Quick Details
Adult
Ages 12+
$ 66
Youth
Ages 11 and under
$ 48
A Christmas Lights Bus Tour Through San Nicolas, Aruba
Who Says you Need Snow for a Magical Holiday?
Christmas in Aruba doesn’t come with a shovel. It comes with palm trees wrapped in lights and one neighborhood in San Nicolas that spends every December building something you’ll happily drive across the island to see. This is a new Kukoo seasonal tradition, something to look forward to each year.
Christmas Lights in Aruba Tour Highlights
- Walk through Cas di Luz, the community-built Christmas lights display that’s been a San Nicolas tradition for over thirty years, with a new theme every season
- Ride the open-air Kukoo holiday light party bus, strung with lights and loaded with a holiday soundtrack
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included!
- See Christmas in Aruba where Arubans see it, the Seroe Preto neighborhood
- Bring the kids. Ages 5 and up, with youth pricing for anyone 11 and under
Cas di Luz: Aruba’s House of Lights
The centerpiece of the evening is Cas di Luz, Papiamento for House of Lights. It sits in the Seroe Preto area of San Nicolas, and it’s the display Arubans mean when they talk about Christmas lights in Aruba.
More than thirty years ago, a few neighbors here strung lights on some cardboard boxes and a couple of trees. It caught on. The street joined in, then the whole area, and today Cas di Luz is a sprawling walk-through world of glowing arches and hand-built scenes that follows a brand new theme every year. Nobody outside the build crew knows what that theme will be until the lights come on, which is why locals show up annually just to find out.
Forget looking through a car window. Kukoo buses don’t have windows. When we reach Cas di Luz, we park the party, pile out and walk straight into the lights.
The Kukoo Bus, But in Holiday Mode!
You may already know the Kukoo Kunuku bus as the loudest, brightest thing on the road in Aruba. Every December we string it with lights and send it back out as a holiday light party bus, holiday playlist included.
Open sides. Music the whole way. The drive down the coast in warm island evening air. Plenty of guests tell us the ride was their favorite part, and we’ve been doing this since 1996, so our drivers know which streets to take their time on.
Holiday Lights Tour FAQs
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Cas di Luz means House of Lights in Papiamento. It’s a community-built Christmas lights display in the Seroe Preto area of San Nicolas, and it’s been running for more than thirty years. It started with a handful of decorated cardboard boxes and has grown into a large walk-through installation of illuminated structures and themed scenes, all built by people who live in the neighborhood. The theme changes annually, which is why locals treat it as a yearly outing. Ask anyone on the island about the best Christmas lights in Aruba and this is the answer you’ll get.
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The San Nicolas holiday lights usually switch on in early December and stay lit into the first week of January. For the 2026 season, our Holiday Lights Tour runs on Wednesdays from December 6, 2026 through January 6, 2027, which covers the display’s full run. Visiting Aruba in December or over New Year’s puts you right in the window.
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There is. The Kukoo Kunuku Holiday Lights Tour is a guided Christmas lights bus tour running through the season. We pick you up at your hotel, drive you down to San Nicolas on the open-air bus, give you time to walk through Cas di Luz, and get you home again. Door to door it’s about three hours, 5:45 PM to 8:45 PM.
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San Nicolas is roughly 40 minutes southeast of the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach hotel strip. You can rent a car, grab a taxi or take the public bus. Just know that December evenings bring holiday traffic and a real hunt for parking near the display, which is why we provide convenient transportation to and from your accommodations.
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Walking through Cas di Luz costs nothing and always has. What a tour buys you is everything around it: round-trip hotel transportation, the open-air bus ride, and a driver who knows the neighborhood and the route.
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It’s built for them. The tour is open to ages 5 and up, and kids 11 and under ride at $48. Because Cas di Luz is a walk-through display, children get to move around and look up at the structures instead of staying belted into a back seat. Wrapping up at 8:45 PM also keeps the night reasonable for younger travelers.
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Anything comfortable, shorts, a t-shirt or a sundress, and shoes you can walk in, since you’ll be on your feet in the display. Evenings sit right around 80 degrees, but the bus is open-air and Aruba’s trade winds don’t quit, so pack a light layer if you chill easily.
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All over the island. Aruba at Christmas means lit-up homes, decorated storefronts, displays around Oranjestad, and the star of the show San Nicolas going all out with Cas di Luz and a gorgeously decked out promenade. Add gaita on the radio, ayaca on the table and the season feels incredibly festive.
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Gaita is a Christmas music style that arrived in Aruba from Venezuela and became a fixture of the island’s holiday season. It’s percussion-forward and built for a crowd. Gaita groups perform all over the island in December, and that sound is a big part of what gives Cas di Luz its atmosphere.
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If your idea of a good holiday involves the beach at noon and Christmas lights at night, it’s hard to beat. December is one of Aruba’s best months for weather. And the island’s holiday traditions belong to the people who live here. Cas di Luz was built by residents, for residents. You’re invited to come celebrate with us.
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Book early. The season is short and December is Aruba’s busiest month. Tours can fill up quickly. You can reserve online any time.
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Yes. Kukoo Kunuku runs private bus charters, and our private holiday lights run is a popular one for families traveling together, group trips and company outings. Get in touch with jacky@kukookunuku.com or call us at (297) 586 2010 and we’ll sort it out.
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Most visitors never get past Palm Beach and Eagle Beach, which is a shame in December. San Nicolas is Aruba’s second city, down at the southeastern end, nicknamed Sunrise City. It’s where the island keeps its street art and a good deal of its history. Around the holidays the whole town commits. The promenade gets decorated, homes and businesses quietly compete over whose facade is brightest, and the district takes on the feel of a neighborhood party you happen to be welcome at.
Regulars come back for this version of Aruba at Christmas.
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Aruba holidays in December are dependable. Highs around 85, lows near 76, trade winds most of the day, sunset a little after six. Aruba also sits outside the hurricane belt, so December here is reliably lovely.
Shorts and a t-shirt will be fine after dark. Bring a light layer only if you run cold on an open-air bus.