Caribbean Carnival Season: Your Complete Festival Guide

Carnival 101: What to Know Before You Go

Key terms

• Mas: Short for masquerade. To "play mas" is to join a band and parade in costume.
• Mas band: Not a group of musicians, but a group of masqueraders who dance in matching costumes behind music trucks. Each band sells its own costume packages.
• J'Ouvert: The pre-dawn opening of carnival, when revelers take to the streets covered in paint, mud or powder. In Trinidad it starts around 4 a.m. on Carnival Monday.
• Fete: A carnival party. The weeks before the parades are packed with them.
• Road March: The song played most often at the judging points, crowned the season's anthem.
• Soca and calypso: The music of carnival, with competitions and monarch titles awarded each year.

Watching vs. playing mas

Watching from the roadside is free. Playing mas means buying a costume package from a band, which usually includes the costume and access to the band's section on the road, often with drinks and security. Packages for the big Trinidad bands are not cheap: one large band, Harts, lists 2027 costumes from TT$5,795 (about US$857). Most large bands reveal costumes months in advance, and deposits are usually non-refundable.

The Carnival Calendar

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival (February)

2027 dates: Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9.

Trinidad Carnival always falls on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, so its date moves each year with Easter. Festivities build from after Christmas, and the final weekend is packed: the large-band Panorama steelband final at the Queen's Park Savannah, Dimanche Gras on Sunday night, J'Ouvert before dawn on Monday, Monday mas, and the full-costume Parade of the Bands on Tuesday, ending at Carnival City in the Queen's Park Savannah.

Plan ahead: Port of Spain hotels fill months in advance. Also review the current U.S. State Department advisory for Trinidad and Tobago (Level 3, "Reconsider travel," as of October 2026, with a nationwide State of Emergency declared March 2, 2026) and travel with a reputable band and transport. More in our Trinidad & Tobago guide.

Aruba Carnival (January–February)

Aruba's Carnival season builds for weeks before Lent. The 2027 Grand Parades are scheduled for February 6 in San Nicolas and February 7 in Oranjestad. See Aruba.

French Saint-Martin Carnival (February–March)

The French side of Saint-Martin traditionally celebrates Carnival in February or March with costumed street parades and music. The Dutch side holds its carnival later, around April. See our new St. Martin guide and Sint Maarten.

Jamaica Carnival (April)

Jamaica's carnival season peaks with the Road March in Kingston, set for Sunday, April 4, 2027. See Jamaica.

Cayman Batabano (late April–May)

Batabano is the Cayman Islands' carnival, with its main road parade in Grand Cayman typically in early May. See Cayman Islands.

Vincy Mas (late June–early July)

St. Vincent's carnival, Vincy Mas, runs from late June into early July. See St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Saint Lucia Carnival (July)

According to the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Lucian Carnival builds all through July with band launches, fetes, soca and calypso competitions and the National Carnival Queen pageant, peaking on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. You can join a mas band or follow the music from the roadside. See St. Lucia.

Antigua Carnival (July–August)

2027 dates: July 20 to August 3, with organizers marking the festival's 70th edition under the theme "Legendary 70." Check the official Visit Antigua & Barbuda calendar for the full schedule of fetes, competitions and parade days once it is released. See Antigua & Barbuda.

Barbados Crop Over (summer, finale in August)

Visit Barbados describes Crop Over as a 200-year-old tradition honoring the end of the sugar cane season, with parties, craft markets and street food through the summer. It culminates on Grand Kadooment Day, a national holiday on the first Monday in August (August 2, 2027), when masquerade bands parade in elaborate costumes behind music trucks. See Barbados.

Grenada Spicemas (August)

Spicemas is organized by Grenada's Spicemas Corporation. Its J'Ouvert features the Jab Jab, masqueraders covered in black oil or paint, wearing horned helmets and chains, one of the most distinctive traditional characters in the Caribbean. Monday Night Mas brings neon and light-up costumes, and Tuesday's Parade of the Bands shows off Fancy Mas. In 2026, Carnival Monday and Tuesday fell on August 10–11. See Grenada.

Junkanoo, The Bahamas (December 26 and January 1)

Not technically a carnival, but just as spectacular. Junkanoo groups spend months preparing costumes and routines, then parade to whistles, cowbells, horns and goatskin drums along Bay Street in Nassau, starting in the early hours after midnight, on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day. See The Bahamas.

At-a-Glance Carnival Calendar

Carnival Survival Tips

1. Book early. Flights and hotels near the parade routes go first, sometimes six months or more ahead.
2. Hydrate and pace yourself. Parade days are long and hot. Trinidad's Tuesday parade runs from morning into the evening.
3. Dress for J'Ouvert. Wear old clothes and shoes you can throw away; paint and mud do not wash out.
4. Protect your valuables. Carry a copy of your ID, minimal cash and a phone in a waterproof pouch.
5. Pack smart. See our Packing Essentials for Your Caribbean Vacation.
6. Check the weather window. Summer carnivals overlap hurricane season (June 1–November 30), so choose flexible bookings.