Image credit: Bernd Dittrich, via Unsplash, Unsplash License
12 carnivals on our list, 8 of them Caribbean-style, shown in teal. Pick a name to jump to its dates and links.
October2026
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November
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December
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January2027
February
March
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May
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June
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July
August
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Moves with Easter each year
Venice, Italy
Masks, costumed balls and water parades in one of the world's oldest carnival traditions. The official programme runs for about two and a half weeks and ends on Shrove Tuesday. The 2027 edition is 23 January to 9 February, which matches Easter minus 64 to minus 47.
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Moves with Easter each year
Cologne, Germany
Germany's biggest carnival. The season opens on 11 November, but the street carnival runs from Weiberfastnacht (the Thursday before Ash Wednesday) to Shrove Tuesday, with the huge Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) parade as its high point.
These dates follow the usual pattern but are not confirmed yet. Verify with the organisers before you book.
Sources
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Moves with Easter each year
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The world's biggest carnival, built around samba schools and hundreds of street blocos. We count the core festival from the Friday before Ash Wednesday through Carnival Tuesday (Easter minus 51 to minus 47). The headline Special Group samba school parades at the Sambadrome fall on nights inside that window. Street parties start earlier and spill past Ash Wednesday.
These dates follow the usual pattern but are not confirmed yet. Verify with the organisers before you book.
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Moves with Easter each year
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
The mother of Caribbean carnivals. The two official days are Carnival Monday (starting with J'ouvert before dawn) and Carnival Tuesday, the Parade of the Bands, right before Ash Wednesday. The season of fetes, Panorama and Dimanche Gras builds for weeks beforehand. In 2027 the dates are Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February.
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Moves with Easter each year
New Orleans, United States
Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, with krewe parades, throws and street parties. Parades roll for weeks beforehand, but Mardi Gras itself is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the same day as Trinidad's Carnival Tuesday. In 2027 that is 9 February.
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Dates set by the organisers
Kingston, Jamaica
A soca carnival season in the weeks after Easter, with breakfast parties, cooler fetes and events in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. It ends with the Road March through the streets of Kingston. The listed date is Road March day.
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Dates set by the organisers
Toronto, Canada
Still widely known as Caribana, one of North America's largest Caribbean festivals. The summer season builds to the King and Queen Showcase and the Grand Parade on the Saturday of the Civic Holiday long weekend. For 2027 the listed dates run from the showcase (29 July) to the Grand Parade (31 July).
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Dates set by the organisers
St George's, Grenada
Grenada's carnival, famous for the Jab Jab, revellers coated in black oil who take over J'ouvert. The final weekend brings the Soca Monarch, Panorama and Dimanche Gras, then J'ouvert and Monday Night Mas, and Fancy Mas (pretty mas) on Carnival Tuesday. In 2027 those last two days are 9 and 10 August.
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August bank holiday weekend
London, United Kingdom
Europe's biggest street festival, founded by London's Caribbean community. It runs on the Sunday (Families and Children's Day) and Monday (Adults Day) of the UK August bank holiday weekend, with the Panorama steelband competition on the Saturday. The 2027 event is 29-30 August.
Next dates not announced yet
Dates set by the organisers
St John's, Antigua and Barbuda
Billed as the Caribbean's greatest summer festival, Antigua Carnival runs from late July and ends with J'ouvert and the Carnival Monday and Tuesday parades in early August. Only the 2025 festival dates are confirmed here; 2026 and 2027 dates are still to be added.
These dates follow the usual pattern but are not confirmed yet. Verify with the organisers before you book.
Next dates not announced yet
Dates set by the organisers
Bridgetown, Barbados
Barbados's summer festival, rooted in the celebration of the end of the sugar cane harvest. The season runs for weeks of fetes, calypso tents and Pic-O-De-Crop, and ends with Grand Kadooment, the big costumed road parade, on the first Monday in August. The listed date is Grand Kadooment Day.
Next dates not announced yet
Dates set by the organisers
Brooklyn, New York, United States
New York's Labor Day carnival on Eastern Parkway, organised by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association. A week of events, including Panorama and fetes, leads up to the parade on Labor Day Monday, with J'ouvert in the early hours of the same day. The listed date is Labor Day 2026.
Carnivals held before Lent, like Trinidad's, move with Easter, so we calculate them from the Easter date each year. Notting Hill Carnival is always the Sunday and Monday of the late August bank holiday weekend in England. Every other carnival uses the dates its organisers publish, with a link to where we found them.
Organisers can and do change dates, so always check the official website before booking flights. This list was last updated 3 October 2026. Send a correction.