Travelling for Carnival

Follow our advice for a safe and healthy trip

Carnival is celebrated throughout the year worldwide, with a popular carnival season between February and March. Careful preparation helps you have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Key messages

• If you are pregnant or planning pregnancy and thinking about travel to Zika risk countries, be aware of the risk that Zika virus may present. Before booking travel, you (and if appropriate your partner) should check the Other risks section of our Country Information pages for information about the Zika risk at your destination and get advice from your GP, practice nurse or a travel clinic.
• You can also check malaria and vaccine recommendations in our Country Information pages.
• Follow insect bite avoidance advice day and night.
• Get travel health insurance.
• Be safe – watch out for accidents, injuries and theft.
• Be SunSafe – protect your skin from the sun.
• Drink alcohol responsibly.
• Be alert to the risks of drink spiking and methanol poisoning.
• Practise safer sex.
• See your GP, nurse, pharmacist or travel clinic to ask if you need malaria protection and to check all your recommended vaccines are in date before you go – it's never too late.

Before travel

Check the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) website for up-to-date safety advice and travel entry requirements for your destination. You can sign up to FCDO email alerts for the most current information about your destination (see specific FCDO country advice for links).

FCDO also provide a foreign travel checklist to help you plan your trip.

Coughs, colds and other respiratory infections, including influenza (flu) are a risk worldwide. Take particular care to reduce your risk by following advice about living safely with respiratory infections, including regular hand washing, covering your mouth and nose with tissues when you cough or sneeze, and always dispose of used tissues in a bin.

Insect and mosquito bites

Mosquito spread illnesses like chikungunya, dengue, Oropouche virus disease,yellow fever and Zika are a risk in some tropical carnival destinations.

Dengue cases have increased worldwide in recent years, particularly in South and Central America, with many countries reporting major dengue outbreaks. The Caribbean region is also reporting an increase. While most dengue infections are mild, severe illness can occur.

Zika is spread by the same type of mosquito as dengue (which mostly bite during the day) and is usually a mild illness. A small number of Zika cases have also been spread during sex. While serious complications and deaths from Zika are rare, infection in pregnancy can cause birth defects known as Congenital Zika Syndrome.

There is no drug or vaccine to prevent Zika. The only way to try and prevent infection is by trying to avoid mosquito bites or by not visiting any regions with a known or potential Zika risk.

If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you should discuss the suitability of travel to Zika risk countries and the potential risk that Zika virus may present with your health care provider.

Vaccines and malaria

See your doctor, nurse, pharmacist or travel clinic as soon as possible to discuss travel health advice, including any vaccine and malaria tablets recommendations, if appropriate. You should also check all your routine vaccines are in date, including MMR/MMRV.

Malaria is a serious, potentially fatal, illness spread by night biting mosquitoes and antimalarial tablets are recommended for certain regions of the world.

Please check the News and Outbreaks sections on our Country Information pages for current updates and vaccine recommendations.

Travelling last minute? It's never too late to get advice: most vaccines can be given at short notice, and you can start taking some antimalarial tablets, if needed, just before travel, including on the day you go.

Travel health insurance

Many countries do not have reciprocal (shared) health care agreements with the United Kingdom (UK) so you must get comprehensive medical insurance (including cover for medical evacuation costs) before you go.

Remember – tell your insurance company if you are pregnant, have any pre-existing conditions or are taking any medicines.

Medicines

Take a good supply of all regular medicines, as they may not be available at your destination. Fake drugs may be an issue, so it is always best to travel with your own supply of medicines.

See our advice on travelling with medicines for more information.

First aid kits

Carry a first aid kit including painkillers, antiseptic, insect repellent and anti-diarrhoea tablets.

Visiting remote areas? Take a kit with basic sterile medical equipment, such as needles and syringes, so if you need urgent treatment, you can ask your nurse or doctor to use them, as sterile equipment may not be available. These kits are usually available to buy from travel clinics and larger chemists.

During travel

Food and water hygiene

Follow good food and water hygiene advice and avoid street food. Diarrhoea is common in travellers and could spoil your trip. Avoid dehydration - drink plenty of safe water and buy diarrhoea self-treatment medicine from a UK chemist before you go. If you have bloody diarrhoea, a fever or cannot keep fluids down, you must get urgent medical help locally.

Insect bites

Infections spread by mosquitoes, such as chikungunya, dengue, malaria, yellow fever, Oropouche virus disease and Zika are a risk in many popular tropical carnival destinations. Some of these illnesses cannot be prevented by vaccines or drugs, so avoiding mosquito bites is the only way to protect yourself.

See the 'Other Risks' section on our individual country pages for specific information about insect spread risks at your destination.

Follow insect bite avoidance measures day and night; use insect repellents, cover up and sleep under an intact mosquito net if you are not staying in air-conditioned accommodation.

Remember, to prevent malaria, you may need to take antimalarial tablets too, if recommended for your destination.

Rabies

Rabies a fatal illness spread by animals, is a risk in many countries celebrating carnival. You are at risk if any animal bites or scratches you, licks broken skin or spits in your face. Remember, it's not just wild animals that are a risk - any animal, including pets and domestic animals, can have rabies, so avoid contact with all animals. After an animal bite, scratch, or lick: wash any wounds thoroughly with soap and water and get urgent medical help – do not wait until you get back home.

Sun protection

The sun is much stronger in many carnival destinations. Try to keep cool, seek shade, drink plenty of water and avoid drinking too much alcohol. Try to limit your time in the sun; always use an SPF 30 or above (UVA/UVB) sunscreen (reapply frequently), wear sunglasses, a hat and protective clothes. See NaTHNaC' Sun protection information for more advice.

Medical care

Many countries worldwide do not provide free healthcare. Private hospitals will not usually treat you unless you show proof that you can pay. Remember to contact your insurance and medical assistance company promptly if you are admitted to a clinic or hospital. Health facilities in remote regions or small islands may be very basic.

Sex, body piercing and tattoo risks

Have fun during Carnival, but remember to protect your health. Carry condoms and use a new one every time you have sex. This helps protect you from sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) which are more common in some parts of the world.

Think carefully before getting a tattoo or body piercing while you are away, as unhygienic equipment can pass on HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. These serious infections can also be spread by injecting illegal drugs.

Be aware that advice to prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus is different for men and women: preventing Zika infection by sexual transmission.

Safety and security

Carnival can attract high levels of crime and violence, especially in bigger cities. Take care with your personal safety; always be sensitive to your surroundings and alert to the risk of overcrowding and opportunistic crime. See our Mass gatherings factsheet for more detailed advice about large events.

Be alert to the risks of drink spiking and methanol poisoning never leave drinks unattended, do not accept drinks from strangers and only buy branded alcohol from licenced bars, venues and shops.

Avoid out of the way places and poorly lit areas, try to avoid going out on your own - always be aware of your surroundings.

Try to get immediate police and medical assistance if you are the victim of any kind of crime, including sexual assault. The FCDO can offer emergency help for UK travellers abroad, including support after sexual assault abroad.

Road safety

Some carnival destinations have high accident rates and poor road conditions, sometimes with no pavements. Avoid unfamiliar and/or rural roads, especially at night and take care as a driver, passenger and pedestrian.

Water safety

Never swim after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, check water depth before jumping or diving into a pool and get local advice about currents and tides before swimming in the sea. Remember babies and children must always be supervised around water, swimming pools and at the beach. See Water Safety on Holiday for more advice.

You are at a risk of a freshwater parasite called bilharzia (schistosomiasis) in many parts of the Caribbean, Central and South America, so freshwater swimming or wading in rivers, streams or lakes, is not advised. Swimming in chlorinated pools and in the sea does not put you at risk of bilharzia.

Drugs

You are strongly advised not to engage in any illegal drug use. Most Caribbean, Central and South American countries have very severe legal penalties for drug possession and/or use.

European countries may have less strict laws, but are likely to be stricter than the UK.

After travel

If you have any symptoms, especially a fever, flu-like illness, a rash or persistent diarrhoea, get immediate medical help. Make sure your doctor knows which countries you visited for carnival.

If you visited malaria risk areas, an urgent malaria test (same day result) must be arranged. This is very important, even if you took antimalarial tablets and have been home for a while.

If you had unprotected sex while you were away or think you might have a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV, see your GP or go to a sexual health clinic as soon as possible.

If you are pregnant and visited a country with risk of Zika virus, you must get advice from your GP or midwife when you return to the UK, even if you have no symptoms and feel completely well.

Tell your doctor or midwife you recently travelled abroad and give details of every country you visited.

Resources

• Diseases spread by insects and ticks in the American continent (the Americas)
• Diseases spread by insects and ticks in Europe
• Insect spread illness reminder for pregnant travellers
• Mass gatherings
• Mosquito and insect spread infections in the Caribbean
• Pan American Health Organization: Dengue
• Sex activities and risk (NHS)
• Sex and travel: sexually transmitted infections
• Travellers' diarrhoea
• UK Health Security Agency: MMR for all
• UK Health Security Agency: Zika virus sexual transmission advice
• Zika virus: Evaluating the risk to individual travellers