Mardi Gras in St. Maarten (or other islands in Caribbean)?

[spackler]

Without planning it this way, we happened to exchange into a week during Mardi Gras in St. Maarten for '22.

Anyone have any experience with this, in terms of activities, crowds, traffic, etc?

And not just St Maarten, but what about other areas in the Caribbean? I would assume things were subdued in '21, but hopefully we'll see some normalcy creep back soon.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

There are two separate festivals on SXM celebrating Caribbean culture that are similar to Mardi Gras parades in other locales. Unless you are staying right in Grand Case or Philipsburg you can avoid them if you wish, but you should partake at least once.

On the French side, there are Les Mardis de Grand Case, alternatively known as Harmony Nights. They are held every Tuesday night (Tuesdays only) from 7 to 10 pm along the main street in Grand Case. It normally starts around the end of January or early February and typically runs to sometime in early April. It features a parade, dancers, costumes, steel bands, food, music, markets and most of the restaurants have tables outside.

On the Dutch side, there is St Maarten Carnival. It is held every day during the celebration period, which typically runs from about the second week of April until very early May. Most of the events are primarily in the dedicated Carnival Village site in Philipsburg. There are two key parade events. One is the break-of-dawn parade (the "J'Oubert") that starts around 4 AM in downtown Philipsburg. The main event is the Grand Carnival Parade on April 30th, Queen Juliana's birthday. It winds from downtown Philipsburg to the Carnival Village. There are floats, steel bands, dancers, costumes, food, markets, and lots of music, fun and activities.

Many Caribbean islands have similar festivals, although the names, traditions, and dates may vary.

 

[Laurie]

We were in St. Maarten a few years ago for two weeks of Carnaval (I chose those weeks intentionally), and had a really wonderful time. Many music events at night of some big name as well as more local bands and acts, many parades, food booths etc. If I were going again, I wouldn't hesitate to book those exact 2 weeks. We were at Belair Beach Club right outside of town, so very convenient to the festivities. Bring earplugs.