Sydney Go & IVenture Passes – do they save you money? [2024]
If you are thinking about buying a Sydney Go or iVenture pass to help keep the cost of attractions down when you visit Sydney, you might be wondering if they really do offer savings. Well, lots of people have been asking in our Facebook Group, so we have gone and done the research for you (and it took ages!). Read on to see what we discovered.
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The top Sydney Passes
If you’re in a hurry and don’t really want to read over the detailed advice below. Here are, in our experience, the best Sydney Passes currently available in 2024.
- Best Sydney Pass for the iconic sites – Sydney Go City Card
- Best Pass for locals – The Entertainment app has the most offers
- Best pass for families – Merlin’s Sydney Attraction Pass
- Best Budget Traveller pass – Entertainment App 3 month pass
- Best pass for action activities – Sydney Go City Card has surfing, walking and running tours and more.
Read on for full notes on each pass and how they work below.
Sydney Atttraction Passes and Apps
Types of Passes in Sydney
Two main passes designed for visitors are available for use in Sydney. These offer discounts across a range of attractions both in the city and in other key tourist spots like the Blue Mountains and South Coast.
The two passes are:
- iVenture Card (27 attractions/tours) – Choose 3, 5, or 7 attractions/tours
- Go Sydney Pass (25 attractions/tours) – Choose 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7 attractions/ tours
The cards offer similar conditions:
- Once you activate these passes are valid for 60 days (Go City) or 90 days (iVenture)
- Both offer apps for paperless use or vouchers you can exchange for cards on arrival in Sydney
Then there is the Entertainment App Membership which is targeted at locals but also very handy for visitors who are here for more than a few days.
This app has well over $20,000 worth of value in the form of up to 50% off deals and 2-for-1 offers. It covers 15,000 venues across Australia and New Zealand and include restaurants and cafes as well as activities and attractions. You can buy 3, 12 or 24 month memberships for one or more cities.
- Passes can be activated up to 90 days after purchase
- Passes can be installed on up to 5 devices
The Entertainment App is a great choice for locals or anyone who plans on dining out a lot during their visit.
What do Sydney passes cover?
It’s essential to consider which specific attractions you want to see rather than choose the card with the biggest number of attractions on offer. There are some key differences between these passes, so we have put them together in a table. This will help you to compare what’s included in each one quickly and easily.
Attractions on multiple passes
| Attraction | Go Sydney | iVenture | Entertainment App (BYGOF)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sealife Aquarium | Y | Y | Y |
| Sydney Tower Eye | Y | Y | Y |
| Wildlife Zoo | Y | Y | Y |
| Madame Tussauds | Y | Y | Y |
| Maritime Museum | Y | Y | Y |
| Opera House Tour | Y | Y | N |
| Jet Boat | Y | Y | Y |
| Adventure Clues walks | X | X | N |
| Hop on hop off cruise | Y | Y | Y |
| Sydney True Crime Tour | Y | Y | Y |
| Harbour Sightseeing Cruise | Y | Y | Y 50% off |
| Bonza Bike Tour/Hire | Y (4 hrs) | Y (4 hrs) | Y (full day) |
| Hop on hop off Blue Mtns | Y | Y | No |
| Featherdale Wildlife | Y | Y | No |
Here’s where the decisions come in.
- If you are on a quick visit to Sydney and just want this main sites any of these will get you a wildlife park, harbour cruise and a tour of the Opera House.
- If you like walking and culture tours, you would probably get better use from the Go Sydney card.
- If you plan to visit several museums then the Entertainment app is your best bet.
- If you plan on dining and are travelling with a family, the Entertainment App will be the best value.
Attractions only on some passes
| Attraction | Go City | iVenture | Entertainment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taronga Zoo + Cruise | Y | N | N |
| Chinese Garden | N | Y | N |
| Madame Tussards | Y | N | Y |
| Oz Whale Watching | N | Y | N |
| Surf Lesson | Y | N | Y (30%) |
| Harbour Sights Running Tour | Y | N | N |
| Surf Ski Paddle Lesson | N | Y | Y |
| Sydney Archery at Bondi | N | Y | N |
| Sydney Tower Eye | Y | N | Y |
| Urban Winery Sydney | Y | N | N |
| Sydney Hop on hop off bus | Y | N | Y |
| Sydney’s Razor Gang True Crime Tour | Y | N | N |
| Haunted Sydney Ghost Tour | Y | N | Y |
| Calmsley Hill City Farm Sydney | N | Y | Y |
| Sunset Views with 3-Course Set Menu | Y | N | Y |
| Blue Mountains Stargazing Tour | Y | N | N |
| Bygone Beautys Teapot Museum | N | Y | N |
| Mogo Wildlife Park (Sth Coast) | Y | N | N |
| Hunter Valley Wildlife Park | Y | N | N |
How much do Sydney Passes cost?
Both pass operators offer Flexi cards with 3, 5 and 7 attraction options. Go Sydney also provides a 4-day option.
| App | 3 attractions | 4 attractions | 5 attractions | 7 attractions |
| iVenture | $119 | NA | $169 | $219 |
| Go Sydney | $114 | $154 | $194 | $249 |
| Entertainment | $29 for 3 mths | $69 for 12 mths | $119 for 24 mths | $39 multi city |
iVenture also has the Sydney Unlimited Attractions Pass that allows you to visit as many attractions as you can in 2, 3 or 5 days
- 2 days $199
- 3 days $269
- 5 days $399
Alternatively, the Entertainment App allows you to buy 3, 12 or 24 month memberships. The app incudes hundreds of atttraction and dining offers.
The Entertainment Book App
The Entertainment Book has been sold across Australia for over 20 years. These days its an app-based digital membership, offering discounts on dining, travel, shopping, beauty and accommodation from more than 15,000 businesses across Australia and New Zealand.
These memberships are sold by the city. When you buy a membership for one city, you can purchase another city for a much-reduced rate so these can be great value if you are visiting a few cities.
The Entertainment App deals include lots of tourist attractions, sporting events and hire, fine dining and cafes, take away restaurants and even cinemas and day spas.
There are discounts for hotels and car hire too. Generally, there is at least 20% off or buy one get one free (BOGOF). I have personally had one of these for years and get great value out of all the dining options.
Examples of the way you could use this book to save money in Sydney are:
Attractions in Entertainment ApP popular with visitors to Sydney*
| Attractions | Type of discount | Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Featherdale | BOGOF | $42 |
| Rocks walk | BOGOF | $32 |
| Sydney Tower | BOGOF | $33 |
| Madame Tussauds | BOGOF | $48 |
| Sydney SeaLife | BOGOF | $38.50 |
| Wildlife Sydney | BOGOF | $48 |
| Manly Kayak Centre | 20% OFF | $10 |
| Manly Bike tour | BOGOF | $38 |
| Sydney Jet | BOGOF | $89 |
| Capt Cook HOHO ferry | 25% off (4 ppl) | $12.50 |
| Rocks Ghost Tour | BOGOF | $39 |
If you wanted to do all these things you would pay $70 for the app plus $430 for the activities a total of $500 = value $1000. Then you could also add some dining of fast food and coffee options.
Say you had three days
- Sydney Sealife plus Sydney Zoo (am) Manly Kayak hire (pm)
- Rocks Walking tour (am) Sydney Tower (sunset) Rocks Ghost Tour (evening)
- Harbour Jet Cruise, (am) Bonza Bike Tour (afternoon)
Total cost for two adults without Entertainment App – $675
Total cost for two adults with Entertainment App $337 (+$29 for the app) two adults – saving – $309
Buy your Entertainment membership now
Related: Read our review of the Sydney Hop on Hop Off bus
Sydney Multi-Attraction Passes
The best-known multi-attraction pass is the Sydney Attraction Pass offered by Merlin Entertainment. This pass is a good winter option when you are looking for more indoor activities or if you are travelling with kids.
This pass covers the following Merlin properties:
- Sealife Sydney
- Wildlife Sydney Zoo
- Madame Tussauds
- Sydney Tower Eye – with or without the skywalk.
You can buy multi tickets to combine any two attractions ($60) three attractions ($75) or four attractions ($85) of these at a reduced price compared to single admissions. You can also buy annual family passes that cover their other Australian locations. These are cheaper booked online. It will cost you more in person.
Related: Check out our article on the best places to see Australian animals in Sydney
Which Sydney Travel Pass/App is best?
So while we may have done some of the work, this is just the starting point. I suggest you use these tables to work out which attractions you want to visit and then armed with that see which pass will be cheaper for your situation.
These are our opinions, we suggest you double-check your own needs.
- For families, we think the Entertainment book is the best bet if you consider the meal deals and fast food savings it can really add up to significant savings. They also have several deals that are valid for 4-10 people so good for groups.
- If you are travelling solo, then the buy one get one free model of the Entertainment app will be no use, and the other Flexi cards with their 30-day validity work out best.
- If you are into activities like bikes, surfing and walking tours then consider a Go Sydney pass.
- Another consideration is the simplicity of the iVenture and Go Sydney options – you can pay for everything before you leave home and not need to worry about currency on arrival.
We hope this helps you determine if a Sydney attraction pass is the best choice for you. Personally we buy the Entertainment app with a 12 month membership and use it regularly for dining. I also think the Go Sydney pass is good value but I would not personally buy the iVenture card because I feel its offers are padded out with self guided app based tours rather than actual experiences.
Have questions about things to see and do in Sydney?
Head over and join our Facebook Group and we will be happy to help
My take away from this, I need to get back to Sydney, there is still so much to see and do. I think the goSydney would be best for us, as we love walking and exploring. Thanks for doing this, it makes it much easier to choose.
As I have a family and hope to get to Sydney in the next couple of years, the goSydney would suit us. Great ideas here and enough to keep the children entertained.
I wasn’t aware of the Sydney Passes, so this is great. When we make our way down there as a family, I’ll definitely look into them if we decide to do a fair amount of activities. Thanks for all of the comparative info.
I think the city passes are actually pretty good. With the two you introduce here, I like the long runtime. However, I do not like the fact that they already determine when buying how many attractions you can use. From other cities I know a very short term, but you have to be able to select from all included offers also all. I think with each pass you have to calculate exactly before, if you really save money.
I never knew about these passes but they sound like a great idea! I feel like a lot of people could use these 🙂
I agree that the Living Museums are really interesting and $24 is really good to visit all these places. I’ve seen most of them but I didn’t know about the pass though, thank you for sharing.
I’m leaning towards the iVenture Card as it has 33 attractions, versus only 25 with the Go Sydney Pass. I wouldn’t go with the Entertainment App as it doesn’t include a tour of the Opera House, which I want to do. Thanks for the research.
Thanks for sharing this comprehensive comparison ! I prefer to travel at a slower pace, and enjoy comfort, convenience and some occasional luxury. I think Entertainment app is best for my style. Will consider this when I get to visit Sydney ! =)
Thanks for sharing wonderful details of both passes Sydney Pass and iVenture. I did not opted for Sydney pass when I was in Sydney but now I will seriously consider it as it has many attractions and offers.
Good choice, it’s the option I went with too
Depending on your personal interests, it’s always a difficult question which city pass will pay off. Especially when Sydney has so much to offer. This is a very comprehensive overview that will make this decision much clearer. Thank you for combining all this information together!