Bay Ridge Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour

Included

TOUR AMERICA includes round-trip transport by bus or coach from 1651 Broadway. A live local guide speaks Spanish and English throughout the tour. The guided walking tour through Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights is part of the ticket, about 20 minutes in Bay Ridge and about 50 minutes among the Dyker Heights lights. The skyline stop at Brooklyn Bridge Park on the way back is also included.

Reserve now and pay later is offered on this listing, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before the start for a full refund.

What You May Pay on the Day

Nothing is mandatory beyond the ticket, but bring cash or card for hot drinks or snacks since no food stop is listed. Gratuities for the guide and driver are recommended and not included. There is no attraction entry, no boat and no meal on this tour, so the ticket price is the main cost.

One honesty note: the listing gives no departure time and no season dates, and one leg of its printed itinerary shows a duration of 20 hours, which is a typo. Check the start time on the booking page and ignore the 20-hour line.

The Stops in Order

The coach leaves from 1651 Broadway and crosses into Brooklyn. The first stop is Bay Ridge, where the guide leads a walk of about 20 minutes. Bay Ridge displays are less concentrated than Dyker Heights, spread along avenues like Narrows and roads like Colonial and Shore.

Next comes the main event, roughly 50 minutes on foot through the Dyker Heights Christmas lights. The displays are reported along 11th to 13th Avenues, roughly between 83rd and 86th Streets, with houses carrying thousands of lights and toy soldiers. Lucy Spata's house on 84th Street is one of the famous ones and she plugs her display in on Thanksgiving, keeping it up past the Feast of the Epiphany.

On the way back the bus stops at Brooklyn Bridge Park for 15 minutes, with views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline. Then it returns you to Midtown Manhattan. The whole circuit takes about 4 hours.

Time your expectations around the lights themselves. Most houses switch off after 9pm, and Time Out puts the best window from dusk until about 9pm. The tour runs rain or snow, which matters because you are outside for the walks in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

Check These Before You Book

The listing states the tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments. The tour includes walks in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, so if walking is a problem, look at a ride-only option instead, such as the open-top night bus from Times Square.

The coach is enclosed, so you see the lights only on foot. If you want a restroom on board and a heated cabin with about an hour in Dyker Heights, the Dyker Heights guided coach tour at 4:15 PM states both. It costs $63 against this tour's $45.

The guide speaks Spanish and English only. Reviews note that one French speaker missed the explanations, so confirm your language before booking. If you want more time at the lights plus a sunset stop, the Dyker Heights bus tour with a Battery Park City sunset stop runs a similar evening with a German and English guide for $69.

Finally, the tour proceeds rain or snow and the listing gives no dates. If you cannot walk 20 minutes in winter rain, book elsewhere or wait for a clear forecast and cancel free up to 24 hours out if the outlook turns.

Finding 1651 Broadway

1651 Broadway is in Midtown, close to the Times Square district that runs from 40th to 53rd Street between 6th and 8th Avenues. The listing gives no specific subway guidance, so check a transit app for the best line. Arrive early, since the listing prints no departure time and you should not risk missing the bus.

Note that the district averages about 330,000 daily visitors, so give yourself margin at street level.

Before and After the Tour

You can add holiday stops near the meeting point on your own. The Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony is on December 2, and holiday timed admission with tree access starts from $42. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular runs through the season with the Rockettes. Bryant Park's Winter Village has free skating and 180 vendors, with the rink open until midnight on many dates in the heart of the season. The Saks Fifth Avenue light show near Rockefeller Center runs every few minutes through the evening in past seasons.

If you would rather skip a paid bus entirely, Time Out notes you can reach Dyker Heights on your own by taking the D train to 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue and walking about 15 minutes, though the terrain is hilly. Parking and traffic in Dyker Heights are generally bad and bathrooms are hard to find, which is exactly what a coach solves. For a wider read on the seasonal buses, see the NYC Christmas bus tour comparison or the basics of hop on hop off NYC if you want daytime sightseeing too, and the full range of NYC bus tours beyond the holidays.

Bay Ridge in 20 Minutes

The bus reaches Bay Ridge first, and the guide leads a 20-minute walk through the neighborhood before the lights. Bay Ridge keeps its own holiday displays, but they are less concentrated than Dyker Heights. Local reporting points to avenues like Narrows Avenue and roads like Colonial and Shore, so the decorations are spread across a wider area rather than packed onto a few blocks.

That makes the shorter stop useful as a warm-up and as context. The guide tells the story of the tradition on foot instead of from the bus seat. Wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing, which the listing recommends, because this is a standing and walking stop in a Brooklyn December.

The whole tour runs rain or snow, so assume the Bay Ridge walk happens in whatever weather the night brings. After the 20 minutes you board again for the short ride into Dyker Heights.

• Bay Ridge walk: 20 minutes on foot with the guide
• Dyker Heights walk: about 50 minutes among the displays
• Brooklyn Bridge Park photo stop on the way back: 15 minutes

Dyker Heights Streets, Hours and the D Train Alternative

The best-known Dyker Heights displays sit along 11th to 13th Avenues between 83rd and 86th Streets. Most displays go up the weekend after Thanksgiving and stay until the end of the first week of January. Time Out suggests visiting from dusk until about 9pm, because most houses switch their lights off after 9pm, and calls mid-December through New Year's Eve the best window.

Lucy Spata's house on 84th Street is part of the tradition, and she plugs her display in on Thanksgiving and keeps it up past the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Crowds are heavy, parking and traffic are generally bad, and bathrooms are hard to find, which is why a bus with a fixed 50-minute walk avoids the parking problem. If you go alone, Time Out suggests the D train to 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue and a walk of about 15 minutes over hilly terrain.