Saturday, January 6, Curacao’s 2024 Carnival season once again opened in festive fashion at the Curacao Festival Center. Carnival is celebrated grandly in Curacao and various events are organized until Feb. 17, 2024.
Curacao carnival: different from the Netherlands
There is one thing for sure, Carnival in Curacao is completely different from those in the Netherlands. That starts with the music. Where cheerful hoempapa music can be heard in the Netherlands, in Curacao, people party to Tumba. Tumba is an upbeat style of music and dance in which you will hear many instruments. The message of Tumba songs is always positive. Besides the music, the way of dressing up is also completely different. In the Netherlands, depending on each region, you see mostly people in crazy costumes or homemade themed clothing. In Curacao, people walk in beautiful costumes with headdresses, glitter, feathers and lots of color, which are usually worked on all year to make the costumes for the whole carnival group. What is also different is the way Carnival is celebrated. In the Netherlands everyone goes to the pub, in Curacao Carnival is all about Tumba and parades in the streets.
Cheerful music, beautiful costumes and parades
This year there are 5 major carnival groups marching in the parades. During these parades, children, teens and adults walk and dance to perfection and in the finest costumes. In addition to the participants, festive floats will also pass by. If you want to watch the beautiful parades, you can easily do so by just picking a nice spot along the route. Then remember in advance that you may (probably) be getting full sun for a while, so think sunscreen, a bottle of water and if possible something like a cap or the like.
If you really want to get into the Curaçao Carnival, you can still sign up to join one of the carnival groups in the parades. For this you will then pay (minimum) about US$ 750 and for this you will get a magnificent costume + participation in the Gran Marcha, the big parade, among other things.
The parades
Horse Parade
Sunday, January 28, 2024, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Most parades take place in the western part of Curaçao. On Sunday, Jan. 28, the first parade in downtown Willemstad begins, the horse parade. The parade lasts from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. You can stand near the start at Brionplein in Otrobanda or along Roodeweg. The parade follows north along Avenue to Welgelegen and continues on F. D. Roosevelt Road. The parade ends at the intersection at Jan Noorduynweg. You can sit for free along the entire route to enjoy all the splendor. If you want to know exactly what the routes are, check out the map further down this page.
Children’s Parade
Sunday, February 4, 2024, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 4, all the youngsters pull out their finest outfits for the Children’s Carnival Parade. From 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., they walk and dance the carnival route in their costumes. The children’s parade starts at the Palù Blanku traffic circle and is about 5 km long. The route heads south, follows Schottegatweg West and turns left toward Roodeweg in Otrobanda. The ending point of this parade, like all subsequent parades, is Brion Square in Otrobanda, located right next to the Pontjes Bridge.
Teen Parade
Friday, February 9, 2024, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 9, is the teens’ turn. From 6 to 11 p.m., teens will build a party during the Teen Parade. The route is the same as the horse parade, except that this parade starts at the intersection of F.D. Rooseveltweg and Jan Noorduynweg (4 kilometers south of Hato Airport) and ends at Brionplein in Otrobanda.
Bandabou carnival parade
Saturday, February 10, 2024, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The only parade not in town is the Bandabou Carnival parade and will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m. This is a route along the Kaminda Popo Royer. The parade starts halfway down Kaminda Prospero Popo Rojer and heads toward the road to Westpunt. On the Road to Westpunt, the parade turns right and ends at Barer’s soccer club, Centro Social Deportivo Barber. Keep in mind traffic jams and delays if you want to get to West Point on this Saturday.
The grand parade: Gran Marcha
Sunday, February 11, 2024, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Gran Marcha, on Sunday, Feb. 11, hosts the largest carnival parade. From 1 to 7 p.m., you can pick a spot along the route and enjoy the festivities, dancing and watching the participants with their beautiful costumes. The route of the parade is exactly the same as that of the teen parade.
Note: original schedule was for the Gran Marcha to begin at 11:00, but that has been changed to 1:00 pm.
Farewell Parades
Monday, Feb. 12. 14:00-20:00 / Tuesday, Feb. 13. 18:00-01:00
Monday 12 the youth and teens may shine one more time in the farewell parade from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. They walk the same route as on Friday, Feb. 9. On Tuesday, Feb. 13, adults will walk the route of the Gran Marcha one more time during the main farewell parade from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. The latter is also called the parade of lights and is always very popular among tourists and local visitors. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the festival season will close as it opened. At the Curaçao Festival Center.
Route Carnival parades
The city’s parades all have the same route. Start is just before the Frank D. Rooseveltweg/Jan Noorduynweg intersection, and then basically just straight ahead to the terminus at the Pontjes Bridge. The route follows the Frank D. Roosevelt Road to the large Palù Blanku traffic circle. There, take the first exit onto Schottegatweg West, continue straight onto Weg naar Welgelegen, and via Roodeweg walk out of Breedestraat until you reach St. John’s. Anna Bay. You can watch the parades anywhere along the route. Bring a folding chair and your own cooler and you’re all set. Not sure yet where you want to look? Our advice is to park your car at the Palù Blanku traffic circle, about halfway along the route. Parking is easy here and the parades come by relatively early. If you go with children, it’s nice if you don’t have to wait too long for the parade to pass by because it sometimes wants to be delayed.
Want to watch the Bandabou parade on Saturday? Which goes from just outside Barber to the middle of the village. Check out the route here.
Most popular dolphin tour!
Dolphin Swim
Beachhouse with watchtower
Klein Curacao | Mermaid
Avoid seasickness
Klein Curacao | Powerboat
Beachhouse with sunbeds
Klein Curacao | Miss Ann
Most popular Klein Curacao
Klein Curacao | BlueFinn Charters
On the stand
Would you like to go big and come to Curacao specifically for carnival? Then you can also choose to buy a ticket for a seat in a grandstand along the route. For example, YDK has a large grandstand with a bar, food, restrooms and performances. There are several options, you can reserve a spot for just the teen parade, for the Gran Marcha or the farewell parade. But there is also an all inclusive package to attend all 3 parades. To reserve, please send a Whatsapp message to +5999 6698677.
Another large stand is available through CCGG (tel. +5999 6971168 or email ccgg.reservations@gmail.com):
– Teen Parade (NAF 50 p.p.)
– Gran Marcha (NAF 95 p.p.)
– Farewell parade (NAF 95 p.p.)
Would you just like to experience a piece of culture and do you enjoy watching the many participants dance and shine in their beautiful costumes? Then you can stand anywhere along the routes for free and take a look. Tip: Bring something to drink, grease up, bring a cap or hat, and above all, don’t forget your best mood.
Enjoy!
Tumba
Want to get in the mood already? Check out the highlights of the 2023 Tumba Festival here:
