Towns and cities across the Caribbean passionately celebrate their traditional annual carnivals around this time of year, packing these festive days with activities, sun, and a party atmosphere that both locals and visitors alike enjoy.

These world-famous carnivals mark the start of the Catholic Lent, roughly four to five days of endless celebrations, including spectacular Caribbean-style parades with dancers in extravagant multicolored costumes, celebrating to the beat of a singular ambience.

No carnival parade would be complete without the floats decorated with the main theme of each region, which make their way along the parade route so that the thousands of festival-goers can see these stunning creations in all their splendor. Music is must-have at any carnival, providing the rhythm for the non-stop dancers as they show off their best moves.

There are several destinations that have earned a reputation for putting on some of the best carnivals in the world, attracting tourists from every corner of the globe. To name a few:

• Rio de Janeiro Carnaval in Brazil: one of the most famous carnivals in the world, offering one of the most impressive shows in America in the renowned Sambadrome and with one of the greatest expressions of Rio’s culture.

• Aruba Carnival: the first Carnival on this island –a small series of street festivals– was in 1954, but it wasn’t until the Tivoli Club, Aruba’s oldest private social club, that the island had a maravillosa pre-Lent celebration in Oranjestad.

• Oruro Carnival in Bolivia: this festival is considered one of Latin America’s biggest and most colorful religious celebrations, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

• Corrientes Carnival in Argentina: Corrientes is synonymous with Carnival, where the event is a cultural experience that has transcended provincial limits to make way for a major festival considered one of the most opulent in the world.

• Quintana Roo Carnival in Mexico: in the town of Quintana Roo in the Mexican Caribbean, the major organizations come together every year to celebrate their wonderful Carnivals: an authentic popular festival that you have to experience.

• Dominican Carnival: highly popular in the breathtaking Dominican Republic, the festival is considered one of the most traditional celebrations, the local inhabitants participating in an event with a single purpose and with great enthusiasm and joy.

• Curaçao Carnival: a festive tradition that has been celebrated on the island since the 19th century, when the parties and parades were limited to private clubs. It is currently one of the largest and longest-running Carnivals in the entire Caribbean.

• Bahamas Carnival: hundreds of people invade the streets of Nassau, in the Bahamas, every year during Carnival to dance to the African rhythms known as junkanoo and see the parade’s flamboyant costumes decorated with feathers and sequins.

If you get the chance, we recommend experiencing this spectacular celebration during your next vacation. We promise that it’ll be an unique experience you fully enjoy.