Thinking of Trini Carnival 2013? Here is an estimated budget!
The bands are revealing their themes and amazingly, carnival 2013 is already coming!
Many of you are looking at going to Trinidad for the first time and need to get a realistic idea of how much its going to cost you.
The first thing you need to know is that if you are a guy, you are in luck. It’s relatively affordable, depending on how much of a trooper you are.
Ladies, I’m sorry. There is no way around it. It’s just going to cost you more:(
So, without further adieu!
Costume
Approx 600usd (accounting for inflation) for males and up to and over 1000 USD for women. For the ladies the sky is the limit for the price of the costume if you want to go full out!
Plane fare
This one is very variable. I got a flight from Jamaica for 350usd this year by booking from about July. That same flight for 2013 already costs 411usd! If you are coming from Ancorage, Alaska, expect to pay MUCH more.
Hotel
I’m assuming double occupancy. You can get room and board for about 550usd each. Talk to The Carnival Connection on facebook. She has the hookup!
Car rental
I love “Auto Rentals”. Brand new cars every year for carnival and EXCELLENT customer service in your times of need. (Boy do I have stories to tell….look for the blog post). This should cost approx 480usd if you book before the “special” carnival prices start. Divide that cost by the number of persons in your group
Party tickets
This is a big one. Lets assume you are Partying HARD and fete daily. Based on my Fete recommendations you can expect to pay approx 500usd. Thats about one party a day except for monday and tuesday.
Food
Fortunately food is cheap. 100usd will more than be enough. 60 or so is quite possible as well.
In summary:
| Male | Female | ||
| Costume | 550 | 1000 | |
| Plane fare | Price From JAMAICA!! | 411 | 411 |
| Hotel | 550 | 550 | |
| Car | Approx 470 in total divided by number in your group! | 118 | 118 |
| Party tickets | 500 | 500 | |
| Food | 100 | 100 | |
| FOR THE ROAD | |||
| Accessories | Tot-e, Tights, earrings, etc. | 100 | |
| Makeup | 70 | ||
| Boots/Shoes | 60 | 50 | |
| Monday wear | 100 | ||
| TOTALS | 2289 | 2999 | |
| REMEMBER TO CORRECT YOUR AIRFARE AND CAR RENTAL FEE. | |||
I made sure to put some of my estimates on the high side but the plane fare and car fees can screw this budget up….. so make sure to calculate yours properly.
So, as you can see this is an expensive venture…but really, if you start from now it will be much more managable and most things are paid in installments. It is also important to note you can save a bundle by staying with friends and having them drive you around if you are lucky enough to have Trini links who are willing.
It’s 10 months to go so put your 200 or 300 away monthly from now.
I will soon post the schedule of important events in the leadup to carnival with the important months for payment of different deposits etc. Also look out for Lehwego’s Workout guide to the body you want for carnival as well. These posts will be coming in the next week or so interspersed with Jamaica carnival coverage
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HAVE YOU STARTED SAVING?
Thanks to Peaches and Cheese for the artwork!
Very helpful information,Donna who did you go thru?
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Fetes cost about 80usd on average. A few of the more exclusive fetes are 120usd and Brian Lara’s fete is 200usd. I have a post done in preparation for the carnival gone with my fete list. It’s called perfecting your Feteing I think. I will be doing something similar later this year.
Use this year as a benchmark. Next year do more of what you enjoyed (which for most is the fetes). This way the experience gets better annually. If you go with a few friends and you have some experience Thecarnivalconnection can help you organize your own trip with minimal stress for much cheaper next time.
Thanks for replying so quickly. I’d be staying 9 days/8 nights. And it actually does include food but no photography. Can you tell me what the average price for fetes are in US$? Now that I think about it I could use those extra days to see more of Trinidad.
Depends on the perks they offer eg. Photography and the hotel costs which, depending on the hotel, can easily break any bank. Only 3 fetes? How long are you staying? We try for 5 in the 5 days before the road. This year we may go for 6 if the budget allows.
Hey! I stumbled across this while trying to plan my first carnival trip. The group/service I’m considering booking with has a price of $3200 excluding plane fare from NY, food and makeup. It only includes 3 fetes BUT there is a trip to Tobao included. Does that sound like a crazy markup to you? Or is it reasonable? I don’t have any other price to compare it to. I love the site btw. I’m getting lots of useful info.
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