If you are visiting Trinidad and Tobago during the carnival, be ready and prepared for the mass number of people who are in the country at that time of the year. I landed at 10 PM and the airport was packed with people from all over the world.
I absolutely love this country and I could write about the landmarks, people and so much more but
Let’s kick off the blog with the easiest way to get around! Start by downloading the TT ride-share on your phone and you can use it as you would use Uber or Lyft and you can even pay with cash. It is a better option than taking a taxi. I will give you an example; it is $30.00 USD from the airport (Port of Spain) to the downtown area and about $70 TTD or about $10.00 USD with any of the ride
“The Carnival” in Trinidad and Tobago hosts about a million people every year during the carnival week and weeks leading up to the carnival. In Port of Spain, there is a six-mile parade route to walk and watch the different costumes and competitions (music and costumes). The first day of the carnival begins at 3 am when parade-goers cover themselves in colored paints, wearing large costumes and dancing. Do not think for a second that the parties are only in Port of Spain because you would be wrong. Clubs and bars host numerous parties throughout the week from Port of Spain to San Fernando. I even partied in this small town called Arima that is not too far from the airport. There, you will find plenty of bars and clubs (actually the only club might be Fifth Element - a really cool place to lime)
[Liming in Trinidad (a Caribbean slang) meaning, hanging out with friends and having fun, usually in a public place]
Carnivals are not unique to Trinidad and Tobago, but it is one of the most famous carnivals in the world today and the birthplace of carnivals in the Caribbean. I am sure the carnival in Rio is bigger than this, but based on what I know, this is by far the biggest street party I have ever experienced, with thousands (if not millions) of people from all over the world dancing and partying for days. The French developed their carnival in 1783 in Trinidad and Tobago; the carnival consisted of elegant festivities extending from Christmas to Ash Wednesday. These festivities consisted of dinners, balls, concerts, and hunting parties. After the emancipation bill was passed in 1833, the blacks from Africa started participating in the festivities with their music, mainly Canboulay.
Most of the parties are centered around the capital city of Port of Spain, but you will find street parties everywhere in Trinidad and Tobago. Other towns around Port of Spain that you may lime with the locals are Morvant, Trincity, Arima, Gasperillo, Princess Town, Chaquanas, San Fernando (it's quite a drive from Port of Spain) and Diego Martin (probably the closest to Port of Spain).
Trinidadians spend months preparing for this time of the year, and right after the carnival, they will start preparing for the next year’s party. You may want to start booking your flight and making hotel reservations several months before the carnival as all the rooms in the city were taken two to three months before the beginning of the carnival.
The carnival officially begins the weekend before the official beginning of the parade, which is technically celebrated the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Although it is a two-day street party, the actual fun starts weeks before the start of the street party. The week before the carnival is called carnival week. Carnival week is packed with fetes (festivals or parties) all over Trinidad and Tobago. You will never get bored during this time as there are so many fetes going on around the country. You will find boat fetes, beach fetes, breakfast fetes, and late-night fetes all around the Island. I like the all-inclusive fetes because they are well-organized and there is an unlimited supply of food and drinks.
A carnival band could comprise as many as 3000 people in different costumes. To control this number, the band would be divided into sections of 200 to 500 people and led by a Band King or Queen. The costumes are not cheap, some bands have all-inclusive prices; you pay one price and get the costume, breakfast, lunch, unlimited alcohol or soft drinks, and a pass to the after-party.
You might think the carnival in Trinidad and Tobago will be represented by Calypso music as it’s a genre that is associated with Trinidad. This may have been true in the past, but today you will find all types of music, but Soca music is by far the most popular music played during the festival. I will say, in Tobago, it is 95% Soca music played and 5% of other music from other Caribbean countries, but in Trinidad, it is definitely 100% Soca music played everywhere. ‘Trinidad and Tobago’ is
Fetes during Carnival week
Fetes during Carnival week
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| Fetes and concerts could be seen during carnival week |
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| Fetes, Fetes, Fetes, Fetes. |
[Calypso music was developed in Trinidad from the West African kaiso canboulay
The Competitions
There are several competitions during the carnival, but the musical competitions make up a large part of the formal carnival, followed by the Mas competitions. One popular competition during the carnival is the Panorama.
There are several competitions during the carnival, but the musical competitions make up a large part of the formal carnival, followed by the Mas competitions. One popular competition during the carnival is the Panorama.
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| The Panorama Competition |
The Panorama is held on the Saturday before the carnival at the Queen’s Park Savannah. This competition is famously known as a steel band competition. If you want to see talent, like steel bands, or like to see artists beat their sticks to create amazing music, then this competition is for you. This year the national Panorama finals were held in Tobago on February 16th and in Trinidad on February 22nd. The performance in Trinidad is bigger than that in Tobago.
The Calypso Monarch competition is another very popular competition during the carnival week. Bands compete to be named the Calypso Monarch (one of the many awards a band can win during the carnival). It comes with many rewards, including a car, endorsements, a contract, a trophy, and cash. It also airs on their national TV. The competition was won by Terri Lyons with the hit song, "Obeah", "Meghan My Dear"
Another big music competition is the famous Soca competition. The Soca competition is open to any Soca artist in the world. Some locals don't like this. They say the Soca competition and fetes should be strictly for Trinidadians or artists from the two Islands (Trinidad and Tobago). I personally agree that it should be about Soca but any Soca artists should be invited. I believe it should be about the music. If I have a hot Soca track, I should be able to enter or perform. For example, my favorite song (a 2019 track) at the moment, is "Wrong turn" by Grenada's Skinny Banton. That song was played everywhere during the carnival. If you ‘deny’ songs like this during the competition, then that would not be OK. This might not be a good example because although he represents and he is known to be from Grenada, I believe he was born in Trinidad but moved when he was a child and only represents Grenada today. But, you see where I am going with this? If you limit it to just artists from those two Islands then you may miss out on some good pieces of music from outside these two Islands.
["Wrong Turn" talks about horning. Another slang which means, 'to cheat on your lover' as in "She is horning him.."]
Iwer
Some of the other notable artists that you may want to check out during carnival week are; Marchel Montano, Kes the ban, Patrice Roberts, Destra, Nadia Batson, Prince Swanny, Shall Marchell, Bungie and Faye Ann Lyon (the Vikings), Allison Hinds, etc.
[Soca
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| The costume competition on Monday |
The Kings and Queens costume competition is another popular competition. It is full of colorful and heavy costumes. The artists are very creative, and some go wild with flashy lights.
Another show that is held the weekend before the festival at the Queen’s Park Savannah is the Dimanche Gras. Following the Dimanche Gras is the J’Ouvert, the beginning of the festival. They start early on Monday morning; the streets are closed and there are people everywhere. Carnival Monday and Tuesday have more shows and competitions everywhere, including the famous Mas competition, the Calypso competition, Soca, Extempo, Chutney, Brass, Fetes, the bomb competitions, and several others.
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| People are slowly gathering at 3:00AM for J'Ouvert. J’Ouvert (also known as Jouvay) symbolizes the start of the official two days of carnival. J’Ouvert is a French word which means “break of day”. |
Carnival in Tobago
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| The flight from Trinidad to Tobago is a very short flight |
[Depending on your flight from Trinidad to Tobago. That is, if it is a normal domestic flight going to Tobago and not stopping at Tobago to another location, you can take your alcohol with you to the plane. I walked with 2, 1 L bottles of vodka through the checkpoint and to the plane. You just place the bottles in a bin as you will with any of your luggage and just head on to your gate. I have never heard or seen anything like this. Have you?]
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| The water in Tobago compared to Trinidad is very clear. You can see the bottom. I saw |
You may not want all the wildness and craziness in Trinidad. You may want a cool party that is not as crazy as the ones in Trinidad. This is when you take a plane and head to Tobago. It is a 20-minute flight. It was so cheap that I flew between Trinidad and Tobago twice in three days; that is twice to Tobago and twice back to Trinidad.
The Islands are close but
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| Tobago |
Although the festivals start weeks before the actual carnival, the real celebrations of the carnival begin the weekend before the Monday of the first parade of the Carnival with the junior Carnival held in Roxborough. If you don’t see anything else in Tobago, you should see the Mud Mas bands. It is a sea of mud that you will find throughout the streets of downtown Scarborough from as early as three o’clock. If you make it there, just remember you will be covered from head to toe in purified and treated mud while listening, parading, and dancing to Soca music.
Carnival Monday is good for both children and adults, but Tuesday is where the adults go all out with their costumes and partying. The Carnival parade moves from the hills of Scarborough to the waterfront.
Do not go to Tobago thinking because they are laid back, nothing ever goes wrong there because Tobago is a place with people and when there are people, you will get good and bad ones. I woke up to gunshots and police officers all over my resort on my first night. The locals blamed it on guys from Trinidad, but it is the carnival with people all over both Islands in Tobago.
Tobago is generally alive solely when there are peak seasons; For example, during carnival week, Christmas, the famous Jazz festival or during their heritage week. Multiple people set up shops with food and drink 24/7. The Island is dead outside peak seasons.
Food and Drink
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| Stag Lager beer |
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| You can drink in public. |
The country has so much to eat, but during the carnival, most people go for fast food as there is so much to do and sitting down at a fancy restaurant is not what people do during the carnival. There are plenty of places where you can stop by and try food from Trinidad and Tobago in a rush. After all, the food from this country should be one of the first things on your list of things to do.
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| My first street food was this corn soup. You can add meat to |
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| Street food during a Fete |
Try out some of the many all-inclusive fetes that have all you can drink and eat while dancing with locals and others from around the world. All-inclusive fetes are a perfect way to try different types of food from around the two Islands. Tobago doesn’t have many of the all-inclusive fetes (I don't remember seeing any, to be honest) like Trinidad, but if I were to recommend one thing to try in Tobago, it will be the curried crab and dumplings. Yummy!
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| When your 'doubles' make you feel like " |
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| Grilled Lobster!!! |
I cannot talk about food without mentioning Roti. My friend in Vancouver introduced me to this national ‘treasure’ from this country. There are different types of roti roti roti roti locals roti
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| Red Mango and Bennie balls |
[Food is more expensive in Tobago since most products are sourced in Trinidad]
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| Curry crab and Dumplings in Tobago with coconut and rum |
If you are tired of all the food on the Island, you can always try other fast foods you are familiar with. Apparently, the KFC in Trinidad is the best in the world. I have never been a fan of KFC and being in this country, I was not interested in trying KFC but the locals raved so much about it. I personally did not think it was great. It was still a KFC (boring) to me.
I don’t think Tobago has any McDonalds, but Trinidad had a few. I also saw many people with 'Popeyes chickens' boxes at the airport and on the plane. Is the Popeyes in Trinidad special? I should have asked eh?
[During the carnival, buy your alcohol from the street Sellers. It is $10 TTD or about $1.50 USD for a beer. It's about $20 TTD at most bars and $25 TTD at hotels downtown]
Other activities to do during the festivals
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| My favorite thing to do is to be in the water |
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| You can go wild and just have fun |
The trip to No man’s Island should be something to check out while in Tobago. This was a good day trip that started from Store Bay beach and stopping at the famous Pigeon Point beach. It was a 'super-hot' day, but the boat had plenty of alcohol and a good Soca DJ spinning water
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| Nothing is better than spending time in the ocean |
I spent most of our time, eating, partying, and just talking to locals. The water there is cold on one side of the beach and hot on the other side of the beach. You will find different local foods like the famous Curried crab dumplings or other seafood like grilled lobster.
Clubs and Bars
The bars play good music, but in Trinidad during carnival, you will not find any clubs or bars playing anything other than Soca. Uptop
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Many people smoke inside the clubs but many of the clubs are open, so it doesn't feel too bad.
Jade Monkey is the lime spot in Tobago. Good music and good people. The bars go on till 6:00 am during the carnival week.
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| Jade Monkey |
You can drink in public in Trinidad and Tobago. You can even walk in with your drink from another spot to any of the clubs or bars. I thought it was weird that I took a drink from another bar and walked into another club. You will still go through security while holding your drink.. Lol
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| Having a shot with the owner of the Cocktail & Shock Bar (my favorite spot in Tobago). This shot is deadly. I believe it is mainly alcohol and locally brewed with different roots. |
Dress Code during the Carnival
The Mas is the way to go, but if you are not interested in painting your face or slipping into one of the many colorful costumes, then your best bet is to dress light; shorts and a T-shirt are fine. Costumes are called Mas. The Mas tradition began in the late 18Th Century by French plantation owners organizing masquerades (Mas) and balls before the fasting of Lent.
You will see different costumes during the carnival and during one of the costume competitions. The main competition for the costumes is on Tuesday, but you have to qualify on the Monday before. They have to go through about 3 stops on Monday, but all 5 stops on Tuesday
Camouflage fabric should not be part of your costume in Trinidad and Tobago as camouflage is actually illegal in this country. Many tourists (including me) did not get the memo before landing and because of that, you could get away with it during this time of the year.
Conclusion
Regardless of what you choose; an intimate party in Tobago or a wild one in Trinidad, you are sure to have a great time in Trinidad and Tobago during their carnival. Go experience the carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. You never know, you may have a relative there. Apparently, there is an old man that I apparently look like and although I did not meet the guy, 3 people swore we were related. Lol
I pointed out in the beginning that the carnival in Trinidad and Tobago was the first in the Caribbean, but it was not the first carnival in the world. I believe the Carnival of Venice was one of the first, and most famous, in the world, but it was abolished in 1797 and was only restored in 1979. I am not sure when it started, but it has to be before 1723 as many Historians believe the Carnival in Brazil started around 1723. But the music we are so familiar with today was not introduced until after the slave trade was abolished and the blacks from Africa introduced the music that we now enjoy at their carnival today.
Carnival was not like it is today. It used to be all about the parties, but not the parades like we see today. The first modern Carnival parade took place in Cologne in 1823. Much of what we see today with carnivals is the African traditions infused with the European celebrations and blend with many other cultures. The black ex-slaves contributed to the bright colors, wearing masks and the music you see and experience with most carnivals today. This is especially seen in Trinidad.
Okay, that’s the origin of the carnival as we know today, but the exact origin of the carnival is not known but it was before the 18th Century. Although it is a Christian affair today and celebrated by Christian countries, it was never always like this. Carnival started long before the emergence of Christianity and it was mainly celebrated by pagans. Historians believe it was celebrated some 5000 years ago by the Egyptians and the Greeks. (Icarnis