Trinidad Carnival 2026 dates, costumes and everything you need to know if you’re planning to go for the first time.
- Trinidad Carnival 2026 dates are February 16th & February 17th, 2026
- Trinidad Carnival (largest costume parade) takes place around the Queen’s Savannah Park in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
- The National J’ouvert takes place in the wee early morning hours on Monday prior to the parade of bands on Carnival Monday.
- Visitors should fly into Piarco International Airport (airport code POS)
- Average overall cost for Trinidad Carnival can vary depending on preference, average MINIMUM of $3500 -$4000 USD+ per person for total flight/stay/costume/parties/transportation
What is Trinidad Carnival?
Historically (and briefly), Trinidad’s carnival originated as far back as the Canboulay Riots in 1881 as free black people were commemorating their freedom from slavery and were met with resistance from colonizers. Articles referenced here, here and here.
A reenactment of the Canboulay Riots takes place in the wee morning hours on Carnival Friday – one of the many cultural events showcasing the rich history and heritage of Trinidad Carnival. Trinidad Carnival is not only a large carnival parade through the streets but a plethora of events starting as early as November to begin the carnival season.
Where is it?
The largest and more widely known carnival takes place in Port of Spain, Trinidad with neighboring carnivals, celebrations taking place in the various cities in both Trinidad and Tobago.
When is Trinidad Carnival 2026?
Always prior to lenten season, the peak of carnival season is always the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Carnival dates for 2026 are:
Carnival Monday is February 16, 2026 and Carnival Tuesday is February 17th, 2026.
A Planning Timeline For Trinidad Carnival
Here’s a few things to note when planning for Trinidad Carnival; it is an extensive process and often people start planning as soon as that year’s carnival has concluded.
Travel To Trinidad For Carnival
FLIGHT: Airport code for Port of Spain is POS and flight prices can vary; the earlier you purchase – the more affordable. If you’re waiting a bit longer or don’t plan that far ahead – you can also check out various island destinations that offer the route or carnival specials (i.e. BahamasAir) if direct flights are over budget or just riddled with connections.
Where To Stay For Trinidad Carnival
There are several hotels, guest houses that you can find accommodations for carnival. Some popular ones are the
- Hyatt Regency Trinidad
- Radisson Trinidad
- The Brix
- Courtyard Marriott
- Hilton Trinidad
- Kapok
- The Normandie
If you prefer Airbnb, search areas like St. James, Upper St. James, Woodbrook, Cascade, Maraval, Belmont, St. Ann’s and more. TIP: Try to stay as close as possible to the Queen’s Savannah Park and call (yes, get on the phone) the hotels and guest houses to inquire about vacancies.
Length of stay can vary; the minimum recommended amount can be Carnival Friday to Ash Wednesday or often to sample more of the carnival season you can stay up to two weeks or longer. Often, there’s a large demand to “cool down” and recuperate after carnival in the sister isle Tobago and persons will extend their visit to experience it.
Travel to Tobago can be booked as early as flights are open from POS to TAB airport codes. There’s also a ferry called the Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Company where you can source ferry tickets for really affordable prices (but they sell out quickly too!).
Register In A Carnival Band | Trinidad Carnival 2026 Costumes
Sunset Wkn is a weekend hosted by the Tribe family of bands to display carnival and culture via fetes and one of the most popular band showcases for the Trinidad Carnival band launch season.
It’s important to note that there are several categories of mas bands – small, medium and large – all with various offerings and price points. Here are several bands listed (not all bands listed). Some bands are competing bands for band of the year (i.e. Lost Tribe Carnival -winner of the large bands category)
- Lost Tribe Carnival
- Bliss Carnival
- Carnival Tribe
- Spirit Mas
- Yuma Vibe
- Pure Carnival
- Papparazzi Carnival
- Ronnie and Caro
- Resonate Carnival
- Exousia Mas
- ShowTime Mas
- Trinidad All Stars
- K2K Alliance
- PetleMas Carnival
- Wee Mas International
Registration (depending on the band) can take form via committee registration (contacting a committee member) or you can register directly with your band of choice; it just depends on their process.
Trinidad Carnival 2026 Events
Lots of events happen during carnival time from the culturally rich to the PUMP til you can’t PUMP no more. The process to get into certain fetes can be (for lack of a better word-tricky); you often have to “know someone who knows someone” more particularly for the “unicorn fetes” but there are MANY options if you don’t want to bother with committee-based events.
I partnered with Haeven and had the Haeven pass which included events particularly under the WOW events calendar. I recommend this if you just want convenience – they also assisted with getting me a Spirit Mas costume add on. For other events, there are various online ticketing outlets, fete lists that you can utilize to get more information about events and parties such as:
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How To Get Around For Trinidad Carnival
Here’s a few options and tips to explore when you’re planning your trip. A personal driver IS THE best option and on average for a week ; I’ve seen quotes start from like $400 USD and up per person. TIP: Get quotes before hand so you can get the best price.
You can also use rideshare apps which are exponentially cheaper (they take cash and cards via the app). I had issues registering my US number in Trinidad so register in the app before you leave for Trinidad if you don’t get a Trinidad number. Other recommended rideshare apps were:
The only downside with using ride share apps is that there are a lot of people using them during the peak of Trinidad Carnival week and traffic can be insane. One tip is to try to stick with one or a few drivers – get their phone numbers and plan AHEAD of time. Reason being, Carnival Monday I ended up walking (definitely not solo) from the route to my hotel because I couldn’t get service to even contact my driver or get a ride share.
J’ouvert
J’ouvert occurs during the wee early morning hours. There are options for participation; you can just go outside and follow along on the sidelines of the J’ouvert bands or register for a J’ouvert band for a more secure, all inclusive experience. A few popular Jouvert bands are as follows:
Jabb Jouvert was a new concept combining elements from Grenada’s Carnival and Trinidad’s carnival and it actually was executed very well. I partnered with them for their inaugural year and had a really good time and even crossed the stage (had no idea that Jouvert bands do that lol).
Carnival Monday
Carnival Monday is the beginning of pretty mas where revelers adorn “swimwear like attire” or modified versions of a costume. Carnival Monday wear can start as low as $25 -$50 USD or if you support local Trini designers can go upwards towards $150 to 300 USD.
Carnival Monday Wear Designers
- RebelUsian
- Marie Collette
- Rhion Rhomany
- Made By Mei
- House of Jem
- Kaiso Karni
- Shawn Dhanraj
- Tropix Swim/Keisha ALS
- Aria Applewhite
- Sheena Ali
Here’s a snippet of my experience with Spirit Mas on Carnival Monday:
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On Carnival Tuesday, you wear your full carnival costume provided to you by your band of choice. Here’s a recap of my Tuesday experience from the gram.
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In 2025 I had the pleasure of partnering with Spirit Mas via the Haeven package which consisted of a tickets only package with the Spirit Mas costume add on:
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What Else Can You Do During Trinidad Carnival?
Things to do vary in sweet T&T. Here are a few examples of things to do:
- Caroni Bird Sanctuary
- Las Cuevas Beach
- Pitch Lake
- Bamboo Cathedral
- The Red House
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Museum
Also big FOCUS on Trinidadian food; a must when traveling to T&T. I got a really nice bake n shark from Patsy’s on Maracas Bay. I also had a nice curry goat, white rice, macaroni pie and callaloo combo from a place called Myrtle’s (that was ironically a Jamaican restaurant). Other food you need to try when visiting Trinidad and Tobago include:
- Doubles
- Roti
- Buss Up Shut
- Bake & Shark
- Pelau
- Mango Chow
- Pholourie
What do you think?