NYC Bus ToursNYC Christmas Bus Tour: Christmas Lights by Bus in New York
An NYC Christmas bus tour takes you from Midtown to the Dyker Heights lights in Brooklyn on an enclosed coach, with a guide on foot among the displays. This page compares the three bookable Dyker Heights coaches at $45 to $69 per person, explains when the Brooklyn lights go up and off, covers the Manhattan displays you can see the same evening, and walks through the do-it-yourself D train option. For year-round night buses, see the guide to NYC night bus tours. Full listings live on the homepage of NYC bus tours.
Dyker Heights in December. Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer The short version
The cheapest bookable NYC Christmas bus tour to Dyker Heights costs $45 per person for a 4-hour coach trip with a live guide in Spanish and English, and the most expensive of the three is $69 per person. The Brooklyn lights run from the weekend after Thanksgiving to the end of the first week of January, and most houses switch off after 9pm. Time Out names mid-December through New Year's Eve as the best window.
Key takeaways
- Compare all three coaches side by side in the Dyker Heights tour comparison, including time on foot and languages.
- The pick for a restroom on board and a visit to Lucy Spata's house is the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour at $63 per person.
- Check when the lights are actually up in Dyker Heights: Dates, Hours and Streets, including the 9pm switch-off.
- See what else runs the same evening, from the Rockefeller tree to Bryant Park, in Manhattan's Lights on the Same Night.
The Dyker Heights Bus Tours Compared
Three Dyker Heights coaches are bookable through this site. All three leave from Midtown Manhattan, all three are enclosed coaches, and all three end in Manhattan. None of them includes hotel pickup, a meal or attraction entry.
Prices, Walking Time and Languages at a Glance
The figures below come from each tour's own card on this site and show the card price in US dollars, how long you spend on foot among the lights, the guide languages and where the coach drops you at the end. Durations differ by 15 minutes between the longest and the shortest, but the walking time in Dyker Heights ranges from 50 minutes to a full hour, so the street time is similar across the board. The real differences are the guide languages, the extra neighborhoods and whether there is a restroom on board.
| Tour | Price | Time on foot | Guide language | Ends at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Bus Tour | $69 per person | Dyker walk 1 hour, plus 15-minute Battery Park City and 15-minute Brooklyn Bridge Park stops | German and English | Near Bryant Park |
| Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour | $45 per person | Bay Ridge 20 min, Dyker Heights 50 min, Brooklyn Bridge Park 15 min | Spanish and English | Midtown |
| Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour | $63 per person | Dyker Heights about 1 hour, DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights about 25 min | English | Bryant Park, via the Manhattan Bridge |
Which One Suits You
On price, the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour at $45 per person undercuts the other two by $18 to $24, and it is the only one that adds a guided 20-minute walk through Bay Ridge, where the displays are less concentrated than Dyker Heights but spread along avenues like Narrows and roads like Colonial and Shore. On comfort, the $63 Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour is the only one of the three whose listing states a restroom on board, which matters because Time Out notes that bathrooms are hard to find in Dyker Heights itself. Its guide walks the group to Lucy Spata's house on 84th Street, which the listing calls the house that started the tradition.
On language, the $69 Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Bus Tour is the choice for German speakers, with a live guide in German and English, and it adds a 15-minute sunset and bathroom stop at Battery Park City before Brooklyn. Ratings sit close together: 4.7, 4.6 and 4.5 out of 5 from 1,203, 1,008 and 922 reviews respectively.
Sources: MTA congestion pricing, NYC Tourism
Dyker Heights: Dates, Hours and Streets
Dyker Heights is a residential corner of Brooklyn where a handful of blocks go all out for the holidays. Knowing the streets, the dates and the 9pm switch-off is the difference between a great evening and a cold walk through ordinary houses.
The Streets to Aim For
The core of the display sits around 11th to 13th Avenues in the 80s streets of Brooklyn. One source gives 83rd to 86th Streets, while another describes the densest crowds as centered roughly on 82nd to 85th Streets and 10th to 13th Avenues, so treat the whole grid from 10th to 13th Avenues and 82nd to 86th Streets as fair game. The single most famous address is Lucy Spata's house on 84th Street.
Spata plugs her display in on Thanksgiving and leaves it up until after the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. The name Dyker Lights traces to a 2001 PBS documentary of that title, and accounts of the tradition's start differ: some date the displays to about 1980 or the 1980s, while local historians have cited a tradition from the 1940s.
When the Lights Are Up and the Best Weeks
Most Dyker Heights displays go up the weekend after Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26, and stay until the end of the first week of January. Time Out names mid-December through New Year's Eve as the best time to visit.
The 9pm Switch-Off
Time Out recommends seeing Dyker Heights from dusk until about 9pm, because most houses switch their displays off after 9pm. That single fact should shape your whole evening: a tour or a train that arrives after 9pm sees a dark neighborhood. Only the $63 tour states a departure time, 4:15 pm, with about an hour on foot among the lights.
The other two listings give no departure time, so check it before you book. Expect crowds. One report puts visitors at more than 100,000 a year, while News 12 says hundreds of thousands, so the sidewalks are busy on any December evening, and Time Out notes that parking and traffic in Dyker Heights are generally bad.
The Don'ts of Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
What to avoid on a December evening in Dyker Heights. Third-party video by The Megan Daily. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Manhattan's Lights on the Same Night
Most of the Dyker coaches start or end near Midtown, so it is easy to fold a Manhattan display into the same evening. These are the dates that matter, straight from the operators' own announcements.
Dates for the Big Displays
The table gathers the published dates for the five Manhattan holiday fixtures that pair naturally with a Dyker Heights evening. Where a date for the coming season has not been announced, the table says so rather than guessing. Note that the Rockefeller Center tree stays up through the holiday season but no removal date has been published.
| Display | Where | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting | Rockefeller Center | Tree arrives November 7, lighting ceremony December 2, 2026 |
| Saks Fifth Avenue light show and windows | Saks flagship, Fifth Avenue | 2026 unveiling in November, exact dates not stated |
| Macy's Herald Square holiday windows | Macy's, Herald Square | 2026 unveiling date not stated, recent years ran from a week before Thanksgiving into January |
| Bryant Park Winter Village | Bryant Park | Reported by Time Out and Hoodline as October 28, 2026 through February 28, 2027, with free skating, not confirmed by the park |
| Radio City Christmas Spectacular | Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas | November 4, 2026 through January 4, 2027 per the Rockettes and MSG, one outlet lists November 5 to January 3, 230 performances |
Holiday Night Bus Options in Manhattan
Two more holiday-season bus products run in Manhattan without going to Dyker Heights. The Big Bus Holiday Lights Night Tour is the night leg of the Big Bus ticket: it departs from Stop 1 at M&M's World, with the tickets page listing 7:00pm and 8:00pm departures and the service page listing a single 7:00pm departure, one tour per evening, lasting about 2 hours and returning to Stop 1. It is included on 48 and 72-hour Big Bus tickets rather than sold as a standalone holiday product.
TopView sells a seasonal North Pole Express, a holiday-themed tour, for which no price or schedule is stated in the listings on this site. If your interest is the skyline rather than the season, the year-round options are covered in the NYC night bus tour guide.
The Rockefeller Center tree. Photo: Anthony Quintano from Mount Laurel, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Doing It Yourself
You do not need a coach to see Dyker Heights. The subway gets you within a 15-minute walk, and the fare is $3 a ride.
The D Train Route
Time Out's do-it-yourself instructions are simple: take the D train to 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue, then walk about 15 minutes to the lights over hilly terrain. The NYC local subway and bus fare is $3, and MTA gives one free transfer within two hours of paying, paid with OMNY. MetroCards can no longer be bought or refilled since January 1, 2026, so tap in with OMNY on a card or phone.
If you ride transit a lot across a week, fare capping stops charges at $35 over 7 days for subway and local bus, and after 12 paid rides on the same card or phone within seven days, further rides are free.
Why the Coaches Still Sell Out
The DIY trip has three frictions the coaches remove. First, the walk from the D train is hilly and a tour such as the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour drops you at the lit blocks with a guide who walks you to Lucy Spata's house. Second, Time Out reports that parking and traffic in Dyker Heights are generally bad and bathrooms are hard to find, whereas the $63 coach states a restroom on board.
Third, timing: most houses switch off after 9pm, so the hour on foot has to fall before then. Ratings of 4.7, 4.6 and 4.5 come from more than 900 reviews each.
Christmas Lights Tour Tips
Do
- Do go between mid-December and New Year's Eve, because Time Out names that stretch as the best time and every participating house is lit by then.
- Do plan to be on the blocks from dusk to about 9pm, because most Dyker Heights houses switch their displays off after 9pm.
- Do pick the coach with a restroom on board if you are bringing children, because Time Out reports bathrooms are hard to find in Dyker Heights and the $63 tour is the only one of the three whose listing states a restroom on board.
- Do wear real winter layers, because you spend 50 minutes to an hour on foot outdoors, and Central Park's January normal low is 27.9F.
- Do fold in one Manhattan display the same evening, because Time Out and Hoodline report the Bryant Park Winter Village with free skating and it sits where two of the three coaches end.
Don't
- Don't drive, because Time Out says parking and traffic in Dyker Heights are generally bad on display evenings.
- Don't buy a MetroCard for the DIY trip, because MetroCards can no longer be bought or refilled since January 1, 2026, and OMNY is the way to pay the $3 fare.
- Don't book a tour expecting extras it does not include, because none of the three Dyker coaches includes hotel pickup, food or attraction entry.
- Don't count on seeing the Saks light show on a set schedule, because only the campaign and a November unveiling have been announced and the exact light show dates are not stated.
NYC Christmas Bus Tour FAQ
How much does an NYC Christmas bus tour to Dyker Heights cost?
The three bookable Dyker Heights coaches cost $45, $63 and $69 per person on their cards on this site. The $45 option is the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour, which also walks Bay Ridge for 20 minutes.
When do the Dyker Heights Christmas lights go up and come down?
Most displays go up the weekend after Thanksgiving and stay until the end of the first week of January, though Lucy Spata keeps her house on 84th Street lit until after January 6. Full dates are in the Dyker Heights dates section.
Is there a Dyker Heights bus tour with a guide in Spanish?
Yes. The Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour runs with a live local guide in Spanish and English for $45 per person over 4 hours.
Can I see Dyker Heights without a tour?
Yes. Take the D train to 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue and walk about 15 minutes over hilly terrain, paying the $3 subway fare with OMNY. The trade-offs against a guided coach tour are covered in the DIY section.
Which Dyker Heights bus tour has a bathroom on the bus?
The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Guided Bus Tour at $63 per person is the only one of the three whose listing states a restroom on board, which helps because bathrooms are hard to find in the neighborhood.
What holiday displays can I see in Manhattan the same night?
The Rockefeller Center tree lighting is December 2, 2026, the Bryant Park Winter Village has free skating per Time Out and Hoodline, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is listed from November 4 to January 4 by the Rockettes and MSG. The dates are tabled in the Manhattan lights section.