Festivals and carnival

A fishing village with its own race track. Goats line up at the start. And after them the crabs take their turn, as they have since 1925, so the story goes.

Two carnivals. Besides Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in February, the island has held its own carnival in October since 2022. In summer the Heritage Festival follows, with music, theatre and old customs in the villages, and then there are the small events tied to a single place and a particular day.

Tobago Carnival

30 Oct to 1 Nov 2026fifth edition, in October since 2022

February carnival

8/9 Feb 2027Monday and Tuesday before Lent

Goat and Crab Race

Easter Tuesdayin Buccoo, since 1925

Heritage Festival

16 Jul to 1 Aug 202639th edition, ends on Emancipation Day

Tobago Carnival: carnival in October

The first edition ran from 28 to 30 October 2022. The model was Spice Mas in Grenada. In 2024 the dates were 25 to 27 October.

The 2026 edition is the fifth, under the theme "The Awakening", from 30 October to 1 November 2026. If you are only planning now, getting there is the problem, more on that below.

No date has been set for 2027 yet (as of October 2026). In 2022, 2024 and 2026 the festival ran from Friday to Sunday at the end of October. So expect that again, but do not book anything until the tourism agency names the date.

Carnival in February: before Lent

The traditional Trinidad and Tobago Carnival falls on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In 2026 that was 16 and 17 February. In 2027 it is 8 and 9 February 2027.

The dates are listed on Trinidad's tourism site. If you want to combine the February carnival in Trinidad with a few days in Tobago, the hop is short: the flight between the islands takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

Easter in Buccoo: goats and crabs

The Buccoo Goat and Crab Race is held on Easter Tuesday, the day after the Easter Monday horse races. It began in 1925, the story goes, with Samuel Callender from Barbados. His race was meant as a counterpart to the horse racing of the upper class.

Today the race is held at the Buccoo Integrated Facility next to the beach. In 2026 it fell on 7 April. By the calendar, Easter Tuesday 2027 is 30 March 2027, but the date has not been announced yet. Check it before you travel. More about the village is on the Buccoo page.

Sunday School and the small village events

Sunday night in Buccoo. Steelpan first, DJs later, and people dance in the street, as Lonely Planet and responsibletravel describe Sunday School. The party happens every week, according to both guides. Whether it is on during your stay is best checked at your hotel or at the information kiosk in the Integrated Facility.

In Castara on the north coast the fishermen hold the Castara Fishermen's Fete in August. The tourism agency gives no fixed date for it, so ask locally.

And on 18 October 2026 Bloody Bay hosts the Tobago Blue Food Festival. At its centre is dasheen, which counts as blue food here. Check the 2027 date in the tourism agency's festival calendar.

Heritage Festival and Emancipation Day

In summer the villages belong to the Tobago Heritage Festival. The 39th edition ran from 16 July to 1 August 2026, under the motto "Leh we tell de whole story". It opened at Shaw Park in Scarborough. On 18 July the programme included the Ole Time Wedding in Moriah, a wedding in the old style.

It closes with the Emancipation Day parade on 1 August. The day marks the end of slavery: abolished in 1834, full freedom after the apprenticeship period on 1 August 1838. If you are in Tobago at the start of August, you get the end of the festival and the public holiday on the same day. How the sugar plantations shaped the island is covered under Tobago's history.

The speech band belongs to the festival above all. It is folk theatre and oratory, with plenty of humour and commentary on current events.

Tambrin sounds older. Three goatskin drums, plus fiddle and triangle: with this line-up the bands once played for quadrille, polka, waltz, reel and jig, and until the 1960s they could be heard at village fêtes. The music was also linked to healing rituals and ancestral belief.

What became of the jazz

Looking for the Tobago Jazz Experience? It does not appear under that name in the tourism agency's 2026 festival calendar. In its place, 2026 had the "Tobago Jazz, Music & Golf Weekend" with Beachfront Jazz at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, privately organised.

The sources disagree on when it started. The tourism agency says 1 May 2026, the Guardian and the Express say 30 April. The weekend ended on 3 May 2026. Whether it returns in 2027 is open. Check the calendar towards the end of winter.

Getting there for carnival: book early

Many visitors come over from Trinidad for Tobago Carnival, and the ferry becomes the bottleneck. In 2025 the operator added 22 extra sailings and carried about 22,000 passengers to the island. For 2026 there are only six extra sailings, and tickets from Port of Spain to Scarborough for 27 to 30 October sold out within 24 hours.

In mid-September 2026 the October timetable even showed neither of the two fast ferries, and hotels saw cancellations. Only on 29 September did the minister in charge confirm the extra sailings. For carnival this means: book the ferry or a flight from Trinidad as soon as the date is set. Everything else about the ferry and the air bridge is under getting there.

Our tipOnce the Tobago Carnival date is set, book the crossing first and the room second. A room without a place on the ferry is of little use, and in 2026 the tickets for the carnival days were gone within a day.