6 of the Best Festivals in the Americas—And Why They’re Worth It

6. Junkanoo— A new years experience for all ages

Preceding the abolition of slavery under the British in 1834 Junkanoo was a way to express freedom that is still being celebrated today. Oh yes, freedom for all! It’s been bringing family and friends together in the sparkly blue island of the Bahamas, becoming one of the most celebrated festivals in the entire Caribbean.  Today people all ages, from families to groups of friends all converge in this all night long parades that takes places in the streets of downtown Nassau.

Today this has become a pretty intense competition in between 6 top groups Colors, Music Makers, One Family, Roots, Saxons and Valley Boys. 

Every year, they compete against each other in categories like costume design, choreography, and music.  This actually encourages the performances to be fierce and better every year. It’s hardly surprising why these performances have become top quality entertainment.

You can read more detail on Jankanoo here: Junkanoo: A Unique New Years Celebration for All Ages

5. Coachella—if you want an artist guest experience

Ah, the party of the year. Fun to attend the festival, sure. But ever wonder what it’s like to experience Coachella to its full potential? Coachella is much more than just the 3 day festival itself. It’s two weeks of exclusive parties from popular up pool parties by the beach to exclusive events by corporate and creative entities. Attending exclusive parties and experiencing the occasion fully— before, during, and after the festival itself—that is the real Coachella experience. And that is what earned it a spot on this list. 

If you want to know more about the full spectrum of possibilities that comes with Coachella and experience exclusivity and luxury partying like never before, read more about how Prive helps you do that:  Coachella 2023

4. Tulum Festival Season 

Many call it the winter Ibiza, with many DJs and parties well known in Ibiza make their way to the winter paradise on the beaches of Tulum:  Storytellers, Woomoon, Circoloco, Afterlife, as well as DJs Black Coffee, Marco Carola, Jamie Jones, and Solomun.  The pandemic put Tulum on the map as it was one of the few places that was consistently open.  This 3 week experience begins right after Christmas around the Dec 26th-29th with Ahau usually having the season opening party, until mid Jan usually closed out by Mayan Warrior.

Learn more about the 2023 lineup on our Tulum Festival Season landing page: Tulum Festival Season 2023

3. Costa Rica Festival Season 

Just as the BPM started the house music scene in Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen) which led to modern day Tulum, when they left and decided to relocate to Costa Rica, they started yet another trend in the electronic music scene in a tropical destination.  Now Costa Rica has exploded and is giving Tulum a run for it’s money.  This year there are 4 big festivals planned: Labryinto NYE, Ocaso, Horyzon (Zamna’s new festival), and BPM.  The main hot spot is in Tamarindo on the northwest coast of Costa Rica, but Santa Teresa just a few hours drive south of there is also heating up with real estate and a party scene led by an ever growing Israeli expat population.

We will update our site with announcements of all the festival in Costa Rica soon, but for now you can buy tickets for: Labryinto NYE

2. Burning Man—for the weirdest and wildest party of your life

What started as a group of people who gathered around a burning man of straw became an annual community, with experimental collaboration thoughtful exploration at the center. It’s a magnificent and celebratory temporary city in the desert, worthy of being visited and experienced.  The spirit of the burn sees people joining together to battle the elements sharing resources as they all dance in the desert for up to a week to some of the best DJs and artists on the planet.  The costumes, art cars, and bikes get more and more creative every years as art is as much a thing as the music you hear.

2022 brought back the burn for the first time in years.  And as the burning man gods would have it, it was one of the toughest for everyone with scorching hot weather and a huge dust storm that left many with little to no sleep, and then finally an 8 hour traffic jam to get out of the playa.  Was one to remember as the world saw burning man come back after it’s pandemic hiatus.

1. Carnaval—the best festival in the world [links to ins and outs article]

Carnaval is the perfect mesh of unparalleled visual excitement, legendary parades, cultural celebration, and non stop partying for two days straight with millions of people.  In Rio de Janeiro the streets will literally be crowded shoulder to shoulder with people dancing in the streets, the sand, the grass, on buildings; just about anywhere you can find a space.  The free love energy electrifies the crowd as people kiss each other, hug, share drinks as they party the day and night for 8 days straight.  There is even a “pre-carnaval” the week before that is almost just as crazy as the warm-up to the main event.

Besides the samba in the blocos throughout all of the city, and the parade that takes place in the sambodrome in downtown Rio, there is also an electronic music festival during carnval for those that want to hear that style of music as well.  Carnaval is by far one of the more unique festival experiences you can go to, so do yourself a favor and start to plan a trip there.  This year it takes place in February.  You can read more info here: CARNIVAL 2023- RIO DE JANEIRO