Barbados, for example, calls its Carnival "Crop Over," a traditional harvest festival that takes place in August. St. Vincent's "Vincy Mas" is one of a number of Carnival celebrations held in the summer, bringing some excitement to what is otherwise a slow time of year in the Caribbean.
The good news for visitors is that if your in the mood for a unique island experience, you can find a Carnival celebration almost any time of the year. In fact, some islands have Carnival events stretching over months, from the Feast of the Epiphany in January to Ash Wednesday, for example.
Here are all of the Caribbean islands that celebrate Carnival and the months in which they do so (exact days can vary from year to year). Those listed as "Lent" celebrate Carnival in the traditional season, which can fall in February or March depending on the date of Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday:
- Anguilla: August
- Antigua: August
- Aruba: Lent
- Bahamas (Junkanoo): December-January
- Barbados (Crop Over): August
- Bermuda (Bermuda Day/Junkanoo): May
- Bonaire: October
- British Virgin Islands (Emancipation Festival): July-August
- Cayman Islands (Batabano): April-May
- Cuba: Lent
- Curacao: Lent
- Dominica: Lent
- Dominican Republic: Lent
- Grenada: August
- Guadeloupe: Lent
- Haiti: Lent
- Jamaica: April
- Martinique: Lent
- Montserrat: December
- Puerto Rico: January-February
- Saba: July-August
- St. Barts: Lent
- St. Eustatius: April-May
- St. Kitts and Nevis: December-January
- St. Lucia: July
- St. Martin/Maarten: St. Martin: Lent; St. Maarten: April
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Vincy Mas): June-July
- Trinidad and Tobago: Lent
- Turks and Caicos (Junkanoo): December-January
- U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Croix, December-January; St. Thomas, April
