(4 customer reviews)

Merry & Bright: The Detroit Holiday Lights Tour

Make the most magical time of the year extra magical-er. The coziest holiday bus ever is rolling again to the best light installations and attractions in Detroit. Includes one “very special” warm holiday drink on us. 😉

Picks up in Ferndale and Detroit

Everyone: $58.99 each
Groups of 10 or more: $55.99 each


You can also book this tour as a private group booking for groups of 30 or more.

Description

It might be cold outside but it’s DOWNRIGHT COZY on our Art Bus. Let’s do this thing.

Hop on and let’s go see some liiiiiiiiights! We’re hitting the road with our worst holiday sweaters on, tasty snacks in our hands and singing in our voices. Oh yeah, plus a delicious holiday drink.

Don’t Grinch it up, come on, it’s fun and you know it. Give into the best season of all and feel the love.

Where We’re Going

Campus Martius

This isn’t any old tree — this is OUR tree. Campus Martius is where all of Detroit’s major roads meet downtown and it’s a heck of a celebration. We’ll take another group walk for our final jaunt together.

Downtown Detroit Holiday Market

Located in Cadillac Square, this holiday market is like none other. Tons of great local stores packed into one super-festive place. Next door to the Cadillac Lodge which might be described as the coziest tent on earth.

The Congregation

Then we’re equipping you with an included spiked hot chocolate, regs hot chocolate, or a holiday drink in this gorgeous converted church-turned-cozy warm paradise.

Light Up Beacon Park (DTE)

When the energy company makes a holiday lights installation you know it’s gonna be UNREAL. Detroit Edison decked the heck out of Beacon Park for you to enjoy. We’ll take a group stroll through together.

The Berry Gordy Mansion

We’re doing a quick roll by Mr. Gordy’s mansion estate in Boston-Edison. This incredible home was once owned by the creator of Motown Records, the sound of the motor city.

The Fisher Building

When they say “Detroit’s Largest Art Object” they’re not screwing around. The Fisher Building never gets old. The new owners do a splendid job with a massive tree and gorgeous decorations. Premium family photo spot. 📸

What exactly am I getting for my bucks?

☕️ Includes a delicious spiked (or not) hot drink at Congregation 😛

We’ve got you covered! Just present your ‘lil ticket we give you and be rewarded with a bevvy.

🍪 Holiday Snacks 😻

The next best thing to a warm heart is a full belly, am I right? We’re putting together special gift bags of Detroit’s best local snacks for each person. Come ready to snack.

👕 The Ugly Sweater Contest 🤦🏽‍♀️

You got ’em, we want ’em. Break out those hideous, complicated, gigantic sweaters and let us throw down. Only the most ultimate holiday sweater getup wins the gold medal. We’ll have GREAT prizes for the gaudiest of the gaudy. Bring your A game, people.

THE DETAILS

What’s the schedule?

The Pickup Location for this tour is choose your own adventure: you have two (2) options.

Option 1: One Eye’d Betty’s in Ferndale. 6:00PM on Tuesday through Saturday. 4:30PM on Sundays.

Option 2: Checker Bar Detroit. 6:30PM on Tuesday through Saturday. 5:00PM on Sundays.

The tour is about 3 hours, then we’ll drop you back off at Checker Bar Detroit, then One Eyed Betty’s, and then we’ll miss you very much.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What’s the refund policy?

We’ll gladly refund your tickets in full 14 days prior to the day of the event. After that, there’s no refunds. Sorry to be so mean about it.

If you want to change the date or cancel your tickets up to 14 days before the event, you can do using the link in your confirmation email or by contacting us. Way easy.

What happens if I miss the bus? Will the bus wait for me if I’m late?

Unfortunately we can’t hold up the bus for late comers, there’s a schedule we gotta keep. If you miss the bus at Ferndale you can head straight to Cadillac Square in Downtown Detroit. Ideally you’re on time.

Can I drink on the bus? I like some beer with my cheer.

YES, you CAN drink on the bus, but under one major condition: You gotta keep it chill. Like Michigander at a family party chill. This isn’t a rager – it’s Christmas lights. You’re welcome to bring one small soft-side cooler with cans or bottles – no open cups or mixed drinks.

Is this tour kid friendly?

OF COURSE with a little caveat: The minimum age for this tour is 5 and up. We’ve had tons of kids and parents on this tour and they’ve had a great time. Understand that some people will be drinking, but we’ll keep the mood easy.

What about food and soft drinks?

We’ll have super tasty locally made snacks on the bus for all to enjoy. You’ll probably wanna eat a real dinner beforehand. You can bring extra snacks and soft drinks with you, but please keep it minimal and plan to take care of your trash afterwards.

What if I can’t show up? Will my friend be able to go instead?

Totally. Just let us know ahead of time via [email protected] and we’ll update your tickets with the new name or send them with your printed tickets.

Will you be selling extra seats at the bus?

Nope. Sorry. All passes gotta be bought online. There’s a limited number of seats and we want you to have plenty of room – no roof riders no matter how cool that might sound.

What about weather SNAFUs?

We live in Michigan. Sometimes Mother Nature likes to throw us a curveball. We keep safety as our highest priority. In case of super bad weather you’ll receive an email the day of the event with a raincheck/snowcheck date. If you cannot make the rescheduled date, you’ll get a voucher good for a future tour with us or a refund. Weather calls are up to us.

Do you do this tour for private groups?

Yes indeed we do! We book out whole buses to private groups to do this tour on their own. Reach out to us right here and we’ll get you a quote. This usually makes sense for groups of 30 or more. There are very few dates available so book now if this is what you’re into!

With every seat you purchase on one of our experiences, we will give a Detroit kid in need of a safe ride to school or after-school program.

Ride for ride.

4 reviews for Merry & Bright: The Detroit Holiday Lights Tour

  1. Cowboy1953

    Took the Holiday Lights tour with the Detroit Bus Company. The tour guide Raleigh and bus drive David were excellent. The bus group was rowdy and fun, had a great time. Didn’t know the Detroit Zoo Lights were that fantastic. Will look into some of the other Detroit Bus Tours.

  2. Celeste B.

    They’re a unique mode of transportation in the motor city! They host tours and you can rent out the busses for other small events. For every ride they give they match the money and give rides to the kids of Detroit to school each day. I never knew this, and I LOVE to see Detroit born businesses giving back to the city. How awesome! We used them NYE in 2015 to get to and from a concert in Royal Oak with about 30 friends. It was a really awesome experience, super fun to be on the busses that are covered in beautiful graffiti.

    They were our transportation for our wedding in October. Very reasonable pricing. Our bus driver was accommodating and safe! They’re really cool busses with the graffiti. This weekend we’re going on a Christmas lights tour through the Detroit bus company, can’t wait to update my review.

    The holiday lights tour was a wonderful idea!!! We loved being on the bus, enjoying our beverages, and getting rides to the various light shows in the area!!! Definitely suggest it to any detroiter!

  3. Ann Cataldo

    This is the most fun holiday tour! We got to see all the best holiday sights with a happy, lively group that all became our friends. We laughed while we rolled through the lights and it was like a holiday party on there. Plus, no worries about parking downtown. This needs to be an annual event for our family.

  4. Larry Altman

    LIghts and the city at Christmas — Detroit is definitely back. Our driver and guide were funny and made everyone feel like they were part of the party and we enjoyed this so much. We were just two people and wondered how this bus group would be since we were all strangers but by the time the tour ended we were now friends. funny sweaters too — everyone was really into this being a fun party ride.

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