General Overview
This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer about Montserrat. As with the other popular Caribbean tourist destinations, choosing the time of the year that is the most ideal to visit the country solely depends on what you personally want to get out of your tropical island vacation. Such a decision is also usually based on factors like the budget and how busy your schedule is back home.
In general, though, the fact that Montserrat has a dryer season in the winter and a wetter season in the summertime is one of the primary factors travellers tend to take into account when planning a visit to the highly-booked Caribbean island.
When to Travel to Montserrat for the Best Weather
Weather-wise, a great time to travel to Montserrat is the same as in the entire Lesser Antilles, meaning during the winter months, when it is the coldest for travellers coming from the northern hemisphere.
Overall, though, any time between December and June seems ideal, as this is a dry season for the country. It is the time of the year when the island receives the highest numbers of travellers and vacationers, which, of course, also affects the price tags tied to the offered services and accommodation options.
On the flip side, it is a period with the lowest chances of a hurricane. As for the higher rates overall, you could consider booking everything in advance, from your flight tickets to your hotel room or suite and tours or cruises, and increase your chances of landing on a great deal or discount.
It should also be noted that the sea is the warmest it can get in June (around 29oC or 84.2oF), which is an in-between month, signalling the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy one.
Travelling to Montserrat During the Rainy Season
Since the weather is stable and warm, year-round, with temperatures rarely dropping too low or feeling too intense, Montserrat could also be visited during the rainy season, which starts in July and ends in November.
Please note, though, that it is also hurricane season, which peaks in July and August (always considering the island’s recent history). It should also be noted that Montserrat has significantly more risk of a hurricane than other Caribbean islands.
As for the benefits of travelling to Montserrat during the rainy season, everything will be cheaper than in the previous and the forthcoming months by up to 40-50% (if not more). Nevertheless, this period comes with high chances of floods or hurricanes interfering with your travel. What makes things slightly more favourable is the fact that the downpours that take place during the rainy season do not usually last long, which gives visitors plenty of sunshine hours to explore and enjoy the island. In any case, if you are planning a visit to Montserrat during this time of the year, it is best to plan carefully.
Best Time to travel to Montserrat for History and Culture
Those culturally and historically curious that also love partying will probably want to travel to the country during its most important festivals and events to experience the island’s unique and vibrant heritage. In this respect, you can shape your travel around the following dates/periods:
1. St. Patrick’s Festival (March 10-17)
If you are bored of attending the same old, then the St. Patrick Festival will wake you up from your lethargy as it is potentially the most uncommon event you have joined. In Montserrat, St. Patrick’s Day is considered a public holiday, which only happens in Ireland. But, that’s not where Montserrat stands out from the rest of the world and even Ireland, though. In the country, St. Patrick’s Day is a 7-day celebration involving lots of revelry for an entire week. We are barely over. St. Patrick’s Day in Montserrat also commemorates a failed 1768 slave revolt that eventually led to the public execution of the rebellion leaders. Clearly influenced by the Irish Catholics that settled in Montserrat in the 1600s, the country is an even more appealing destination among history fans and fun seekers, which is why many travellers choose March to travel to Montserrat.
2. Cudjoe Head Festival (mid-summer)
This is yet another special occasion that puts thousands of visitors on a plane to Montserrat every year. In the period during late July and early August, sleepy Cudjoe wakes up with the sounds of road races, drums, steel pans, and people swarming the streets of the island. The particular celebration started in 1989 and has to do with a man, called Cudjoe, who was a slave here during the 18th century. According to legend, many Africans risked their lives to win their freedom, including Cudjoe, who also managed to escape his captors. Unfortunately, Cudjoe was caught and executed (decapitated) by local slave masters to make an example of the slave that run away.
Nowadays, Cudjoe Head Festival is a community-building and completely family-friendly event that emphasises on the African cultural heritage in Montserrat and is celebrated with a wide range of activities, such as crab races, running, dance competitions, cycling, art exhibitions, iron bands, steel bands, string bands, and many more – everything played out in the streets around the place where Cudjoe was executed.
3. The Montserrat Carnival (December 15- January 1)
This period is another welcoming uniqueness related to Montserrat. When the rest of the world is preparing for the New Year and is just around the corner for the Christmas festivities, Montserrat impresses visitors by enabling them to enjoy hugely intimate carnival experiences. For an entire fortnight, travellers to Montserrat can enjoy a venture that will be as loud, colourful, and/or exhausting as they want it to be.
Other Major Montserrat Events
Besides those festivals mentioned above, you might want to plan your vacations around the Calabash Festival, which takes place in July and includes spectacular creations made from the fruits of a local tree called calabash (hence, the name). Another significant festivity that brings world-renowned writers from the corners of the earth to Montserrat and other Caribbean islands is the Alliouagana Festival of the Word in November.
General Overview
This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer about Montserrat. As with the other popular Caribbean tourist destinations, choosing the time of the year that is the most ideal to visit the country solely depends on what you personally want to get out of your tropical island vacation. Such a decision is also usually based on factors like the budget and how busy your schedule is back home.
In general, though, the fact that Montserrat has a dryer season in the winter and a wetter season in the summertime is one of the primary factors travellers tend to take into account when planning a visit to the highly-booked Caribbean island.
When to Travel to Montserrat for the Best Weather
Weather-wise, a great time to travel to Montserrat is the same as in the entire Lesser Antilles, meaning during the winter months, when it is the coldest for travellers coming from the northern hemisphere.
Overall, though, any time between December and June seems ideal, as this is a dry season for the country. It is the time of the year when the island receives the highest numbers of travellers and vacationers, which, of course, also affects the price tags tied to the offered services and accommodation options.
On the flip side, it is a period with the lowest chances of a hurricane. As for the higher rates overall, you could consider booking everything in advance, from your flight tickets to your hotel room or suite and tours or cruises, and increase your chances of landing on a great deal or discount.
It should also be noted that the sea is the warmest it can get in June (around 29oC or 84.2oF), which is an in-between month, signalling the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy one.
Travelling to Montserrat During the Rainy Season
Since the weather is stable and warm, year-round, with temperatures rarely dropping too low or feeling too intense, Montserrat could also be visited during the rainy season, which starts in July and ends in November.
Please note, though, that it is also hurricane season, which peaks in July and August (always considering the island’s recent history). It should also be noted that Montserrat has significantly more risk of a hurricane than other Caribbean islands.
As for the benefits of travelling to Montserrat during the rainy season, everything will be cheaper than in the previous and the forthcoming months by up to 40-50% (if not more). Nevertheless, this period comes with high chances of floods or hurricanes interfering with your travel. What makes things slightly more favourable is the fact that the downpours that take place during the rainy season do not usually last long, which gives visitors plenty of sunshine hours to explore and enjoy the island. In any case, if you are planning a visit to Montserrat during this time of the year, it is best to plan carefully.
Best Time to travel to Montserrat for History and Culture
Those culturally and historically curious that also love partying will probably want to travel to the country during its most important festivals and events to experience the island’s unique and vibrant heritage. In this respect, you can shape your travel around the following dates/periods:
1. St. Patrick’s Festival (March 10-17)
If you are bored of attending the same old, then the St. Patrick Festival will wake you up from your lethargy as it is potentially the most uncommon event you have joined. In Montserrat, St. Patrick’s Day is considered a public holiday, which only happens in Ireland. But, that’s not where Montserrat stands out from the rest of the world and even Ireland, though. In the country, St. Patrick’s Day is a 7-day celebration involving lots of revelry for an entire week. We are barely over. St. Patrick’s Day in Montserrat also commemorates a failed 1768 slave revolt that eventually led to the public execution of the rebellion leaders. Clearly influenced by the Irish Catholics that settled in Montserrat in the 1600s, the country is an even more appealing destination among history fans and fun seekers, which is why many travellers choose March to travel to Montserrat.
2. Cudjoe Head Festival (mid-summer)
This is yet another special occasion that puts thousands of visitors on a plane to Montserrat every year. In the period during late July and early August, sleepy Cudjoe wakes up with the sounds of road races, drums, steel pans, and people swarming the streets of the island. The particular celebration started in 1989 and has to do with a man, called Cudjoe, who was a slave here during the 18th century. According to legend, many Africans risked their lives to win their freedom, including Cudjoe, who also managed to escape his captors. Unfortunately, Cudjoe was caught and executed (decapitated) by local slave masters to make an example of the slave that run away.
Nowadays, Cudjoe Head Festival is a community-building and completely family-friendly event that emphasises on the African cultural heritage in Montserrat and is celebrated with a wide range of activities, such as crab races, running, dance competitions, cycling, art exhibitions, iron bands, steel bands, string bands, and many more – everything played out in the streets around the place where Cudjoe was executed.
3. The Montserrat Carnival (December 15- January 1)
This period is another welcoming uniqueness related to Montserrat. When the rest of the world is preparing for the New Year and is just around the corner for the Christmas festivities, Montserrat impresses visitors by enabling them to enjoy hugely intimate carnival experiences. For an entire fortnight, travellers to Montserrat can enjoy a venture that will be as loud, colourful, and/or exhausting as they want it to be.
Other Major Montserrat Events
Besides those festivals mentioned above, you might want to plan your vacations around the Calabash Festival, which takes place in July and includes spectacular creations made from the fruits of a local tree called calabash (hence, the name). Another significant festivity that brings world-renowned writers from the corners of the earth to Montserrat and other Caribbean islands is the Alliouagana Festival of the Word in November.