The island of Curacao is home to one of the liveliest Carnival celebrations in the Caribbean. For many who want to experience this month-long party, information can be a bit tricky to find. Drawing from my most recent encounter of this wonderous celebration, I’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help organize your Carnival experience. Keep reading to find out more!

What is Carnival About?

Carnival is above all a celebration of Curacao’s culture with music, dancing, and a show of colors. The celebration has been running annually since the early 1900’s with roots from Venezuela. During the period of Carnival, you’ll see locals and travelers alike dressed up in bright colors and wearing flashy statement pieces. Even our local grocery store lady was decked out in neon nails and colorful glasses frames!

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Carnival is celebrated in the form of multiple parades throughout the island, the schedule of which can always be found here.

When is Carnival?

Carnival is typically celebrated within the months of January and February. The more serious and popular parades happen toward the end in February. For those who will be on the island in January only, you’ll be able to catch the Tumba festivities. They’re basically competitions and pageants to determine who will be crowned Tumba King and Queen (and the kids have their own contests too) and will join the main parade later. If you’ll be on the island in February, you’ll be able to catch some of the main parades in person!

Pro Tip: There are a TON of parades happening during Carnival season, so remember that you can always catch them on TV instead of going to all of them in person!

The Most Popular Parades

Gearing up for Carnival season, you might be asking yourself, “which one should I attend?” After all, there are at least 14 parades and events you could join. I commend anyone who can show up to all 14 events without needing to sleep for an eternity after. The general consensus is that these are the most popular parades that you should attend:

• Teen Parade (February)
• Main Carnival Parade (February)
• Main Farewell Parade (February)

In my case, I attended the Main Carnival Parade in person this year, and caught the others in clips online and on TV. I was glad to have made the decision because the energy of the Main Carnival Parade is the best and I was exhausted after that one day!

Viewing the Parades

There are a few different options for viewing the three popular parades mentioned above. The most popular viewing option is to join a (paid) booth. The parade routes are generally flanked by metal fences on either side, and just outside of those fences is where you’ll observe a sea of booths all along the route. Many of these booths are owned by families who build them every year and enjoy the parade with their friends and family. Some of the booths are owned by companies that sell tickets to the general public to have priority access to parade views (and often food and beverage too!).

If you’re lucky, you may be able to spot a few gaps between booths where you can squeeze in and watch the parade go by just feet away. Your feet will be tired, but it’s worth it! The dancers come up close and often take pictures with those in the front of the stands. You’ll also find vendors behind some of the booths along the route selling beverages and food if you need sustenance.

Pro Tip: Parking is a nightmare with multiple road closures that are not announced in advance. Give yourself extra time to leave early as you’ll likely park far away from the parade route and need to walk.

My Samba Stand Experience (Main Parade)

For my very first Carnival, I decided to buy tickets from one of the many parade booth vendors, Samba Stand, as they offered parking, food and beverages, front row access, and a DJ to provide entertainment before the parade arrives. This ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve madeas I was utterly clueless about where to go and how to best celebrate the Main Parade. Here’s the lowdown on my Samba Stand experience:

• The dedicated parking lot was a life saver. They were turning others away who didn’t have a parking pass.
• There was a dedicated event area inside the De Oleander school in addition to the stand.
• Our stand was catered by Brgr Haus, which I mentioned before has the best burgers on the island.
• The stand was spacious and had a cover to protect against the sun and rain. There were a lot of people on the stands, but I didn’t feel as if I was pushing and shoving through people.
• Two bars on-site: one in the stand and one behind the stand inside the school grounds.
• Proper bathroom and port-a-potties available.
• Dedicated kids area and plenty of family seating inside of the school area. Bring ear protection for the kiddos!
• You only received one burger person, but soup and beverages (including alcoholic) were unlimited.
• Yes, I said unlimited soup.
• The DJ kept the energy high with great music. You’ll be waiting for hours as the parade slowly makes their way down the route until they get to your area. A good DJ is a must.

The parade itself was a blast with intricate floats and bedazzled dancers making their way on the route and waving to everyone. It was such a wholesome positive event with great energy and made me appreciate how much people love Curacao culture. One thing I noticed, however, was that the parade kept stopping for 20+ minutes at a time. I don’t know the reason for the hold up but at one point we were listening to the Kooyman band for a solid 30 minutes before they started moving again!

To beat the rush of traffic leaving the Carnival area, I ducked out early. Good thing too, as the roads were totally empty! Fun fact: the Main Carnival Parade landed on Superbowl Sunday so after the parade we went to Pasawa and caught some of the game.

The Karnival App

I was shocked to know that there is an app that shows in real-time where the parade is. This app is one of the best kept secrets on the island – why isn’t it advertised or talked about more?? I’m talking about the Unde Kabes Ta app in the App Store which you can download for free. This app tells you where YOU are in relation to where the parade is, it shows you what the parade route is, it lists the names of the groups in the parade sequence, and most importantly shows you where the head of the parade currently is. I highly recommend downloading it!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I had a wonderful first Carnival experience. Having never been to anything like it before, I was pleasantly surprised to see how happy and cheerful everyone was. My favorite “floats” in the Main Parade were actually the trucks that had live bands playing music from them. I enjoyed seeing how creative the costumes and floats were and waving hi to the Tumba King and Carnival Queen!

I felt that splurging for tickets for a booth was well-worth it as I didn’t have to bring anything with me or organize any arrangements. I also appreciated that the booth was in Piscadera not far from Willemstad so I didn’t have to drive far and the parade goers got a second wind of energy from being so close to the finish line. This experience is highly recommended for any families, couples, or solo travelers coming to Curacao in January or February!

Have you ever been to Curacao’s Carnival? Or any carnival? How was your experience? Tell me in the comments below!