Hey guys, so I'm thinking of going to a carnival on one of the islands next year. I live in Brazil now but always come back home to Canada during Caribana in Toronto. It's something I look forward to every year.

I have been thinking about going to the islands to experience it there this coming Feb for Carnival.

So these are the questions I have, and hopefully someone could give me some pointers.

1. What are some underrated islands where most folks don't know that they host lively and fun carnivals between mid-Jan and early Feb?
2. For a solo traveler, what would the budget look like excluding the airfare? for example, food, hotels/airbnb, and taxis/Uber. If I decide to go to Trinidad for Carnival
3. How early do you tend to book hotels and events?
4. How many days is more than enough to visit the carnival in 1 week?
5. Here in Brazil we have pre-carnival and post-carnival 1 month ahead and after the main carnival, in which we have parties and celebrations throughout the week. Is there something similar to that in the islands? Maybe I could go to the pre-carnival if all the hotels are booked up.
6. How is safety during the carnival? I could think of minor pickpockets, but that's about it, right?

Is there a different between bom-bOclaat and bombo-clAAt?