Spicemas 2026, Grenada’s national carnival, reaches its peak on Monday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 11, when J’ouvert fills the streets of St. George’s before dawn and the Parade of the Bands closes the season. The festival runs August 1–11, with Soca Monarch on August 7, Panorama on August 8 and Dimanche Gras on August 9.
Carnival Monday and Tuesday are both public holidays in Grenada, and the island effectively stops for them.
What Spicemas 2026 looks like, day by day
The back half of the festival is where nearly all of the visitor traffic lands. According to the Spicemas Corporation, the national body that runs the festival, the marquee events cluster into five days:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 7 | Soca Monarch finals (Power and Groovy) | Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George’s |
| Sat, Aug 8 | Panorama (steel pan finals) | St. George’s |
| Sun, Aug 9 | Dimanche Gras — calypso finals, King and Queen of the Bands | St. George’s |
| Mon, Aug 10 | J’ouvert from ~4 a.m., Monday on the Road, Monday Night Mas | St. George’s and Grenville |
| Tue, Aug 11 | Parade of the Bands (pretty mas and traditional mas) | St. George’s |
J’ouvert is the piece that makes Spicemas different from every other carnival in the region. Grenada’s Jab Jab tradition — masqueraders covered in oil, molasses or charcoal, wearing horns and carrying chains — traces directly to emancipation in 1834, and it is the reason travelers fly in for a 4 a.m. street party rather than an afternoon parade.
Grenada goes into Carnival week on record numbers
The festival arrives during the island’s strongest tourism stretch in years. Grenada welcomed 54,565 stayover visitors in the first quarter of 2026, a 12 percent increase over the same period last year, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data reported by Caribbean Journal on July 6, 2026. April was stronger still: 18,646 stopover arrivals versus 15,491 a year earlier, a 20.4 percent jump.
Airlift followed. Air Canada added a second weekly Toronto flight into Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND) on Mondays, running June 2 through August 31 — which happens to cover Carnival Monday.
That is good news for Grenada, where tourism accounts for more than 20 percent of GDP. It is harder news for anyone trying to book a trip this week.
What Spicemas week actually costs
Grenada is a small island with limited room stock, and Carnival week is the one time all of it sells at once. Round-trip airfare into GND normally runs about $500 to $900 from U.S. gateways; during Carnival week it routinely climbs to $1,500 to $2,000 or more. On midpoint numbers that is roughly a 2.5x premium, or about $1,000 extra per seat — close to $2,000 more for a couple before a single hotel night is booked.
Playing mas adds more. A base package with a Grenada band — typically covering J’ouvert, Monday road, Monday Night Mas and the Tuesday costume, with food, drinks and security included — runs about $750 to $1,000 per person. Frontline costumes with feathered backpacks add another $600 to $900. A couple playing full pretty mas is therefore looking at roughly $1,500 to $3,800 in costumes alone, on top of the airfare premium.
Bands typically launch in March, and the popular sections sell out long before summer.
The advisor take: read this now, book it for 2027
Our honest read, six days out: if you are only now shopping Spicemas 2026, the smart move is to watch this year and plan 2027. Grenada’s Carnival window is fixed — the second Monday and Tuesday of August — so 2027 is already predictable, and the travelers who get the good rooms and sane airfares are the ones booking eight to twelve months ahead.
There is a second play worth knowing. Grenada’s shoulder months — late April through June, and November — deliver the same beaches, the same Grand Etang rainforest, River Antoine and Belmont Estate, and the world’s first underwater sculpture park, at a fraction of Carnival-week pricing. Several travelers we work with go in the quiet season for the island and come back separately for the mas.
For where to stay, our sister site’s Sandals Grenada review breaks down the island’s flagship all-inclusive, and if you want a 2027 Spicemas trip priced out — flights, room and band package together — the team at Pixie Vacations can quote it at no fee.
Caribbean Mag has already covered carnival season from Antigua, Barbados’ Crop Over and Jamaica this summer. Spicemas closes it out.
Quick Facts: Spicemas 2026
When is Spicemas 2026?
Spicemas 2026 runs August 1–11, 2026, in Grenada. The peak days are Carnival Monday, August 10, and Carnival Tuesday, August 11 — both national public holidays.
What time does J’ouvert start?
J’ouvert begins in the dark on Monday, August 10, with masqueraders taking the road from roughly 4 a.m. through mid-morning in St. George’s and Grenville.
Where does Spicemas take place?
The festival is centered on St. George’s, Grenada’s capital on the southwestern coast. Traditional mas is strongest in the countryside parishes, including St. Andrew, St. Patrick and St. David.
How much does it cost to play mas in Grenada?
Base band packages run roughly $750 to $1,000 per person and typically include the J’ouvert package, Monday road, Monday Night Mas and the Tuesday costume. Frontline costumes add about $600 to $900.
What does it cost to fly to Grenada during Carnival?
Round-trip fares into Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND) typically run $500 to $900, but Carnival-week pricing regularly reaches $1,500 to $2,000 or more per seat.
When is Spicemas 2027?
Grenada’s Carnival Monday and Tuesday fall on the second Monday and Tuesday of August each year, which points to August 9–10, 2027. The Spicemas Corporation confirms the full calendar each spring.
Reported by the Pixie Vacations advisor team — Caribbean travel specialists with 735+ five-star client reviews, featured on USA Today, NBC, ABC, CNN and MSN. We book Caribbean festival travel, all-inclusives and honeymoons at no fee to the traveler.
Last updated: August 4, 2026
Sources: Spicemas Corporation · Caribbean Journal, “Travelers Are Flocking to Grenada,” July 6, 2026 · Travel Noire, Grenada Spicemas guide (updated June 26, 2026) · Caribbean Tourism Organization Q1 2026 stayover data
