Barranquilla Carnival 2027 Starts on Saturday 6 February

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COLOMBIA · FESTIVALS

Barranquilla Carnival 2027 runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February, four days of parades, cumbia and costumes on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. For US travelers, it is a UNESCO-listed festival with a nonstop flight from Florida.

The three big parades fall on Saturday 6, Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February, and a mock funeral closes the festival on Tuesday. Grandstand tickets are not on sale yet, so this guide for Barranquilla Carnival 2027 separates what is confirmed from what is still open.

What Barranquilla Carnival Is and Why It Matters

Barranquilla Carnival 2027 is the latest edition of a four-day street festival held before Lent in the Colombian port city of Barranquilla. UNESCO inscribed it on its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2008.

UNESCO describes a blend of European, African and Indigenous traditions, told through dance, cumbia-based music, handmade floats and masks. Folk groups perform dances such as cumbia, mapalé, congo and garabato.

The organiser, Carnaval de Barranquilla S.A.S., says it runs the festival through a public-private model as a yearly project of collective interest. The company’s own site describes the event as a tradition handed down from generation to generation.

The queen of Barranquilla Carnival 2027 is Salwa Maloof Habib, 24, named on Friday 21 August 2026, El Universal reported. The Atlántico tourism portal says the city framed this edition around solidarity after the 10 August earthquake in western Colombia.

If you are weighing it against Brazil’s better-known festivals, read our Brazil Carnival 2027 guide. For the wider cultural background, see Colombian traditions, holidays and family celebrations.

The Four Main Days and the Weeks Before

The Batalla de Flores, or Battle of Flowers, opens Barranquilla Carnival 2027 on Saturday 6 February with floats, dancers and costumed groups. The Gran Parada de Tradición follows on Sunday 7 February and shows traditional folk dances and live music.

The Gran Parada de Comparsas, a parade of fantasy costumes and choreographed groups, takes place on Monday 8 February. The official calendar lists Tuesday 9 February as the closing day, when mourners say farewell to Joselito Carnaval.

Baila la Calle, an open-air dance party on Carrera 50, runs for four nights from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 February. The organiser promises salsa, tropical music, vallenato, DJs and national and international artists.

Pre-Carnival begins with the Lectura del Bando on Saturday 16 January, when the Carnival queen proclaims the start of the season. The Guacherna, a night parade of lanterns, costumes and music, follows on Friday 29 January.

Carnival always ends the day before Ash Wednesday, which falls on Wednesday 10 February in 2027. The Atlántico tourism portal also lists a Festival de Orquestas, a night of tropical-music orchestras, after Monday’s parade.

Tickets, Seats and What They May Cost

The big parades roll along Vía 40, where grandstands called palcos give ticket holders a numbered seat with a view. Official 2027 sales have not opened, and no prices are published.

The Atlántico tourism portal says sales usually open around November and the best seats sell out weeks ahead. It names the organiser’s own channels and an authorised ticketer, TuBoleta in recent editions, as the places to buy.

Buy only from the organiser or from tour operators registered with Colombia’s National Tourism Registry. Fake grandstand tickets circulate on social media every year, the portal warns.

The portal says the Guacherna and Tuesday’s farewell can be watched from the street without a ticket. Those events are worth planning around if the grandstands sell out.

Hotels fill early during Barranquilla Carnival 2027, and the portal advises booking well ahead. It quotes 400,000 to 900,000 Colombian pesos a night (about US$124 to US$278), at 3,237 pesos to the dollar on 10 October 2026.

The Parade Route and How to Get There

The three main parades traditionally use Vía 40, an avenue beside the Magdalena River that the city turns into the Cumbiódromo during Carnival. Barranquilla lies on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, near the mouth of the river, and Barranquilla Carnival 2027 fills its streets.

In July 2026, Carnival manager Juan Carlos Ospino said city hall was studying a move of the parades to the Gran Malecón riverfront. El Universal reported a route of about 4.2 kilometers (2.6 miles) and a decision due within weeks.

JetBlue has flown nonstop between Fort Lauderdale and Barranquilla’s Ernesto Cortissoz airport every day since Thursday 1 October 2026, TravelPulse reported. The tourism portal adds that the airport has connections from Bogotá and Medellín.

The airport is 30 to 40 minutes from northern Barranquilla, the portal says. Many visitors also fly to Cartagena and take a bus or van, a trip of about two hours.

US travelers can also reach Cartagena on the new United flights that start on 17 December 2026. Colombia keeps the same clock all year, so Barranquilla matches New York time in February.

Tips for US and Foreign Visitors

US citizens need no tourist visa for stays of up to 90 days, the State Department says. Your passport must be valid for your whole stay, and the department recommends at least six months of validity.

Colombia asks travelers to complete a free online Check-Mig form before they fly, and it may refuse entry without a return ticket. Cash above US$10,000 must be declared on entry and exit.

The State Department rates Colombia at Level 3, reconsider travel, in an advisory issued on Tuesday 31 March 2026. Level 4 areas include Arauca, Cauca and Norte de Santander, and Atlántico, home to Barranquilla, is not listed.

Keep a low profile, avoid showing phones or jewelry, and do not resist if you are robbed, the advisory says. Use a dispatch service or ride app instead of hailing taxis on the street.

Limit the cash you carry and avoid street ATMs, the advisory adds. For the wider picture, read our Colombia security guide.

The tourism portal recommends staying in El Prado, Alto Prado or Riomar, in the city’s north, for safety and access. Book early, because hotels sell out and prices climb as February approaches.

What Is Not Confirmed Yet

Official grandstand prices, sale dates and sales points for Barranquilla Carnival 2027 have not been published, and the 2027 ticket seller is not named. The Atlántico tourism portal expects sales to open around November.

The route is not officially confirmed either, because the July study on a move to the Gran Malecón has no published outcome. The organiser’s own 2027 calendar names no venue for the parades.

Hour-by-hour parade schedules are not out, and the Tuesday 9 February closing event is still marked as to be confirmed. The tourism portal says the full schedule will come closer to the date.

The Rey Momo, the male figure who presides over Carnival, had not been named at the last report in August. The official calendar names no artists for Baila la Calle.

What Comes Next

For Barranquilla Carnival 2027, watch for the organiser’s announcement of grandstand sales, which the tourism portal expects around November, and for the final route decision. The Lectura del Bando on Saturday 16 January opens the season.

A January trip to the coast can also take in the Cartagena Music Festival, which runs from 9 to 17 January 2027. The Guacherna on Friday 29 January is the best warm-up night before Carnival weekend.

More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Barranquilla Carnival 2027?

Barranquilla Carnival 2027 runs from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February, the four days before Ash Wednesday. The Batalla de Flores opens it on the Saturday.

Are Barranquilla Carnival tickets on sale yet?

Grandstand tickets are not on sale yet, and 2027 prices have not been published. Sales have usually opened around November through the organiser’s channels and an authorised ticketer.

Do US citizens need a visa for Colombia?

No, not for tourist stays of up to 90 days, according to the State Department. Your passport must be valid for your whole stay, and six months of validity is recommended.

Sources: Carnaval de Barranquilla S.A.S., Carnaval 2027 (organiser), accessed 20 October 2026; Carnaval de Barranquilla S.A.S., home page and news (organiser), accessed 20 October 2026; UNESCO, Carnival of Barranquilla (Representative List, 2008), accessed 20 October 2026; VisitAtlántico, Carnaval de Barranquilla 2027: dates and schedule (Atlántico tourism portal), 22 August 2026; VisitAtlántico, Barranquilla Carnival 2027 tickets and palcos, 28 July 2026; VisitAtlántico, Barranquilla Carnival for first-timers, 28 July 2026; El Universal, Desfiles del Carnaval de Barranquilla pasarían de la Vía 40 al Gran Malecón, 14 July 2026; El Universal, Salwa Maloof Habib será la nueva reina del Carnaval de Barranquilla 2027, 21 August 2026; El Tiempo, Seis barranquilleras entran en la carrera por la corona del Carnaval 2027, 4 August 2026; Minuto60, Estará Shakira en el Carnaval de Barranquilla 2027, 19 September 2026; TravelPulse, JetBlue launches new service to Barranquilla, Colombia, 1 October 2026; US State Department, Colombia international travel information, accessed 20 October 2026; US State Department, Colombia travel advisory, advisory issued 31 March 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief