I’ve attended Miami Carnival as a child and as an adult for many years, making carnival a natural part of my life. But this year, I attended Carnival in Trinidad! I finally did it! I played mas in the land that gave us soca, calypso, and steelpan. 

I grew up watching my Dad go to Trinidad every year for carnival and I never understood why he just had to go. This year was my turn, and I now understand exactly why he had to go every year. I think I caught the same carnival bug because Trinidad Carnival will not be missing me ever again. 

Everything from the moment I landed in Port of Spain was culture, great energy, and happiness. My sister and I landed and deplaned to hear groovy soca music playing through the speakers of different shops in the airport. As we stepped outside the airport, there was a live DJ playing 2023 soca and getting us warmed up for the experience. It was vibes coming from everywhere and everyone and I was ecstatic to be experiencing the same carnival that had my dad and uncles coming back again and again. 

There’s so much I want to share about the history of carnival, feminism in carnival, and why this trip was so important for me personally, but before that, I have to acknowledge and share the work my sister and I put in to make this trip possible. Every year, like clockwork, so many people want to attend Trinidad Carnival and say things like, “Next year is my turn!” “I’m playing carnival next year in Trinidad!” but few of them actually even commit to planning the trip. It’s the Mother of Carnival, so that means everyone is trying to get there. According to the Tourism Statistics reported by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, there are consistently over 30,000 people visiting the country for Carnival for the past 10 years, excluding the covid years.

So how do you go from watching everyone at Carnival on social media to being one of the people others are watching at Carnival? Here’s a few things that will get you on the path to attending Trinidad Carnival in 2024. 

1. Plan ahead and purchase flights/stay early.  

   Start now. I started planning my 2023 Carnival trip in May of 2022, but if you’re brand new to Trinidad Carnival, start now. I already had a good amount of research done for what dates worked for me, flight options, bands, etc. but the earlier you start, the better. The first thing you need to plan and purchase is your flight and hotel. Flights will increase drastically, so the earlier you can confirm the dates with your own schedule, the better price you will get. Carnival parties/fetes begin in January and continue right up until Ash Wednesday. The Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are known as Carnival Monday/Tuesday and are reserved for the parades. I arrived the Friday before, so I had Friday thru Tuesday for fetes and parades. I recommend flying in sometime the week before Carnival to get the full experience of all the events. I recommend flying out any day after Tuesday. Now, as a fair warning, the flights will be oversold. It’s a very popular event, so naturally the airlines are capitalizing on that. My sister nor I got bumped from our flights, however it is always a possibility with oversold flights. The more flexibility you have with your travel, the better and smoother your travel to and from Trinidad will be. I purchased my flight in July of 2022 and it was around $600. I watched flight prices increase to over $2000 between August and January. Save yourself the headache and purchase early. Hotels and Airbnbs also book up fast and can get very pricey. I didn’t stay at a hotel, since I have family and friends in Trinidad, but everyone I know who stayed in a hotel had it booked by the end of July. You will want to stay in Port of Spain because your location will impact your transportation, but you need to do your research on the area. Woodbrook, St. James, and St. Clair are good areas to start with. Once you have locked in flight and stay, do a little dance! You’ll be very excited that your plans are becoming a reality, but this is where the real work starts. The rest of your planning needs to include saving money and researching the carnival bands, pre-registration, band launches (usually held between May and August), etc. The cost of attending carnival can be anywhere between $2000 and $8000 for flight, hotel, costume, fetes, and transportation. In your research, if you find a band you like, I strongly suggest following them on social media and turning on their post notifications. Spend this time understanding the lay of the land, understanding how carnival works, following creators who attend carnival, etc. It will be a lot of work to plan, but you will be so thankful you did it early when the price and pressure was low.

2. Make connections with the right people. 

   It is imperative that you plan this trip with people that are familiar with Trinidad as an island and Trinidad Carnival. This person/people will be best to answer additional questions you might have, coordinate location for lodging, coordinate a driver for transportation, give insight on fetes, and keep you privy to safety tips. This is not Miami Carnival or New York Carnival. This is a much bigger stage and there are thousands of people who will be visiting and attending carnival events. While you want to have fun, it can be overwhelming, so you also want to feel at ease. I read about concierge services that different people/companies provide for Carnival which could be good to look into if you don’t have personal connections that you want to use. The few that I saw were around $5000, which is pricey, but might be worth it for what you get. This is another place to do a lot of research on the history of the concierge services to ensure legitimacy and see a proven track record of services they provide. Ultimately, you need people on the ground who are familiar with everything. 

3. Get in a section of a band.

   The biggest hurdle for me was locking in my spot in a band. There are 201 bands and tons of parades happening all over the island. Carnival is an event that the whole country observes, so local Trinidadians and visitors are all partaking in some way. Getting a spot in a band solidifies your role as a participant in the parade vs as a spectator of the parades. I highly recommend being in a band to get the full experience. There are very large bands and there are smaller bands. This is where your research gets put to use. I played with a big band called Tribe. Within Tribe, there are several bands that each have their own vibe that drives their theme and costume designs each year. For example, Lost Tribe is a more of mature crowd as it is more of the old time/traditional mas. In their costumes, they go back to the origins of carnivals and a lot of the roots of the culture. Another band within tribe is BLISS which is a very diverse group of people and a very modern take on carnival. It’s chic, it’s fun, and very new age. Each of these bands within the larger band have 8-15 costume designs aligned to the theme they have for the year. They typically release the theme first around May-June, then all of the costumes (which are also called sections) around June-July, then registration opens afterwards around Aug-Oct. Tribe waits for no one. You need to have on post notifications, read the website, and move in a timely fashion to secure your spot. There are other big bands that you should also research to find what you like. The band you choose is important to your Carnival experience, it shapes your experience in the parade/on the road for Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Choose a band that will give you the vibe you want. You can’t go wrong with your choice, just research the bands between Feb-May, and choose early!

4. Organize fetes and jouvert early. 

   There will be tons of parties and they all will be good, but you have to know what kind of crowd you’re looking for. I personally like a millennial crowd that’s going to be dancing and having a good time, but not too wild. I got a lot of recommendations from friends and family, but there are also a lot of creators on Youtube who will give you the lineup and descriptions of events, so you can choose what you like. I also used Trini Jungle Juice to find information about events such as time, location, where to purchase tickets, etc. When purchasing tickets, take my advice and just purchase them early. I purchased all my tickets between Dec-Feb, so it’s not early in the scope of planning, but early in terms of when the tickets are released. The prices will increase as the tiers of tickets are released and before you know it, the event will be sold out. Every fete I attended, I would recommend. They were all amazing and they each had performances from popular soca artists. Most of the events are drinks inclusive and sometimes food inclusive and there were no issues getting either. Each event had their own theme and executed it very well to create an experience. Here’s my lineup:

   Friday - Machel 40

   Saturday - Soca Brainwash, then Blue Range Cooler Fete

   Sunday - Shades

   Monday - Jouvert with Dirty Dozens or Jouvert Jumbeez (this is actually a parade event with bands that signals the start of Carnival, but I included it here because I treat it with the same preparation level as a fete)

   Sunday after Carnival - Las Jam

   When choosing fetes, take into consideration how much time you’ll have to sleep in between and pace yourself. You can’t really go wrong, just organize your plans, so you are in the fete!

5. Know your crew.

   This is a personal preference of mine, but make sure you know your crew. Your crew can make or break your carnival experience and the goal is always to have a good time. My personal rule is: Don’t go with a group larger than 4, including you. It’s easier for transportation, lodging, separating into 2 smaller groups of 2 people, etc. I don’t have a deep reason why, but 4 is a good number, just trust me. A group smaller than that is okay, but larger than that and things can get a little more complicated. During Carnival, your crew will be getting ready to go to and from events together, drinking alcohol, and setting the vibe at the events. If your crew is rushing you or moving too slow, you’re going to get irritated. If your crew wants to stay out late or go home early and that’s not matching your plans, it’s going to ruin the experience. If your crew isn’t matching your vibes at the events, you can still have a good time with other people, but it’s nice to enjoy it with your people. The rule we agreed to in my crew is: No ditching. This just helps us make sure everyone is safe and having a good time. I went with my sister and friend and we had a blast together. Your crew can make your carnival experience so much fun and that’s the goal for everyone!

6. Listen to new soca music. 

   When you have your crew solidified, it’s only right to get the energy flowing with some music. Every year artists release new music for Carnival. It is a guarantee that you will hear this music at every event, so this is just getting you prepared. You don’t want to be the only person in the fete who doesn’t know the words. Have someone in your crew make a playlist in January, put it on shuffle, and play it when you’re at home or in the car. Every time I played our playlist, I got more and more excited that the whole experience was really happening!

The preparation was a lot of work, but it was so worth it. I couldn’t have done it without my sister, we were a team. Where I was slacking, she helped out. She coordinated majority of the on the ground work. When we were both working, we tag teamed to make sure we had secured spots for each fete and the parades. Trinidad Carnival wouldn’t have been possible without her.

If you’ve made it this far, you probably are seriously considering making it to Trinidad in 2024. I’ve been sharing my experience at each event through Instagram stories and I’d like to share a few lessons I learned at my first Trinidad Carnival as well. 

1. Sleep when you can. 

   I learned this lesson the hard way. The fetes ended later than planned and I wanted to keep going because I was having so much fun. I didn’t get to sleep one night and thankfully my body caught a second wind, but I was dragging until I got that burst of energy. Next year, I will be going home at a decent time to get some sleep. Even just a few hours can make all the difference. 

2. Eat when you can.

   Before or after each fete, I made sure I had a meal. There was food being sold outside of the events. I made sure we stopped for food a few times on the way home. Also, the food in the fetes was really good. There is a lot of alcohol flowing and I made sure to have food on my stomach each time to prevent any sick feelings. 

3. Get a water. 

   There is A LOT of alcohol flowing and you’re in the sun. With that combination, it’s very easy to get dehydrated. After a few fetes, I started to get a water with each alcoholic drink. I didn’t drink all the waters, but it was nice to have just in case I wanted it. Just as a rule of thumb: I’ll be getting a water with each alcoholic drink. 

4. Get good walking shoes. 

   You will walk like you’ve never walked before. I walked almost 50 miles in total. On the 3 highest days, I walked 13.5 miles, 11.5 miles, and 11 miles. The shoes I wore for jouvert were great, but the shoes I wore for Carnival Tuesday had my feet aching. Get some good walking shoes that are already broken in. I’m already scoping out a pair of Adidas for next year. 

5. Pace yourself. 

   This is a marathon, not a sprint. The fetes will run late. The alcohol will be flowing. The vibes will be there, but remember to pace yourself, so that you’re not too intoxicated, too tired, too dehydrated, etc. This wasn’t an issue with me or my crew, but there are a lot of events and you want to enjoy them, so feel free to skip a round at the bar or take an extra nap when you can. Do what you need to do to have a good time. Each of the previous lessons all helped me pace myself.

I had been dreaming of going to Trinidad Carnival for years. I’m sure my family, friends, and coworkers are tired of hearing about it, but it was truly the experience of a lifetime. I’ve felt more of a pull to do the things I want to do because life is meant to be lived. I’m not here to just work and die, so I make time to live. I’m making time to live in the moment and create the experiences I’ve always wanted.  

Travel Tip #30:  You only get one life, go for it! 

This week, find a way to go for something you want. Plan the trip, take the class, say the thing, send the text, just do it. Nothing is promised, but death. We only get one life, what are you waiting for?

Making childhood Mai proud,

Adult Mai