Virgin Islands Carnival

The territory holds three carnivals rather than one, so the season stretches across the year: St Thomas in late April and early May, St John around the start of July, and the Crucian Christmas Festival on St Croix from December into early January. Each follows the same shape. A carnival village opens for a fortnight of nightly music and food booths, calypso and pan competitions run through the week, and the whole thing ends with a parade of costumed troupes, steel bands and moko jumbies, dancers on stilts two or three metres tall whose tradition came from West Africa and who are said to see trouble coming before anyone else. J'ouvert starts before dawn and covers everyone in paint.

What you actually see

• The parade - costumed troupes, floats and steel bands through the streets.
• Moko jumbies - stilt dancers three metres tall, the signature figure.
• Steel pan and calypso - the competitions that run through the week.
• The food fair - johnnycakes, pâtés, kallaloo and maubi at the village.

When to go

Pick the island by date: St Thomas late April into May, St John around early July, St Croix from mid-December into the first week of January. Parade days are the peak and accommodation books out well ahead, particularly on St John where rooms are few.

Honest expectations

Parade days mean closed roads, heavy traffic and hours in full sun, so plan for water and shade. The carnival village runs very late and is loud enough to matter if you are staying nearby. J'ouvert involves paint and powder that will ruin clothes, which is the intention. Cruise passengers arriving on a parade day often find the town impassable.

Nearby

Charlotte Amalie, Cruz Bay and Frederiksted host the three; ferries link the islands.