Carnival is the heartbeat of Caribbean culture — costumes, soca, calypso, steel pan, J'Ouvert dawn parties. Here's the calendar: **Trinidad and Tobago Carnival (February/March)** — THE biggest - 2 days before Ash Wednesday — Monday and Tuesday - J'Ouvert pre-dawn paint party Sunday→Monday - Pretty Mas (costume parade) Tuesday - Panorama steelband competition night - Soca and calypso monarchs crowned - 70,000+ masqueraders on the road - Tickets to mas bands: $300-1,500 USD/season - Why go: most authentic, biggest, most diverse music **Barbados Crop Over (June-August)** — Sugar harvest celebration - Climax: Kadooment Day (first Monday of August) - 8 weeks of soca fetes, Pic-O-De-Crop calypso competition - Bridge Town becomes one big party - Rihanna often attends in her costume **Antigua Carnival (late July - early August)** - 10 days of fetes leading to Carnival Monday and Tuesday - Steel pan night, Calypso Monarch finals - Tropical Mas Pageant — costume + dance competitions **Saint Lucia Carnival (July)** — Moved from pre-Lent to July - Soca on the beach, Calypso competitions - J'Ouvert paint party Saturday before - Two-day costume parade Sunday-Monday **Junkanoo (Bahamas — December 26 & January 1)** - 5am Boxing Day morning parade - New Year's Day morning rush - Crepe paper costumes, cowbells, whistles - Bay Street, Nassau — competition style judging **Carnaval de la Habana (Cuba — July-August)** - Conga, son, rumba performances - Malecón celebrations - Smaller, more authentic Afro-Cuban roots **Carnaval (Dominican Republic — February)** - Santiago de los Caballeros — Lechones masquerade - La Vega — devils with whips, papier-mâché masks - Punta Cana parade Sundays in February **Vincy Mas (Saint Vincent — late June/early July)** - Mas, Pan and Calypso - Carnival Tuesday parade **Carnival Aruba (January-February)** - Lighting parades, Tumba festival (genre originating Aruba) - Grand Parade Sunday before Ash Wednesday — 3-mile route **Carnival Curaçao (Sunday before Ash Wednesday)** - Tumba king, Calypso Monarch, Schoolchildren Parade - Gran Marcha — main parade with hundreds of groups **Saint Martin Carnival (April)** - French side opens at Easter - Mardi Gras-style J'Ouvert - Carnival Village 3 weeks of fetes **Spice Mas (Grenada — second Monday/Tuesday August)** - Jab Jab tradition — bodies painted with motor oil - Steel pan, Soca Monarch - Smallest of major Caribbean Carnivals, most intense **Crucian Christmas Festival (USVI — December-January)** - St. Croix's version — Three Kings Day January 6 Parade - 30 nights of music, food, parades **Tobago Carnival (October — new!)** - Launched October 2022 as second Caribbean Carnival window - Soca, costumes, beach parties **Tips for first-time Carnival travelers:** - Book accommodation 6-12 months ahead — prices triple - Buy mas band package in advance (includes costume + drinks + security) - Hydrate constantly — it's a 12+ hour marathon - Travel insurance specifically covering Carnival weeks - Respect: it's a sacred cultural tradition, not just a party