Dyker Heights Christmas lights tours, priced seat by seat
A Dyker Heights lights tour runs from ~$63 a person on a big bus up to ~$959 for a private car that carries your whole group. Looking at the houses costs nothing; the money pays for getting to Brooklyn and back after dark. Below, the three tours side by side, then the extras the fares leave out.
The three tours side by side
The table puts our three choices next to each other at their regular "from" prices. GetYourGuide often shows the two bus tours lower on the booking page, so read these figures as the top of the range rather than the bill.
| Tour | From | Priced | Length | Start point | On foot | Included | Free cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scatto a New York (our pick) | ~$63 | Per person | 3.5–4 h, a little more in traffic | 566 10th Ave, Hell's Kitchen | About 1 h | Bus, English-speaking guide, guided walk | 24 h |
| ExperienceNYC | ~$75 | Per person | About 4 h (Viator 3–4 h) | 822 8th Ave (between 49th and 50th) | Less than our pick | Climate-controlled bus, Manhattan lights from the bus, DUMBO stop | 24 h |
| NYC Private Limo | ~$959 | Per car | About 3 h (Viator 4 h) | Your hotel or apartment in Manhattan | 30–40 min | Driver, taxes, tolls, soft drinks | 24 h |
The two buses charge per seat and the limo charges per car, so the bottom line depends on the size of your party. A couple and a family of six get very different answers from the same table.
What a bus seat buys
Scatto a New York's bus tour from ~$63 is our pick and the cheapest of the three per head. The fare covers the coach from Hell's Kitchen and an English-speaking guide, who walks the two brightest streets with you for roughly an hour.
On the way back the bus pulls over for about 25 minutes at Brooklyn Bridge Park. The bridge rises overhead and Manhattan glows across the river. It then crosses the Manhattan Bridge and lets you off at Bryant Park.
The fare does not buy a hotel pickup or any food and drink. The bus has a restroom for the long cold evening. Eating and drinking on board are not allowed, so plan dinner before you board or after you get back.
It holds 4.6 from 2,400+ reviews on GetYourGuide and 4.5 from 900+ on Viator. Value scores 4.4 on GetYourGuide, the lowest of its sub-scores, behind the guide at 4.7 and the transport at 4.8.
Mobility is the weak spot. The coach parks outside the lit blocks because the streets are too narrow, and the houses cannot be seen from your seat, so anyone who struggles to walk for an hour should read about the private limo instead.
The lowest fare with a guide and an hour among the houses
Scatto a New York's evening bus from Hell's Kitchen, with a guided walk on the two brightest streets and a skyline stop on the way home.
Paying more for Manhattan on the same night
ExperienceNYC's luxury bus from ~$75 costs a little more per person than our pick, and the extra goes on Midtown. The route passes the Fifth Avenue windows and the Rockefeller Center tree when traffic allows, then the Empire State Building and Macy's.
Those sights are seen through the bus windows, not on foot. After Dyker Heights it stops in DUMBO for the bridges and the skyline, then heads back to Midtown after about 4 hours (Viator says 3–4).
The coach is climate-controlled and seats up to 50, and on Viator the driver gives the commentary. It rates 4.8 from 70+ reviews on Viator and 4.3 from 40+ on GetYourGuide, far fewer than our pick has collected.
Whether the Midtown loop earns its extra cost depends on how many nights you have in the city. Our Rockefeller tree and Dyker Heights guide sets out the route and the do-it-yourself alternative.
The limo is priced per car
NYC Private Limo's tour from ~$959 for the whole car looks steep next to a bus seat, and for two people it is. You pay the same group price whether one person rides or the car is full.
The sum changes as the seats fill. Divide it by four or five and each share drops sharply, though it stays well above a bus ticket. For a couple, each person pays many times what the bus costs.
The price includes pickup at your hotel or apartment in Manhattan. Taxes and tolls are covered too, along with soft drinks. Gratuity and alcohol are extra, and no tour guide comes along, since the person at the wheel is a driver.
Viator's version starts a little higher, runs about 4 hours instead of 3 and lets you pick the vehicle, with champagne only in the limousine. Both rate 4.6, with 40+ reviews on GetYourGuide and 70+ on Viator.
Costs the listings leave out
- A tip for the guide on the bus tours, which neither fare includes
- The limo driver's gratuity, on top of the per-car price
- Dinner, and a hot chocolate somewhere in Brooklyn, since no tour serves a meal
- A subway ride or cab to the meeting point in Midtown or Hell's Kitchen
- Your own way back to the hotel from Bryant Park or 8th Avenue late at night
None of these is large on its own. For a family of four the tips and the food add up to a real difference in the total, so put them in the budget before you compare headline prices.
Going on your own costs a subway fare
The lights themselves are free. They hang on private houses and nobody sells tickets, so the cheapest evening is a standard subway fare each way plus a warm coat.
What you give up is the guide and the skyline stop. You also miss a heated seat after an hour in the cold. Our subway route guide covers the R and D trains and the walk from each station.
Planning time is the other price. Going alone means choosing the streets yourself, so read where the biggest displays stand before you set off from the station.
Booking without locking yourself in
All three tours cancel free up to 24 hours before departure, and GetYourGuide lets you reserve now and pay later. That flexibility counts in December, when a night you planned weeks ahead can be spoiled by sleet or a hard frost.
Book early for the weekends before Christmas, then check the forecast a day or two out. Our guide to the calmer nights helps you pick a date the crowds have not already claimed.
Bringing small children? Under-3s ride free on a lap on our pick's bus, which trims the family bill. The guide to visiting with kids covers strollers and bedtimes on a cold night.