Luxury Carnival Vacation Packages

A few months ago, I posted a round-up of affordable vacation packages for Trinidad's Carnival – but for those who want to really indulge at this year's event, check out these new luxury packages from Caribbean concierge and tour operator Antilia...

– Bronze Package: Six-nights of four-star accommodations at the Hyatt Regency or Carlton Savannah; daily breakfast; VIP fete tickets to Trini Posse and Brian Lara all-inclusive; 24-hour concierge; air transfers and ground transportation for $2,000.

– Silver Package: All of the above plus a hand-made showpiece costume and two-day Carnival experience for $2,500.

– Gold Package: All of the Silver amenities plus a two-day all-inclusive Tobago retreat to Le Grand Courlan Resort for $3,000.

– VIP Package: All of the Gold amenities plus a private chauffeur, professional make-up application for Carnival Monday and Tuesday, and an Ash Wednesday spa rejuvenation package for $5,000.

All four packages are available from Friday, February 12 to Thursday, February 28, and include round trip airfare from Miami. Log on to antilia.com to book your Carnival trip, then surf over to our Facebook page to share your trip report and photos with the rest of our readers!

Luxury Carnival Vacation Packages

Eating My Way Across Trinidad

Hello fellow food lovers. I just got back from Trinidad, and let's just say it's a good thing my pants were loose when I got there. Trinidad is renowned for its food traditions - with 40% of the population descended from India, I knew I'd be in heaven - but traditional Indian foods have definitely undergone a delicious island spin. We'll start with breakfast - crazy, I know. Trinidad is known for "doubles," a common street food sold out of vendor's trucks all over the island. We beelined for our guides' favorite and weren't disappointed. Its closest approximation is a sandwich; each piece of "bread" is a lightly fried round, spiced and colored with turmeric, and between them is a filling of curried chick peas called channa - as spicy as you can stand it. (Doubles photo at top courtesy of Jon Whittle)

Let's move on to lunch: The other biggie on Trinidad is bake and shark, and the most famous place to get it is at Richard's on Maracas Beach. Naturally, we made a beeline. It's a deep-fried shark filet, most commonly blacktip shark, sandwiched between a "bake," a lot like Navajo fry bread, and slathered with as many Trini condiments as you can handle. Don't skip the cilantro sauce or the tamarind sauce, whatever you do; hot sauce I'll leave up to your tolerance for pain. Paired with a cold Carib beer, there's no better lunch to be had.

Eating My Way Across Trinidad

Diwali, Trini Style

Trinidad's been at the top of my list of "must-visit" Caribbean destinations since I started at CT+L; it's so different from most of the other islands, home to a huge population of East Indian descendants. Brought to the island as indentured servants beginning in 1845, 40 percent of Trinidad's current 1.4 million residents are Indo-Trinidadian. As an India junkie myself, I was desperate to visit for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, held each year in October or November, and I happily got the chance the third week of October. Celebrated on the darkest night of the year, according to the Hindu calendar, families gather all over the island to light deyas, small clay pots filled with coconut oil. There's plenty of food (the food, oh, the food), music and camaraderie. We celebrated in a village called Felicity, at the home of a family who was kind enough to prepare the traditional Diwali curries for us. Yum. The night culminated for me in lighting some deyas for myself, clad in the traditional Indian salwar kameez (watch that scarf by the flames, Becky). The combination of Caribbean and Indian culture was both what I'd expected and a surprise, a fascinating and delicious mash-up. Ever been to Trinidad for Diwali? What did you think?

*photos courtesy of Jon Whittle

Diwali, Trini Style

Special Rates and Packages for Trinidad's Carnival

If you're thinking of checking out Trinidad's exotic festival of Carnival next February 11-16 (just a few months away now!), we've got the scoop on area hotels' special rates and vacation packages just for the event. And trust us, you'll want to book early before the masses descend on the island and the properties sell out, as they have in years past.

The Carlton Savannah: The new boutique hotel is offering a five-night package for February 12-17 including breakfast and starting at $1,523 based on double occupancy.
www.thecarltonsavannah.com

Courtyard by Marriott: This hotel is walking distance from many of the event venues, and it's offering a Carnival package between February 12-16 that includes breakfast, starting at $299 per night double occupancy.
www.marriott.com

Coblentz Inn: This boutique property in is offering a Carnival Special that includes breakfast and a stocked mini-bar on arrival, starting at $275 per night double occupancy between February 12-16.
www.coblentzinn.com

Kapok Hotel: The upscale 94-room hotel is offering a five-night package for any dates between February 10-17 starting at $1,450 double occupancy, including daily breakfast buffet.
www.kapokhotel.com

L'Orchidee Boutique: The 12-room hotel is offering a five-night package between February 12-18 including breakfast and two tickets to Taste of Carnival, Girl Power, Saturday Night Carnival Party, Sunday All-Inclusive Carnival Party, Dimanche Grande Show and the Ash Wednesday Maracas Bay Cool Down. Rates start at $2,150 double occupancy including taxes.
www.trinidadhosthomes.com

Hyatt Regency Trinidad: The oceanfront resort is offering a Carnival special for four-night-minimum stays between February 10-17 that includes daily breakfast, and starts at $299 per night double occupancy.
www.trinidad.hyatt.com

Anyone been to Carnival before? Leave us a note and tell us your experience, then surf over to our Facebook page to share your photos with other CT+L readers and fans!

Special Rates and Packages for Trinidad's Carnival

Vacation Like the President? Yes You Can

No matter how you voted, you can travel in presidential style with the Hilton Trinidad's new promotion. President Obama and his entourage stayed at the resort this spring, and now you can recreate their visit with lavish presidential suite accommodations, in-suite daily breakfast, a candlelit dinner for two in the Upper Tea Terrace, and round trip airport transfers - in a limo of course. The Live Like the President package is available through the end of October, and it goes for $1,229 per night double occupancy.

A bit steep for your next trip? Ditch the suite and stay in one of the resort's newly renovated deluxe guest room instead...you'll enjoy the same presidential perks for a lot less: just $379 per night. You can book directly through the Hilton Trinidad site by using the promo code P1.

Vacation Like the President? Yes You Can