Essentials Pass at €59 is more efficient than the All-Inclusive's cheapest day at €79.
The limitation is the ceiling: three attractions, full stop. Valid for 30 days from first use. No public transport. 90-day refund window if unactivated. The key structural difference from the Explorer Pass: Essentials guarantees access to the anchor museums that Explorer deliberately excludes.
Go City Explorer Pass — from €44
The Explorer Pass is the most misunderstood product in Amsterdam's pass market. It is not a cheaper version of the All-Inclusive. It is a fundamentally different product with a fundamentally different attraction pool.
The Explorer's 26 available attractions are weighted toward experiences rather than major museums: Moco Museum (€23), A'DAM LOOKOUT (€17.50), Madame Tussauds (€26), THIS IS HOLLAND (€24), canal cruises, the Amsterdam Dungeon (€26.50), Rembrandt House Museum (€23.50), and a Zaanse Schans day trip (€35 individually). Notably, Rijksmuseum and ARTIS Royal Zoo are not in the Explorer pool — visitors whose itinerary depends on either should use the Essentials or All-Inclusive instead.
For a visitor whose Amsterdam itinerary is built around experiences over classical museums — a repeat visitor who has already done the Rijksmuseum, or someone drawn more to immersive venues and day trips — the Explorer is the right product. A 3-choice pass at €44 covering Moco Museum, canal cruise, and A'DAM LOOKOUT saves roughly €20 against individual prices. A 5-choice pass at €74 can save meaningfully more if the Zaanse Schans day trip or higher-value experiences are included.
One stale data warning: the Explorer Pass validity changed from 60 days to 30 days for passes purchased after April 1, 2025. Most third-party booking sites still quote 60 days. The correct figure for anyone buying today is 30 days from first use. No public transport; 90-day refund if unactivated.
Prices: 3-choice €44 / 4-choice €64 / 5-choice €74.
Go City All-Inclusive Pass — from €79
The All-Inclusive covers 57 attractions across museums, experiences, and day trips. It is the only Go City product that includes meaningful day trips within the pass price — Zaanse Schans (bus excursion and village day trip), Giethoorn with canal tour, and a full Rotterdam/Delft/The Hague guided tour are all on the inclusions list alongside Rijksmuseum, ARTIS Royal Zoo, Moco Museum, Madame Tussauds, Stedelijk Museum, and more.
The model is consecutive calendar days, not 24-hour periods. A 1-day pass is valid for one calendar day ending at midnight — activating at 2pm means you lose the morning. Starting early matters: Go City's own 3-day sample itinerary runs four attractions per day, yielding roughly €114 in savings against individual prices. Hit fewer and the maths deteriorate quickly.
The 1-day pass at €79 is the weakest value tier — viable only with a tightly packed single day. The 2-day (€129) and 3-day (€159) passes are where most visitors find the All-Inclusive earning its cost. One thing it never includes regardless of duration: GVB public transport. Budget separately — a 72h GVB pass costs €21.50.
Prices: 1 day €79 / 2 days €129 / 3 days €159 / 4 days €179 / 5 days €199.
Which Amsterdam pass is right for your trip
The right pass follows directly from which attractions are on your list — not from price alone. Five profiles cover most visitors.
Rijksmuseum, ARTIS, NEMO, Stedelijk, canal cruise, 24h bike rental, and unlimited GVB transport in one pass. The transport inclusion alone accounts for €21.50 of the price. For visitors doing three or more museums with tram travel between them, this card consistently beats buying separately.
Rijksmuseum or ARTIS as a mandatory first pick, plus two more from 15 options including A'DAM LOOKOUT, Moco Museum, Madame Tussauds, and canal cruise. Cheaper than the All-Inclusive if your list is genuinely three attractions total. Add a GVB day pass (€10–16) separately if you need trams.
Moco Museum, canal cruise, A'DAM LOOKOUT, Madame Tussauds, THIS IS HOLLAND, Zaanse Schans day trip — the Explorer pool covers these well. Right for repeat visitors or anyone whose Amsterdam list is built around experiences rather than Dutch Golden Age art. Check your specific list against the Explorer's 26 attractions before buying.
The broadest Go City product: Rijksmuseum, ARTIS, Moco, Madame Tussauds, Stedelijk, and day trips to Zaanse Schans and Giethoorn all in one pass. Saves real money across a packed 2–3 day itinerary. Add a GVB multi-day pass separately — no public transport included.
Neither attraction is on any Amsterdam pass. A pass only saves money if its included attractions cover most of your list. If your two top priorities are already excluded, the remaining savings case is weak. Book Van Gogh Museum at vangoghmuseum.nl and Anne Frank House at annefrank.org — both well in advance.
The transport question
Amsterdam's canals make it one of the few European cities where public transport genuinely changes how you move between attractions. The museum quarter (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk), Amsterdam-Noord (A'DAM LOOKOUT, THIS IS HOLLAND), and De Pijp are all meaningfully separated on foot.
The I amsterdam City Card includes unlimited GVB trams, metro, and city buses for the full card duration. No Go City product includes any transport at all. If you buy a Go City pass, add one of the following separately: a GVB 24h pass (€10), 48h (€16), or 72h (€21.50). Alternatively, Amsterdam is extremely bikeable — the I amsterdam Card's free 24h bike rental is a practical alternative to trams for visitors staying centrally.
For a 3-day trip, the transport gap matters: a Go City All-Inclusive (€159, no transport) plus a 72h GVB pass (€21.50) lands at roughly €180.50. The I amsterdam 72h card is €115 and covers both museums and transport, though with a different attraction pool — deeper on museums, but no day trips to Zaanse Schans or Giethoorn. The right comparison depends on which set of attractions your itinerary actually uses.
Reservations — what needs booking in advance
Holding any Amsterdam pass does not guarantee walk-up entry at the most popular attractions. The following require advance reservations regardless of which pass you carry:
Rijksmuseum — timed entry only; no walk-up tickets available at peak times. Book at rijksmuseum.nl for your specific day and time slot. The reservation is free for I amsterdam Card and Go City pass holders, but the slot must still be secured before you arrive.
Van Gogh Museum — not on any pass, but worth noting here: it is the single highest-demand attraction in Amsterdam. Slots sell out weeks ahead in peak season. Book as early as the site allows.
Anne Frank House — not on any pass. Sells out months ahead for popular dates; booking 2–3 months in advance is not excessive in July and August.
Related guides
If you are comparing passes across multiple European cities, the brand-level guide at Go City vs CityPASS covers how the two programmes differ at the structural level. For more on how to evaluate whether any pass saves money for your specific trip, see Is a city pass worth it?
Museums-only trip? The Amsterdam Museum Pass guide covers the Museumkaart specifically. Amsterdam pass reviews are part of the Passes by Destination index.
Common questions about Amsterdam passes
Is the Van Gogh Museum included in any Amsterdam pass?
No. The Van Gogh Museum is not included in the I amsterdam City Card, any Go City pass, or any other sightseeing pass. Book directly at vangoghmuseum.nl — in peak season (April–August) tickets sell out weeks in advance.
Is the Anne Frank House included in any Amsterdam pass?
No. The Go City All-Inclusive includes an "Anne Frank walking tour," which is a neighbourhood tour — it does not include entry to the museum itself. Book Anne Frank House tickets only at annefrank.org; popular dates sell out 2–3 months in advance.
Does the Go City Explorer Pass include the Rijksmuseum?
No. Rijksmuseum is deliberately excluded from the Go City Explorer Pass. It appears on the Go City Essentials Pass (as one of three mandatory anchor picks), the Go City All-Inclusive Pass, and the I amsterdam City Card.
Does Go City Amsterdam include public transport?
No Go City Amsterdam pass — Explorer, Essentials, or All-Inclusive — includes GVB public transport. The only Amsterdam pass with trams and metro included is the I amsterdam City Card. Budget separately for GVB if you book any Go City product.
How long is the Go City Amsterdam Explorer Pass valid?
For passes purchased after April 1, 2025: 30 days from first use. Many third-party booking sites still quote 60 days, which was the old rule. Verify at gocity.com at time of purchase.