New Jersey Holiday Lights Tours

From late November to early January, the holiday lights in New Jersey are spread across parks, zoos and waterfronts that are hard to combine in one evening when you are also driving, parking and keeping track of children. A holiday lights tour puts all of that on the chauffeur. You are picked up at home, driven from one display to the next, and the car waits while you walk through, then takes everyone home.

Most of our tours start in Bergen County. Hourly time counts garage to garage, from and back to our garage in Rochelle Park, which is why a holiday lights tour from Bergen County is the most efficient way to use the hours. Display dates and hours change every year, so we confirm each stop for your date when you book.

The Displays We Drive To and How Each Stop Works

Van Saun County Park and the Bergen County Zoo, Paramus

In the seasons the county runs Winter Wonderland at Van Saun County Park, we pair it with the Let It Glow display at the Bergen County Zoo, because the zoo is inside the park and both share the same parking. The chauffeur drops you at the lot closest to the zoo entrance and waits there. With children, plan about an hour on foot; an early evening on a weeknight is the quietest time to go.

Orchard of Lights at Demarest Farms, Hillsdale

This one is a drive-through, with a timed reservation you book online in advance, so we build the evening around your entry time. The chauffeur tunes the radio to the show’s station, and there can be a line at peak times. We plan it in a sedan or SUV; if you want to bring a larger vehicle, check with the farm first whether it can drive through.

Holiday Lights at Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange

A walk-through inside the zoo on Northfield Avenue, open in the evenings only. The chauffeur drops you at the main entrance and waits in the zoo parking area. Allow 60 to 90 minutes inside, and expect the biggest crowds on the weekends right before Christmas.

Washington Street, Hoboken, and the Skyline From Jersey City

Hoboken has almost no parking, so the car becomes a shuttle: we drop you at one end of Washington Street, you walk the decorated street, and the chauffeur picks you up at the other end when you text. In Jersey City, Newport and Exchange Place are a short photo stop for the Manhattan skyline: we drop you at the waterfront walkway and wait nearby for 20 to 30 minutes. It is windy and cold by the river, so bring hats and gloves.

Some clients also ask for the Rockefeller Center tree or the Dyker Heights lights in Brooklyn. Both are possible, but with tunnel and city traffic, plan at least 5 hours from Bergen County and choose a weeknight if you can. For a longer evening in the city, our private tours of New York and New Jersey cover more ground.

December weather is part of the plan, and one client praised a driver who handled the freshly falling snow:

“I had a great driver who was in time and understood how to drive in the freshly falling snow. Very personable and friendly.” (Joanne N., Google review)

Three Holiday Evenings We Plan Most Often

These routes start and end at a home in Bergen County. The timing reflects how long families really spend at each stop, not just the drive:

• Bergen classic, a 4-hour evening: Van Saun County Park and the Bergen County Zoo as one stop, then the Orchard of Lights in Hillsdale at your reserved time, and home. The touring fits in about 3 hours, but a sedan has a 4-hour minimum (an SUV, 5).
• Zoo and skyline, about 5 hours: Turtle Back Zoo first, when the lights come on, then Hoboken, with Exchange Place last. West Orange to Hoboken takes 30 to 40 minutes, and most families spend an hour or more inside the zoo.
• Waterfront evening, about 4 hours: a walk on Washington Street while the shops are open, dinner in Hoboken (about an hour and a half), and the view from Exchange Place to finish. At that hour, Bergen County to Hoboken is 30 to 45 minutes each way.

A typical booking looks like this: a family of 8 in a Mercedes Sprinter, picked up at home around 5 p.m., the Turtle Back Zoo walk, a stop on Washington Street in Hoboken, and home by about 10 p.m. Most holiday bookings are families in an SUV or a Sprinter, groups of friends, and company teams who pair a holiday dinner with a short lights route in a 23-passenger mini bus or a 37-passenger mini bus.

Parents tend to notice the small things on a long evening out, as one mother wrote about the chauffeur and her children:

“His vehicle was immaculate. He was helpful with our bags and considerate of our children.” (Michele H., Google review)

Starting Prices and Minimum Hours by Vehicle

A 3-hour route is billed at the vehicle’s minimum, so in a sedan it costs the same as a 4-hour evening. The price for your evening comes from our online form for your date and time, and a holiday surcharge of at least $50* plus tip applies on the holidays in our Terms & Conditions, including Christmas Eve after 4 p.m., Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve after 4 p.m.

*Starting prices from our online booking form (September 2026); hours count garage to garage. The online price includes all fees; tolls, parking, extra stops and waiting time are added. Sprinter and mini bus tours are quoted for your date.