Trinidad Carnival is one of the greatest street festivals in the world and the model for every Caribbean carnival that came after it. Celebrations build through January and February with calypso tents, soca fetes, and steel pan competitions, then explode in the two days before Ash Wednesday.
J’Ouvert kicks off before dawn on Monday morning — expect paint, mud, and chocolate smeared on everyone in sight, all moving to the rhythm of massive sound trucks. On Tuesday the masquerade bands take over, with thousands of costumed revellers crossing the stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain.
The music is the backbone of the whole thing. Calypso competitions crown a new Monarch each year, while soca — its faster, danceable offspring — drives the road marches. If you go, pick a band well in advance and get your costume sorted early. This is peak season, and the whole country is in on it.