Is the Go City Las Vegas Pass worth it?
The Explorer Pass is the right default for most Las Vegas visitors — the Essentials Pass looks like a cheaper version of the same thing but draws from a much smaller pool.
Essentials and Explorer both work the same way: choose a number of attractions, use them within 30 days of your first visit. At the 3-choice mark they're $20 apart ($79 vs $99), and nothing on the pricing page explains why. The answer is pool size — Essentials only draws from 9 attractions, Explorer from 44 — and Essentials also drops the Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus tour, which Explorer includes. If your must-see list is short and sits entirely inside Essentials' 9-item pool, it's the cheaper pick. Otherwise Explorer is worth the extra $20 for the flexibility alone. All-Inclusive is a separate decision, better suited to longer stays where you'll realistically hit 3+ days.
Prices verified July 2026- $79
- From
- 30 days or by day count
- Validity
- 9 to 48
- Attractions
- 3-5 day trips
- Best for
- 3 products, 2 mechanics
- Model
The one fact that determines which pass to buy
Las Vegas doesn't have a CityPASS option — Go City is the only sightseeing pass provider here, which simplifies the "which brand" question but replaces it with a different one. Go City sells three separate Las Vegas products, and two of them are easy to confuse: Essentials and Explorer both work by picking a number of attractions within a 30-day window, and at the 3-choice level they're only $20 apart. Nothing on Go City's own pricing page explains that gap. The answer is pool size, and it's worth understanding before you pick a tier.
Three passes, not two
Most cities on this site sell one or two Go City products. Las Vegas sells three, and each works differently:
- Essentials Pass — fixed 3 choices from a pool of 9 attractions, from $79. 30-day validity from first visit.
- Explorer Pass — 3 to 7 choices from a pool of 44 attractions, from $99. Same 30-day validity.
- All-Inclusive Pass — 2 to 5 consecutive calendar days, unlimited use of all 48 attractions, from $169.
All-Inclusive is the easy one to understand — it's the same "pick days instead of attractions" model used by day-based passes in other cities. The real decision is between Essentials and Explorer, because they share an identical mechanic and look, at a glance, like the same product at two prices.
Essentials vs. Explorer
Essentials' entire pool is nine attractions: the High Roller, Madame Tussauds, the STRAT Tower, the Mob Museum, the Neon Museum, a FlyOver ride, the Eiffel Tower Experience, the Big Apple Roller Coaster, and a $25 dining credit. Every one of those is priced high enough individually that any 3 you pick will clear the $79 pass price — so on pure math, Essentials is close to risk-free.
The catch isn't the math, it's the ceiling. Explorer includes those same 9 attractions plus 35 more — among them the Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus tour, Fly LINQ Zipline, the Hoover Dam Highlights Tour, the Official "SAW" Escape Room, and shows like ROUGE and the Australian Bee Gees. If your list of must-sees includes anything outside Essentials' 9-item pool — which, for most first-time visitors planning more than a couple of Strip landmarks, it will — Explorer is worth the extra $20 for the option value alone, even before you use it.
A concrete example: Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus is on Explorer and All-Inclusive, but not Essentials. If a bus tour is anywhere on your list, Essentials is off the table regardless of price.
The All-Inclusive premium pick
All-Inclusive passes of 3 days or more include one additional choice from a separate "premium pick" pool: a Papillon Helicopters night flight over the Strip, either of two Cirque du Soleil shows (KA or Mad Apple), or a Desert Icons day hike to Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon. This is easy to miss, because none of these four options are included by default on any tier — they're a single bonus pick, gated behind the 3-day threshold, not a standard inclusion.
Worth flagging separately: Go City lists a standard "Hoover Dam Highlights Tour" on both Explorer and All-Inclusive as a normal credit or day-pass inclusion. That's a different, less involved product from the Desert Icons hike in the premium pick pool. Don't assume booking the standard Hoover Dam tour means you've used your premium pick — it doesn't, and the two are easy to conflate at a glance.
What's NOT included
These are popular Las Vegas attractions no pass tier covers. If your itinerary leans on any of these, individual tickets will likely work out cheaper.
- Public transit — no city bus or monorail access on any tier; sightseeing tours and hop-on hop-off buses are included instead, but not everyday transport.
- Cirque du Soleil shows and the Hoover Dam/Red Rock day hike are not included by default on any pass — they're only available as a single premium pick on All-Inclusive passes of 3 days or more.
- The Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus tour is excluded from the Essentials Pass specifically, despite being included on both Explorer and All-Inclusive.
Is every Essentials attraction worth a slot?
Not equally. Essentials' cheapest three — the Big Apple Roller Coaster ($25), the Sip & Savor dining credit ($25), and the Eiffel Tower Experience ($31) — total $81, only just above the $79 pass price. That's still a saving, but a thin one. The pass performs much better anchored to its higher-value items: the High Roller ($37), the STRAT Tower ($37), or a FlyOver ride ($40) each carry real weight on their own. Build your three choices around at least one or two of those, and the savings widen well past break-even. Build all three around the cheapest options and Essentials barely earns its price over buying tickets at the gate.
What's free nearby
Not every part of a Las Vegas trip needs a pass. The Strip itself, the Bellagio fountains, and most casino floors cost nothing to walk through, and many visitors spend real chunks of a trip on exactly that. A pass adds value on top of that free layer rather than competing with it — but it's worth remembering none of the nine Essentials attractions, or the wider Explorer pool, are things you'd stumble into for free. They're paid experiences the free Strip circuit doesn't substitute for.
Who should buy which pass
Essentials fits a short, focused visit where your list of must-sees sits entirely inside its 9-attraction pool — a couple of Strip landmarks, a museum, maybe a FlyOver ride. If that's genuinely your whole plan, Essentials is the cheaper way to get there, though the margin is tighter than it looks unless at least one high-value pick is in the mix.
Explorer fits most first-time visitors doing a typical 3 to 5 day trip who want more than the 9 headline attractions — especially anyone considering a bus tour, Fly LINQ, or one of the dozens of shows and tours only in the larger pool. The 4- or 5-choice tier is the practical sweet spot for most itineraries.
All-Inclusive fits longer stays, 3 days or more, where you'll realistically be doing multiple paid attractions per day rather than spacing a handful across a whole trip — and it's the only way to access the premium pick pool, including both Cirque shows. For a 2-day trip specifically, run the numbers against Explorer first: unlimited access sounds appealing, but a light itinerary rarely uses enough of it to beat a well-chosen Explorer selection.
FAQ
What's the difference between Essentials, Explorer, and All-Inclusive?
Essentials and Explorer both work the same way — pick a set number of attractions, use them within 30 days of your first visit. Essentials locks you to a fixed 3 choices from a pool of 9 attractions. Explorer lets you pick 3 to 7 choices from a much larger pool of 44. All-Inclusive is different again: instead of picking attractions, you pick a number of days (2 to 5) and get unlimited access to all 48 attractions during that window.
Why does Essentials cost almost the same as Explorer?
At the 3-choice level, Essentials is $79 and Explorer is $99 — a $20 gap for what looks like the same product. The difference is pool size: Essentials only draws from 9 attractions, Explorer from 44, and Essentials also drops the Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus tour that both Explorer and All-Inclusive include. If your must-see list fits inside Essentials' 9-item pool, it's the cheaper option. If not, Explorer's extra $20 buys real flexibility.
Does any Las Vegas pass include Cirque du Soleil or the Hoover Dam?
Not by default. The Hoover Dam Highlights Tour (a standard bus tour) is included on Explorer and All-Inclusive. Cirque du Soleil shows (KA, Mad Apple) and the separate Desert Icons hike to Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon are only available as a single premium pick, and only on All-Inclusive passes of 3 days or more — you choose one of four options, not all of them.
How does the All-Inclusive Pass count days?
By consecutive calendar days, not 24-hour periods. If you activate your pass by visiting your first attraction in the afternoon, you still lose that morning — it doesn't roll over. Starting your first day as early as possible gets the most value out of a day-based pass.
Do I need reservations even with a pass?
Yes, for most of the higher-value attractions. The High Roller, Madame Tussauds, Fly LINQ Zipline, and most tours require booking a time slot through the Go City app in advance — owning the pass doesn't guarantee walk-up entry.
Can I get a refund if my plans change?
Only if the pass hasn't been activated yet. Go City refunds non-activated passes within 90 days of purchase. Once you scan in at your first attraction, the pass is locked in and can't be refunded, though it can be extended if you want more time or an extra day.
Does the pass include getting around Las Vegas?
No. None of the three passes include public transit — no city bus, no monorail. Sightseeing tours and hop-on hop-off buses are on the Explorer and All-Inclusive pools, but that's not the same as everyday transport between your hotel and attractions.
Before you buy — things to know
- Essentials and Explorer are priced only $20 apart at the 3-choice level but draw from pools of 9 and 44 attractions respectively — check the Essentials pool list before assuming it's simply a discount version of Explorer.
- The All-Inclusive Pass counts consecutive calendar days, not 24-hour periods. Activating your pass at 3pm still costs you that entire morning — start early on day one to get full value.
- Hoover Dam appears on the pass in two different forms: the standard Hoover Dam Highlights Tour (included on Explorer and All-Inclusive) and the separate Desert Icons hike (a premium pick, All-Inclusive 3+ days only, one choice among four options).
- Most of the highest-value attractions — Fly LINQ Zipline, Madame Tussauds, the High Roller — require advance reservations through the Go City app even once you own the pass.
- Refunds apply only to non-activated passes, within 90 days of purchase. Once you've scanned in at your first attraction, the pass is locked in.