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Tampa Bay CityPASS

Attraction passTampa, FL

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Tampa Bay CityPASS, photo 1

Photos: Photo: Evan Nichols, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Our take

By Matt Spaulding, Founder and writer

CityPASS hands you a menu of seven and lets you keep five: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, The Florida Aquarium, MOSI, Glazer Children's Museum, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and a two-hour dolphin or sunset cruise with The Tropics Boat Tours. Nothing is locked in, which sounds flexible until you weigh what each gate is worth. Busch Gardens carries by far the highest admission value of the seven, so the pass only does real work when the theme park is one of your five. Without it the savings shrink to very little, and buying the two or three tickets you want is simpler. The second catch is geography. Busch Gardens and MOSI sit minutes apart off Fowler Avenue in north Tampa, ZooTampa is several miles southwest of both, and The Florida Aquarium and Glazer Children's Museum are about a mile apart along the downtown Riverwalk. Clearwater Marine Aquarium is across the bay in Pinellas County, with the Tropics boat leaving from Clearwater Beach past it, a half hour or more from Tampa. Nine days is enough runway to absorb that driving, provided you are not compressing all five into a weekend. Read what each gate covers, because this buys general admission and stops there. Adventure Island, Quick Queue and the Serengeti Safari are extra at Busch Gardens, the Wild Dolphin Cruise is a separate booking at The Florida Aquarium, animal encounters at Clearwater are their own ticket, and parking is charged everywhere except MOSI.

Quick facts

Included
One-time general admission to five attractions you choose from a pool of seven. No attraction is mandatory.
Booking
Valid 9 consecutive days counting the first day of use. Unused tickets expire one year after purchase. The Tropics Boat Tours needs an advance reservation.
How long
A full day for Busch Gardens, three to four hours for MOSI, about two hours for Glazer Children's Museum, two hours for a Tropics cruise from boarding to return.
Best for
Families with a car staying in the Tampa Bay area long enough to spread five outings across several days.
Getting there
Busch Gardens and MOSI are minutes apart in north Tampa, with ZooTampa several miles southwest. The Florida Aquarium and Glazer Children's Museum are about a mile apart on the downtown Riverwalk. Clearwater Marine Aquarium is across the bay in Clearwater and the Tropics boat leaves from Clearwater Beach. The Florida Aquarium is half a block from stop 7 on the free TECO Line Streetcar; the streetcar does not reach Glazer Children's Museum.
Parking
Not included, with MOSI the exception, where admission covers parking. ZooTampa charges for parking too. Clearwater Marine Aquarium has a paid onsite garage.

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Tampa Bay CityPASS FAQ

How many attractions does Tampa Bay CityPASS include, and can you pick them?

Five, and yes, you choose all five yourself from a list of seven. The options are Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, The Florida Aquarium, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, MOSI, Glazer Children's Museum, and a Tropics Boat Tours dolphin or sunset cruise. None of the five is locked in, so a group with teenagers and a group with toddlers can build very different passes from the same ticket.

How long is the pass good for?

Nine consecutive days, starting on and including the first day you visit an attraction or hold a reservation. Unused tickets stay valid for one year from the purchase date, so you can buy well ahead of a trip and only start the nine-day clock once you arrive. Most people space five attractions over three or four days rather than trying to compress them.

Is Tampa Bay CityPASS worth buying?

It hinges almost entirely on whether you visit Busch Gardens. That is the most expensive admission of the seven by a clear margin, so a plan built around the theme park starts coming out ahead at the second attraction. A plan that skips it saves very little, and in that case buying individual tickets for the two or three places you really want is simpler. It also assumes you can reach five separate venues, which is a real commitment on a short trip.

Do you need a car to use it?

Effectively yes if you intend to use all five. Busch Gardens and MOSI sit minutes apart in north Tampa, with ZooTampa several miles southwest of the pair. The Florida Aquarium and Glazer Children's Museum are about a mile apart along the downtown Riverwalk, roughly a twenty-minute walk in Florida heat. Clearwater Marine Aquarium is across the bay in Pinellas County and the Tropics Boat Tours dock is out on Clearwater Beach, a half hour or more of driving from the Tampa attractions. The free TECO Line Streetcar puts you half a block from The Florida Aquarium at stop 7, though it does not reach Glazer, so even the downtown leg is only half solved on foot.

What is not covered by the pass?

Anything beyond general admission. Adventure Island water park is a separate ticket from Busch Gardens, and so are Quick Queue and the Serengeti Safari upcharge. The Florida Aquarium's Wild Dolphin Cruise is a separate booking, as are the animal encounter programs at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Parking is charged separately at each venue except MOSI. At Busch Gardens the pass covers a single day of entry, including rides, shows and exhibits.

How do you redeem it, and are there child tickets?

Tickets are delivered digitally and can be shown on a phone or printed. Depending on the attraction you present the CityPASS ticket, an attraction reservation, or both, and The Tropics Boat Tours requires you to reserve a specific sailing in advance. Child tickets cover ages 3 to 11, though the age bands each attraction uses vary, and children under 3 get in free at most of the venues.

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