New York: Dyker Heights Christmas Lights tour by bus

4.26

(50 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

You’re just blinking off the city glare when the bus pulls away from Times Square — it’s that kind of New York evening where the air feels cold but not mean, and everyone’s bundled up in their own way. Our guide, Maria, had this easy laugh that made you feel like you’d known her for ages. We stopped by the river for a quick bathroom break (which I didn’t realize I’d need until we got there), and she pointed out the Statue of Liberty just as the sun was dipping behind it. The sky went this strange orange-pink — honestly, I tried to take a photo but it didn’t really work. You could smell roasted nuts from some cart nearby. That’s when I started to feel like maybe I was on vacation after all.

The drive out to Dyker Heights wasn’t long — maybe 40 minutes? — but it felt like we were leaving one world for another. The houses there… well, they don’t do anything halfway. Lights everywhere: reindeer tangled in hedges, inflatable Santas waving from porches, whole lawns turned into glowing snowfields. Kids were running around with mittens on strings and parents kept pointing things out to each other in every language you can imagine. Maria told us about how some families have been doing these displays for decades — apparently there’s a bit of friendly competition between neighbors. She even introduced us to Mrs. Russo (who handed out candy canes and called me “hon”), which was honestly sweet.

On the way back, we stopped at Brooklyn Bridge Park for this view of Manhattan all lit up — it looked almost fake, like someone had painted every window gold. There was this hush over our group for a minute; even the teenagers put their phones down. The cold hit harder by then but nobody seemed to mind much. Driving back over the bridge itself felt like closing a book you didn’t want to finish yet. I still think about that view sometimes when I hear car horns at home.