When: Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the two days before Ash Wednesday (moving with Easter). The fete season runs for weeks before.
Tickets: Ticketed (bands & fetes) — Costume packages are bought directly from each mas band's website, often by the autumn before. Fete tickets come from promoters; J'ouvert is booked through J'ouvert bands. There's no single box office — you assemble your own line-up.
What it is
The whole point is to 'play mas' — join a masquerade band, wear its costume and parade through the streets on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, fuelled by weeks of fetes (parties) and the pre-dawn J'ouvert.
How to get started
- Pick a mas band — this is the biggest decision, and popular bands sell out months ahead.
- Register with the band and buy your costume package (it usually includes drinks, food, and security on the road).
- Book fetes and J'ouvert separately through promoters, then lock in flights and a room early.
Tickets & where to buy
Costume packages are bought directly from each mas band's website, often by the autumn before. Fete tickets come from promoters; J'ouvert is booked through J'ouvert bands. There's no single box office — you assemble your own line-up.
- Where to stay
- Flights and rooms are scarce and pricey — book as early as you can, ideally months out.
- First-timer tips
- Register with a band well ahead for the following year. J'ouvert (pre-dawn Monday, covered in paint, mud or oil) is the wild opener before the pretty-mas days.
- Watch out
- Pace the fetes; it's a marathon of a week. Standard city precautions apply.
Several of these festivals are tied to Easter or a lunar calendar, so the exact dates shift each year. Confirm the current year's dates and ticket on-sale times from the official source before you book flights.