The Ultimate Trinidad Carnival: You (truly) don’t know what you don’t know…

Feeling like this planning your own Trinidad Carnival trip?

You (truly) don’t know what you don’t know…

Ever traveled somewhere and you were surprised or caught off guard by a situation, place, additional cost or circumstance that you didn’t expect or anticipate? That’s certainly happened to us during our personal travels and it seems to be a part of life. However, if you’re planning your own Trinidad Carnival trip, the opportunities for these “snags” can be multiplied tenfold due to the following:

Traveling to a foreign country that you’re most likely not familiar with. Even if you’ve been to Trinidad before, traveling there during Carnival time can throw you for a few loops. For example: if you thought traffic was bad during the rest of the year, during Carnival time, it can be downright horrific (read: you might miss your fete horrific).
Securing *ahem* reliable transportation. This can manifest in several ways from getting stranded at the mas camp while collecting your costume to not being able to get to the Carnival parade to meet your band to missing your fete that you paid good money for.
You’re not in control of your time. Think it’ll be a piece of cake to pick up your costume or link with your contact to pick up your tickets? When in Trinidad, you’re on island time and that means you’ll be at the mercy of other vendors and people who are on island time. If you were supposed to meet at 2 pm, that can quickly turn into 3 pm or 4 pm and bump whatever other plans you had to much later than you anticipated.

So what can you do to mitigate these “snags”? We have a few tips that can help you out as you proceed with your Trinidad Carnival planning. As planners ourselves of the Ultimate Trinidad Carnival Experience, we’ve learned quite a few things over the years.

Getting here can be easier with our tips!

Don’t assume anything. Although there are certain accommodation standards that we’ve become accustomed to in North America and Europe, we strongly caution you to not assume the same when you travel to Trinidad. Reference our blog on this by clicking here.

This is especially important if you’re considering Carnival service providers. Here are a few questions to ask as you do your research: Do you pick up my costume? Are my fete tickets delivered to me, or do I need to pick them up from you? Are there any additional charges that I need to be aware of? Do you provide me with any information to get me ready for my trip? Asking any or all of these questions will save you time and money in the long run.

Leave more than enough time in your schedule. We cannot stress this enough. To save your sanity (and to make that fete) schedule more than enough time to get what you need done. Yeah, yeah, yeah - we know - you’re supposed to be on vacay, but would you rather be stressed out and rushing from place to place or feeling relaxed and in control? One option sounds waaaay better than the other one to us too (smile).
Breeeaathe…island time is no joke! The more you can get things done in advance, schedule more than enough time for yourself (and your transportation), have back up plans (just in case) and BREATHE the entire time, it’ll all go a long way to help you enjoy your trip.

With Ultimate Trinidad Carnival, we provide amazing time saving bonuses including:

Our UTC feters did it easily and effortlessly with our help :)

Costume and fete services. We pick up your costume on your behalf, deliver it to the hotel, have a personalized costume fitting with you and facilitate any size changes as needed. Your fete tickets are delivered to you at the hotel too. We also have UTC Paparazzi at selected events to take photos of you enjoying yourself during your trip. These services alone can save you hours of time that you can use to party more, sleep more and relax more!
Research is done for you. Our Members only website and UTC Survival Kit contain everything you need so that you'll be 110% prepared to experience everything Trinidad Carnival has to offer. Instead of wondering what to wear to a fete, what's the best footwear for the Carnival parade, what else is there to do in Trinidad or how long is the Carnival parade, we provide you with all of the answers to your questions and so much more! Our UTC Survival Kit is full of everything you need to survive Carnival including things you never even thought of like hygiene essentials, an additional pair of sunglasses (for J'ouvert) and sunburn prevention.
Multiple points of connection. Our monthly info calls and secret Facebook group gives you connection to other UTC feters who are just as excited as you are! Each of our info calls focus on a particular topic like say, the Carnival parade or J'ouvert and you get to ask all of your questions in real time. Your questions that you didn't even know to ask will also get answered. Post more questions, outfits, shoes, and other findings in the secret Facebook group to share with your new friends. They'll be doing the same!

To learn more about what we have to offer, click here to visit our website.

We have a super special vlog coming up next week – stay tuned!

Til de next lime,