--- title: "Carnivals, the 10 best in the world to join | Wimup" description: "Ten carnivals ranked on scale, tradition and how far a visitor can join in, from Rio, Salvador and Trinidad to Oruro, Venice and Cologne." url: https://wimup.com/carnival type: Themed list updated: 2026-10-27 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Carnivals, the ones worth joining. By Wimup desk · 10 picks · 3 films · ≈ 4 min read Ten carnivals worth crossing an ocean for, from the Sambadrome to the streets of Cologne, ranked on scale, tradition and how far a visitor can join in. Mapped, with the usual dates. Every carnival claims to be the biggest. We ranked these ten on the carnival itself: its scale, how deep its tradition runs, and how much a visitor can take part rather than watch. All of them peak in the days before Lent, which in 2027 means early February. ## Carnivals, the ones worth joining. ### 1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro · Brazil The largest carnival on earth, built around two nights of samba-school parades in the Sambadrome. Buy a costume from a school and you march in it; skip the stands and the free street blocos fill every neighbourhood. - **Best for:** Samba parade - **Where:** Sambadrome · blocos - **Runs:** Sat–Tue before Lent Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/rio-de-janeiro.md) · [Watch the Rio de Janeiro film](https://wimup.com/watch/rio-de-janeiro.md) ### 2. Salvador, Brazil Bahia · Brazil Brazil's great street carnival: six days of trios elétricos, trucks carrying live bands through the crowd. Buy an abadá to dance inside a bloco's rope, or join the free crowd outside it on the Barra-Ondina circuit. - **Best for:** Street party - **Where:** Barra-Ondina · Campo Grande - **Runs:** Thu–Ash Wednesday Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/salvador.md) ### 3. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad · Trinidad and Tobago The carnival built for joining: buy a costume from a mas band and you parade with thousands across the Queen's Park Savannah stage. Start before dawn on Monday at J'ouvert, in old clothes, mud and paint. - **Best for:** Playing mas - **Where:** Queen's Park Savannah - **Runs:** Mon–Tue before Lent Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/port-of-spain.md) ### 4. Recife, Brazil Pernambuco · Brazil Carnival Saturday opens with the Galo da Madrugada, listed by Guinness as the largest carnival bloc on earth. Then cross to Olinda next door, where giant puppets and frevo bands climb the colonial hills, free to all. - **Best for:** Frevo · giant puppets - **Where:** Recife · Olinda - **Runs:** Sat–Tue before Lent Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/recife.md) ### 5. Barranquilla, Colombia Atlántico · Colombia A UNESCO-listed carnival since 2003, where Colombia's Caribbean folk dances, from cumbia to the congo, hold the street. The Batalla de Flores opens it on the Vía 40; grandstand seats sell out first. - **Best for:** Folk dance - **Where:** Vía 40 - **Runs:** Sat–Tue before Lent Links: [Colombia guide](https://wimup.com/country/colombia.md) ### 6. New Orleans, USA Louisiana · USA Not one parade but weeks of them, as krewes roll floats down St. Charles Avenue and throw beads to the crowd. Watching is free, and on Fat Tuesday itself half the city wears a costume, so pack one. - **Best for:** Parade floats - **Where:** St. Charles Avenue - **Runs:** Weeks to Fat Tuesday Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/new-orleans.md) · [Watch the New Orleans film](https://wimup.com/watch/new-orleans.md) ### 7. Oruro, Bolivia Altiplano · Bolivia A pilgrimage in dance, UNESCO-listed since 2001: tens of thousands of dancers cover a four-kilometre route to the shrine of the Virgin of the Socavón. The Diablada, the devil dance, leads; book a stand seat, since the entrada runs into the night. - **Best for:** Masked dance - **Where:** Route to the Socavón - **Runs:** From Carnival Saturday Links: [Bolivia guide](https://wimup.com/country/bolivia.md) ### 8. Venice, Italy Veneto · Italy The masked carnival, revived in 1979 and still about dressing up more than dancing. Watch the Volo dell'Angelo descend from the bell tower over Piazza San Marco, then hire a costume and join the masks in the alleys. - **Best for:** Masks · costume - **Where:** Piazza San Marco - **Runs:** About two weeks to Lent Links: [Italy guide](https://wimup.com/country/italy.md) ### 9. Cologne, Germany Rhineland · Germany The carnival where everyone takes part: the season opens at 11:11 on 11 November and peaks from the Thursday to the Monday before Lent. Come in costume, learn to shout Alaaf, and stand on the Rosenmontag route for the floats. - **Best for:** Joining in - **Where:** Old town · Rosenmontag - **Runs:** Thu–Mon before Lent Links: [Germany guide](https://wimup.com/country/germany.md) ### 10. Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo · Uruguay The longest carnival, running about 40 days, with murga choirs satirising the year on neighbourhood stages. Its great night is the Desfile de Llamadas, when candombe drum troupes parade through Barrio Sur and Palermo. - **Best for:** Candombe · murga - **Where:** Barrio Sur · Palermo - **Runs:** About 40 days Links: [View the Top 10](https://wimup.com/city/montevideo.md) · [Watch the Montevideo film](https://wimup.com/watch/montevideo.md) ## FAQs ### When is carnival in 2027? Carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, so its date moves with Easter. In 2027 Ash Wednesday falls on 10 February, which puts the main days from 6 to 9 February. Cologne, Venice and Montevideo start weeks earlier. ### Can visitors take part, or only watch? In most of these, yes. In Rio and Port of Spain you buy a costume from a samba school or mas band and parade in it, and in Salvador an abadá puts you inside a bloco. New Orleans and Cologne ask only for a costume of your own. ### Which of these carnivals are UNESCO-listed? Oruro was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001 and Barranquilla in 2003. Montevideo's candombe was inscribed in 2009 and Recife's frevo in 2012. ### How far ahead should I book? Six months or more for Rio, Salvador, Port of Spain and New Orleans, where carnival week prices climb and many hotels sell only multi-night stays. Band costumes and abadás for the big blocos often sell out months ahead too. ### Is carnival safe for visitors? The big carnivals draw crowds in the hundreds of thousands, and pickpocketing is the common risk. Carry a copy of your passport, a little cash and a cheap phone, keep to the official circuits, and agree a meeting point with your group. ## Sources - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.