JillianAnnO: Are you doing a bareboat charter or a crewed yacht charter? If crewed, they should help you with the scuba question. There are lots of dive operators who will pick you up from your boat and take you on a dive or two! And if you are newly certified, I highly recommend that you go with a dive op...

This will be our first adventure to St. John and l also camping at Cinnamon Bay in one off their cottages. My husband and I have friends who for the past 8 years in March have spent 3 weeks in a tent at Cinnamon Bay. We don't normally camp on vacations but being so close to the water was alluring to us.Does anyone have helpful hints for us? Thanks

Just like to add, St. John is like anywhere else, there are are a lot of people coming through here, more that a million tourists a year, so common sense is a good thing when traveling with children. I've done that before, with my son and about seven of his friends. I'm not up for that again, but remember, this isn't Disney World. Most important thing, remember to have everybody belted in when your driving. It's the left side of the road down here, so drive slow, and remember that other tourists are also shaky with driving on the other side. Driving is probably the most dangerous thing you will be doing down here. Your rental villa will be a blast, I bet. Wouldn't hurt to bring some food down with you, if your concerned about prices. Fresh OJ is like champagne, use concentrated instead. Bring some light dry food items down in your suitcase if you can plan ahead. The best bargain down here is frozen chicken, almost the same prices as state side. No fast food restaurants, which is probably a good thing. Learn how to make pizza, pop it in the oven, everybody is happy.

Larry

10 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE!!!!

WE CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!
🙂

I want to add something about food at the festival. You should definitely try vegetarian food from the Rastafarians that will probably be there. To me, it's the best food on the islands, and I'm not a vegetarian. I like the stewed tofu.

Callaloo can be made with a variety of ingredients, but most people prefer the seafood only versions, which usually sell out early in the afternoon. Some people use a more traditional recipe which includes pork, so if you have dietary restrictions, you should ask what's in any dish.

Most of the dishes are made with fresh herbs, and are not spicy hot - hot sauce is usually available at the booth for you to add to your liking.

If you like curry, you'll love roti, which is kind of like a wrap sandwich with a curry sauced meat or vegetables.

For dessert, tarts are usually the sweet of choice, and my preference is for coconut, though guava is very popular.

I wouldn't go for the chicken legs, mainly because there's nothing really special about them (most they're just baked, and seasoning varies depending on cook).

Everybody will be jockying for shade, so if you're lucky to secure a shady spot, don't move from it until you're ready to leave for the day.