Aruba Carnival

Carnival is the loudest, longest, and most beloved season on the Aruba calendar. It builds from early January and climaxes in the days before Ash Wednesday, usually in February. For weeks the One Happy Island lives to a soundtrack of calypso, soca, and roadmarch, and almost every neighbourhood fields a group, a costume theme, or a float.

The season opens with election nights that crown the Carnival Queen, the Youth Queen, and the Calypso and Roadmarch monarchs, whose winning tunes become the anthems that drive every parade that follows. From there the island fills with torchlight parades, jump-ups, and themed processions across Oranjestad, San Nicolas, and Noord.

The grand parades

The visual peak comes with the Grand Parade in San Nicolas on the Sunday and the Grand Parade in Oranjestad the following day, marathon processions of feathered and sequinned costumes, brass and percussion, decorated trucks, and dancing groups that wind through the streets for hours. The season closes with the Old Mask Parade and the symbolic burning of King Momo at midnight before Ash Wednesday.

• Queen elections: the nights that crown the Carnival, Youth, and Calypso and Roadmarch monarchs.
• Lighting Parade: a glittering night procession of illuminated costumes.
• Grand Parades: the headline daytime processions through San Nicolas and Oranjestad.
• Burning of King Momo: the symbolic Carnival king is paraded and burned to close the season.

Base yourself near Oranjestad or Palm Beach to be within reach of the main parades, then recover on calm leeward sand like Eagle Beach in between events. Arrive early to claim a kerbside spot, keep cash handy for food and drink stalls, and pace yourself: this is a season, not a single day.