• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • Shop
  • Blog Coaching
  • Disclosures
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Amazon
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

The Traveling Child

If kids live there, kids can visit!

  • Affording Travel
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
    • Australia
    • Caribbean
      • Aruba
      • The Bahamas
      • Barbados
      • Cuba
      • Grand Cayman
      • Jamaica
      • Puerto Rico
      • Trinidad
    • Central America
      • Costa Rica
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • France
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • The Netherlands
    • North America
      • Alaska
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Illinois
      • Kansas
      • Louisiana
      • Mexico
      • Nevada
      • New York
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
    • South America
      • Brazil
      • Colombia
  • Travel Tips
    • Tips on Traveling with Kids
    • Trip Planning Tips
  • Reviews
    • Airline Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Product Reviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Buy Our Book
  • Blog Coaching

Tips for Attending Trinidad Carnival

February 27, 2020      Caribbean, Destinations, Trinidad

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

So you’re looking to attend Trinidad Carnival? It’s one of the biggest and best Carnivals in the world. If you’ve never been you need to be prepared! Here are my tips for attending Trinidad Carnival.

When Is Trinidad Carnival?

Trinidad Carnival always takes place the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Here are those dates for the next few years:

2021: February 15th  and February 16th

2022: February 28th and March 1st

2023: February 20th and February 21st

2024: February 12th and February 13th

2025: March 3rd and March 4th

Save Your Money Because Carnival Ain’t Cheap

Attending Trinidad Carnival and getting the full experience, fetes and playing Mas, flights and hotels can easily add up to $5,000 or more depending on how fancy you are. So start saving now so you won’t get hit with everything at once.

Do Your Own Makeup and Buy Face Gems

One of the biggest expenses of Carnival is getting your makeup done professionally. Instead of spending extra money on this I bought face gems to enhance my look. This saved me a lot of money and was super easy to apply. Honestly it is very hot on di road and you will sweat so to me I decided it was best to save money by eliminating this expense. If you choose to get your makeup done know you need to make an appointment immediately. Artists book well in advance and you’ll most likely have a 4AM appointment!


Book Your Flight As Soon As They Go on Sale

Flights go on sale via Caribbean Airlines a year in advance but if you’re flying JetBlue you’ll have to wait until 6 months before. If you purchase your ticket when Caribbean Airlines releases their schedule you can score tickets from Miami for as low as $200 round trip. However, if you wait you can easily spend $700-$1,000 or more depending on where you are flying from.

When Should You Arrive in Trinidad for Carnival?

While Carnival is technically only two days there are plenty of Carnival festivities happening from even the day after Christmas. To enjoy it to the max I recommend arriving the Wednesday prior to Carnival Monday & staying until the Sunday after. You won’t stay in Trinidad this whole time though, you’ll want to head to Tobago on Wednesday after Carnival Tuesday. If you have the PTO to swing it you can even arrive the Monday before Carnival Monday for the fullest experience possible.

What Do You Do the Days Before Carnival?

There are tons of fetes (parties) to attend. When I say tons I mean you can go to 3 a day if you’re about that life! Ones not to be missed are Soca Brainwash, Beach House Cooler, Beach House All Inclusive, A.M. Bush, Vale & jouvert being my favorite! Global Carnivalist is a great resource for finding out what days each fete is on, costs and the links to purchase tickets. Prepare yourself because these fetes aren’t cheap, remember that $5,000 budget I mentioned earlier? Some fetes cost $250, yes $250 for one party but keep in mind most are all inclusive of not only alcohol but food as well.

My favorite Carnival party, Jouvert.

Where Should You Stay for Trinidad Carnival?

Any hotel or Airbnb of your choice near the Savannah. This is because this is where all the main events are near. Believe me you do not want to be far when traffic is insane after each fete. People rave about the Hyatt and other big box hotels include the Hilton and Marriott!

Hire a Driver for Your Time in Trinidad

You can get a recommendation from your hotel or Airbnb host. Our driver has several trusted employees & I highly recommend him. His name is Mark & his contact info is +1 (868) 739-9136. Another recommendation from a friend is Sheldon +1 (868) 681-7616. Our driver took us to/from the airport, every fete and anywhere else we wanted to go. Expect to pay about $50-$100 a day for a driver for up to 4 passengers in your car. If you have a larger group you can get a driver with a mini bus.

Hire a Courier Service to Pick Up Your Costume

Depending on when you’re arriving to Trinidad you may not have time to pick up your costume on your sections designated day. If you’re like me you might have gone straight off the jumbo jet, straight from the airport to the fete! For a stress free arrival I hired Kasey’s Costumes Courier to handle my costume pick up. It was great to have one less thing to worry about and the service was exceptional!

How Do You Play Mas and What Does That Mean?

Playing Mas is when you wear a carnival costume and jump in the parade. You play Mas with a specific band who makes and sells you your carnival costume. These bands are all inclusive so you don’t just get a costume but goodie bags, meals on Monday & Tuesday, and unlimited alcohol. They even have a truck that follows along with porta potties.

One of the lunch options at Monday Mas. It was so good!!

I played Mas with Rogue, other bands include Tribe, Yuma, and Bliss. Playing Mas will cost you $500-$2,000 depending on if you’re front line or back line. You only wear your costume Tuesday, Monday you create or buy your own. I’m not creative so I bought my Monday wear from Vapzz By Kai. A lot of people hire a make up artist to do their make up on either or both days. However, I sweat a lot so instead I opted to just put some eye shadow on and used face gems to spruce up my attire.

My Monday Wear
I played Mas with Rogue and this was the Kitana costume.

Get Your Workout On- At Least Two Months Before Carnival

Trinidad Carnival requires some serious stamina. You will easily walk 12-20 miles a day so start those work outs now! Besides walking you’ll be jumping up and down and dancing for up to 12 hours straight! I personally completed Massy Aria’s 60 day challenge leading up to Carnival to prepare me.

Come Prepared on Di Road

Attending fetes and playing Mas is an all day event. You will get very little sleep and no time to re-charge your phone so bring everything you need. Ladies a fanny pack is a must, while Rogue, the band I played mas with did provide two in my goodie bag this isn’t a guarantee. You’ll want to bring a waterproof one for Jouvert but understand you might have to throw it away afterwards, so don’t get an expensive one.

The aftermath of Jouvert, a paint party!

Other important items are a portable battery pack for your phone, sunscreen, and comfortable shoes. I know a lot of women wear boots on the road but just make sure if you choose this option over sneakers that they are very comfortable ones. Also when I say sneakers, leave the Converse at home, you need shoes with great support and maybe even some Dr. Scholls.


Everyone should attend Trinidad Carnival at least once in their life. It is truly a bucket list trip. I’ll be attending Jamaica Carnival in April and can’t wait to share tips for it. Did you find this article on tips for attending Trinidad Carnival helpful? If so please share it!

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Share51
Tweet
Pin366
Email
Share
417 Shares

Newsletter Subscribtion

 
Join Our Mailing List
You'll get tips on affordable travel, flight deals and detailed itineraries for every trip we've been on (family, girlfriends getaway, baecations and solo) to make your planning process easier.
Thank you for subscribing!

Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter
You'll get tips on affordable travel, flight deals and detailed itineraries for every trip we've been on (family, girlfriends getaway, baecations and solo) to make your planning process easier.
Thank you for subscribing!

Recent Posts

  • Warm Places to Visit in December (January and February)
  • How to Travel Hack Long Layover Flights
  • Best Snowy Places to Visit for Winter Vacation
  • Best Tips for Planning a Group Trip
  • Things to do in Long Beach with Kids

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Facebook

FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST

Copyright © 2023 The Traveling Child, LLC.