Hey Marci!

I believe you will love Rockworks; I know the owners and the property.

I'd recommend 4WD because of the mountainous terrain. You won't need it all the time, but sometimes you may be glad for that extra bit of control. You may never use it, but it's better to have and not use than to need and not have.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, we celebrate both Emancipation Day (ironically it falls on July 3rd, but it has nothing at all to do with the Yankee Doodle-ly July 4th) and Independence day. Emancipation Day celebrates the freeing of the slaves by Denmark in 1848.

You may find Cruz Bay rather crowded due to the double celebration but a jeep tour is certainly possible on St. John. It's not anywhere as big as Mardi Gras, but then Cruz Bay is not as big as New Orleans, so things are going to be congested.

As a U.S. territory, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island residents have the advantage of a federal holiday on the heels of the local one. Emancipation Day happens to fall on a Sunday this year. The St. John Celebration calendar is at the top of the message board as a "sticky".

Check out the U.S. V.I. history page at VINow.com by going to https://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/

Hello Marci,

I don't think a 4wd is necessary on St. Thomas; renting a car is a good idea though as you can travel around at your own pace and see more. I would suggest going to St. John on the 4th to attend the parade and take the passenger ferry to get there. Go to St. John on another day if you want to take your rental car from St. Thomas over on the car barge or if you want to tour the island. The parade is not like Mardi Gras. It is worth seeing. You could come over to St. John, watch a few hours of the parade, get some lunch from the village (local food) and then hike on the Lind Point trail from Cruz Bay to Honeymoon Beach for a couple hours... continue to Caneel Bay by trail and then take a taxi from there back to Cruz Bay. Have a great time.

--Islander