Notting Hill Carnival , Sunday vs Monday, tips?

I have only been a couple of times and I have to say it's not my idea of fun. You get hemmed in and have to move in the direction of the crowd. I also found the noise a bit too overwhelming. I wasn't aware of any crime around me, but I would avoid taking a bag and don't keep anything in your outside pockets. My elderly dad loved it though! Make sure you have a bottle of water on you.

Thanks for the information!!

Monday with the parade is definitely the more crowded day. Really depends on how comfortable you are being in a very crowded area (some people get super claustrophobic with all those people milling around). But when it got to be too much, I found it was relatively easy to duck out onto some of the side streets and get away from the mob to people watch or find some steps and enjoy my street food. I don't mind crowds and I also was glad I went on my own as I didn't have to worry about keeping track of someone else and losing a travel companion in the crowds. But it is harder to dawdle and look over what some of the vendors have up for sale as in the more crowded and narrower sections you do tend to get pushed along. I enjoyed it, but I had been in London for many weeks at that point. If I had limited time to visit, I probably would have skipped it. I did go waaaay over budget that day as I bought a lot of jewelry and ate & drank my way from one end of Notting Hill to the other.

I will only be in London one week so I decided to skip the carnival. Considering the crowds, I'm not sure if I would enjoy. Thanks for your help!