New York City at Christmas is one of the most spectacular sights to see. Get in the festive mood by taking a 1.5-hour evening tour of Manhattan's glittering holiday-season lights. New York City comes alive at night, and there is no better time to tour the illuminated city than during the Christmas holidays.
New York puts on a special show in the holiday season, with the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and ice rink a particular seasonal highlight. See the Fifth Avenue shops and famous department stores in their holiday finery, as well as Lord and Taylor's world-famous animated windows. The spirit of Christmas truly comes alive during December, so let this tour take you through the city and show you why Christmas in New York is special.
The New York City Holiday Lights Tour gives you a panoramic night tour of the city, and is not a hop-on hop-off service. There are no scheduled stops on this tour.
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I have used hop on hop off tours in many, many cities in my years of traveling and I've always had good experiences, so I know it's a great way to see a city. In this particular trip to New York City, we were looking solely for a night tour. We wanted a way to see the holiday lights in NYC without having to travel half the city by foot. My Mom and I booked ourselves on the Holiday Light Tour by Grayline. We were on the 8:30pm bus on Sunday, December 11, 2016. Worst. Experience. Ever. Their brochure indicated that we would see all of the dazzling lights of the city culminating with the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. How many Christmas light sights did we see? Exactly one, Lord and Taylor. And that's it. We drove around a dark Central Park 1 1/2 times and wasted 60 minutes even though the tour was supposed to be 90 minutes of our time that we will never get back. Our bus driver negotiated additional tips from some tourists that were at the origination of the tour to drop them off at the Empire State Building wasting more of our time and then while dropping those tourists off at the Empire State Building, the driver and tour guide tried to get MORE tourists on the bus for 20 each to drop them off somewhere else in the city. I already knew we were in trouble with this tour group/bus, but it gets better. After all of the shenanigans I've already described, the tour guide starts to tell us that it was his 2nd to last day on the job and that he was quitting and didn't really care about the company or their guests anymore. I'm glad that I had to frame of mind to let him know that his performance thus far was a clear indication. When we asked the bus driver and the tour guide if we were going to at least see the Rockefeller Christmas tree, their response was that it was too crowded and there was too much traffic. Before I got off the bus, the tour guide decides to start debating politics with us when we mentioned we were staying at Trump International. Really?! Do yourself, your wallet and your precious time in the city a BIG favor: STAY AWAY FROM GRAYLINE.
Review by: Ann M S, February 2017
DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR. HORRIBLE. No commentary. Hardly any lights. Worst 2 hours ever. Do Not Take This Tour. RIPOFF
Review by: Toni L, January 2017
The guide was entertaining, but the ticket sales people were rude and ineffectual.
Review by: David P, December 2016
First there are not that many Christmas lights to see. No view of store fronts because of all the people walkin around looking at Christmas displays. It was however a nice tour of Manhattan or at least the part we drove in.
Review by: Ronald K, December 2016
Did not see Rockefeller center,street was closed
Review by: Smiley, December 2016
The tour guide was awesome and the bus driver was a very good driver. The guide was very informative and funny. The downfall is that this tour takes part on a hop on hop off type of bus, which is barely protected from the cold and wind. We froze, especially our feet. We strongly recommend bringing heated insoles for the feet and hot paws for the hands, a really good winter coat, as the seats on the bus are just those plastic kind without any padding and they stay cold, as well as a hat. A rain coat helps when it rains as well, as we experienced rain and snow on this tour. _br/_ We travelled exactly 13.7 kms during this tour and were able to see many wonderful lights and were well amused by the tour guide. _br/_ I give it 3 stars because I think an enclosed bus with padded seats would be much more appropriate for this tour and the cost. It would have been nice to be comfortable while watching the lights.
Review by: louise r, December 2016
Don't bother if your intention is to see Christmas lights - if you want a night time tour of Ny then its great . Very disappointed , having been on a similar tour 4 years ago which was brilliant -but that was with a different tour company.
Review by: happybeingstef, December 2016
The absolute worst tour we have ever been on. we paid to be in a bus that quickly drove past a couple decorated buildings. The Man that was narrating the tour hardly spoke, he spoke more to a women from Las Vegas, and when he would mention something it was after we had passed it. Very disappointed in this tour. Several of the people on the tour including my husband and myself went to the box office to complain. I tried contacting viator during the tour with no response. No pictures taken because the tour was horrible
Review by: Diane W, December 2016
Our tour guide was great but talked really fast.
Review by: Shannongilmer, December 2016
Tour guide was very informative and enjoyable.
Review by: Topcoprtdnc, December 2016
Awful experience. The narrator had such a heavy Asian accent you could not understand the majority of the tour. He tried to tell politically insensitive jokes and made several errors in historical facts that were corrected by passengers. Don't waste your money!!!!! You would be better to walk and view the lights.
Review by: Kuniyuki N, December 2016
This was a bad tour. We had a terrible response at the Visitor center of Gray line, and had to walk around to find our bus._br/_ The bus did not stop by Rockefeller center Christmas tree.
Review by: Nan, December 2016
First of all, it was raining. We were offered ponchos but we had umbrella and rain jackets. We drove a few blocks and guide seemed not to care about any narration. He offered the comment that we were in Times Square but without history/details of area. There was limited covered seating on upper deck. So we were on lower level where you could not see anything. After driving a few blocks, the guide had us transferred to a SECOND bus so we could sit in covered area. The second guide was friendlier and offered much more detail and history as we drove along the tour._br/_ The covered area leaked water in many spots of the covering!! The guide gave tourists extra ponchos for coverage and warmth. Lots of the dripping /leaked rain ran under seats and continued to drip from seams in the covered roof . Some people went to lower level as belongings/packs were getting wet. These buses need some covered roof repairs.
Review by: Judi H, December 2016
The tour guide was totally inappropriate for this tour. This was a Christmas light tour, there were children on the bus as well as a diverse group of people. He may quite a few political references, talked about drug use, talked about the 'wifey' getting half of her husbands money, etc. He was generally very negative. I was with a party of 4 and everyone felt the same. I would definitely not recommend this tour. On a positive note...the lights were beautiful!
Review by: doris j, March 2016
Fun
Review by: Jim N, March 2016
Good tour but would recommend not taking it if it rains
Review by: Haryadi B, March 2016
it was nice to see NYC at night, love this tour
Review by: Geoff S, March 2016
The bus was old and our front windscreen was broken making visibility poor. The commentator on the bus was making a fuss at passengers further down the bus so we couldn't hear some of the things he was saying. We did seem to go round the block a few times.
Review by: Kayleigh L R, January 2016
Fantastic! Great tour guide, awesome tour of the city !
Review by: Tracey C, December 2015
The tour guide was aweful! Interjected too much of his personal beliefs and agenda. Tours should just be the facts of the tour and NOT his personal opinions about it,
Review by: linda w, March 2015
although it was raining it was an enjoyable experience
Review by: Allison K, March 2015
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Barbara K, March 2015
A+
Review by: Angela C, February 2015
The worst tour i've been on in NY. Would definitely NOT recommend this tour to anyone! Scheduled to depart at 6pm and didn't until close to 7pm! it was a cold evening in December, i was stood waiting for a long time just to wait for the bus to arrive. Even when the bus arrived there was no apology from the staff or explanation as to why it was delayed.
Review by: Brent G, February 2015
The tour guide was knowledgable
Review by: Frank M, February 2015
Informative narration of the city tour. Very entertaining!
Review by: Lori L, February 2015
It was a disappointment on many levels - I had anticipated seeing all the beautiful Christmas lights I was sure NYC had displayed. Our guide, Johnny, clearly had a different agenda. His primary purpose was to solicit for tips, which I counted 11 times during a 90 minute tour. That's roughly every 8 minutes and while sometimes it was a subtle hint, 3 times he went through his script of "$5 if you enjoy the experience, $10 if was really fabulous, $20 and he would go home with you, $100 and you could keep the bus. He and Hector (the driver) are a team and would split everything placed in the tip jar." I'm sure he thought he was being cute; he was not. He compared himself to waiters and waitresses in the service industry that relied heavily on receiving tips to survive. I've never had a waitress ask me for a tip, certainly not every time he/she fills my water glass or visits my table. While he did possess and share his knowledge of NY trivia; his approach made for an unenjoyable experience, bordering on harassment. My primary purpose was to see some beautiful Christmas displays without having to walk for miles in the crowds and cold weather. Either NYC didn't put much effort in Christmas decorations this year or our driver decided to take an alternate route due to the heavy traffic on a Saturday evening. Either way, it was disappointing as we didn't see that many Christmas decorations. At one point my companion and I even discussed the possibility that we got on the wrong bus……..…..sadly we had not.
Review by: gloria h, February 2015
It was the worst touring experience I've ever had. Couldn't see out of bus, bus fumes in side vehicle. 6 people in my party got off the tour as soon as we could.
Review by: Mich04, January 2015
This wasn't a great tour, although in part driven by the weather and protests. The tour is largely viewing store windows (which are very beautiful) as the only lights on the streets are those outside stores / hotels and the Rockerfella centre. Please don't expect Oxford street type decorations as Manhattan streets are not dressed like this at all.
Review by: Mary B, January 2015
Unfortunately it was rainy evening, which nobody can help. We were undercover on top of the bus, but the roof leaked on us the whole trip, made it miserable. The guide did a great job keeping up a good conversation, but we spent a lot of time just sitting in traffic. I didn't realize we wouldn't even slow down at the sites. It would have been great to pull over at Rockefeller Center even for 30 seconds to get a quick picture. If you blinked you missed it, very disappointing. There was mention of seeing decorated windows. We were told where they were, but couldn't see anything. Not something I would do again or recommend.
Review by: Neil M, January 2015
I'm glad we went on this tour.. But it could have been so much better. The guides seemed vaguely interested, and the bus was scratched all over. Saw a couple of places we missed which were pointed out, so worth doing for that alone. Some lights weren't pointed out until asked. Poor.
Review by: Sharon R, January 2015
Unfortunately, the tour was taken during pouring rain. We went to the upper level because the bottom floor was full. The roof leaked on the upper lever and fogged up so we couldn't see anything. We decided to go outside and sat in the rain for the 2 hour tour. We were given free rain ponchos but by the end of the tour we were very cold and wet and didn't really see as much as we had hoped to see.
Review by: T.A M, January 2015
Although this was advertised as the "holiday Lights" tour it was just a night tour as the tour operator in New York was only doing the "Holiday Lights" tour from the 3rd of December (when the majority of lights were on) and our booking was for the first. The pick up was very badly organised with people jumping the queue and pushing their way onto the bus and the tour people did nothing to prevent it, resulting in us and others, who were there in good time, having to wait for second bus and the same queue jumping was allowed again. Overall a disappointing experience.
Review by: DIANE S, January 2015
I loved the city holiday lights tour. New York certainly knows how to celebrate Christmas, just magic. My life long dream came true._br/_
Diane ,Australia
Review by: Nicola R, December 2014
Unfortunately the weather was awful and it rained and rained. The coach misted up and dripped and it was difficult to see. Hard to see how they could have got round that. Roads gridlocked not great.
Review by: Bubbiew, December 2014
Having been aware of the NYC Lights at Christmas Time at Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue, I was eager to participate in this tour. Although it rained the entire time, I was not disappointed. Furthermore, not only did we enjoy the tour, it allowed us to learn enough of the locations to return to the area on our own and further appreciate the the unbelievable displays.
Review by: GIGI, December 2014
The Person (male) who was our guide on the bus was excellent!!!!! He actually made the tour delightful. Thank you for an exciting experience.
Review by: sem65, January 2014
This is really just a night tour of New York, it's a bit do a stretch to call it a Christmas lights tour, didn't really meet my expectations and well, your driving past some of the lights at a distant speed, by the time you crane around to look, you've passed it. The tour presenter was very good mind you and very entertaining, I could have let him show me New York all night, he was very knowledgeable and a credit to his company. W ell worth tipping.
Review by: Michelle G, January 2014
Our tour guide was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We had both adults and kids, some of whom lived in NYC previously, taking this tour, and we all were equally impressed. Bring blankets, as it can get a wee bit cool by the end.
Review by: Jo T, January 2014
I felt this was very expensive for what you get I was expecting to see more in the way of Christmas trees and lights but most of the tour was sat in traffic it was cold and raining they provide you with a plastic poncho I don't advise doing this tour in the rain as your camera gets wet. The bus goes down 5th avenue so its nice to see the shop windows but other than that you don't see much else you don't see the famous rockefella tree something I thought you would see so the main photogragh you see for this tour is a con as you don't see it. my advise is save your money.
Review by: Reginald W, January 2014
Money well spent.
Review by: Mary Jane G, January 2014
loved the tour and the tour guide. he knew something about everything New York. we never would have seen some of this stuff on our own. Kudos to the driver as well for getting us up and down those narrow streets. Great job all around!
Review by: June S, December 2013
Was the worst trip I hav ever done!! The driver was dangerous and the commentator really had no idea what to tell her guests!!
Review by: Emily G, December 2013
This tour was horrible. Not even half of the price. This is not a holiday lights tour but a general tour which happened to have lights. Don't even think of attending if there's snow, we couldn't see a thing and were encouraged to "bang the snow" off the windows. Terrible. Worst part of our trip
Review by: Brian G, December 2013
Many issues with is tour. Mixup about pickup point made us nearly miss it. Snow on roof completely obscured view from upper deck windows, some comments by the guide were not family friendly, Bold solicitation for a gratuity by the guide. No pauses at the main lighting sites.
Review by: twinkle, December 2013
It was quite cold but informative. Tour guide very amusing.
Review by: Donna P, December 2013
The tour guide was informative and entertaining. The bus was comfortable and the route was comprehensive - it was everything we expected! We simply enjoyed every aspect of the tour.
Review by: Judith B, December 2013
This was a lovely trip on our last evening in New York. We had already been on two tours but this tour took us to areas we hadn't been before. The guide we had was very knowledgeable (as were all the guides we had). The tour finished in a central location so it was easy to walk back to Rockefeller Center and really see the tree and the people on the ice skating rink (and have a go, if you wanted to).
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