Saba

At just 13 sq km, Saba is one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean. However, what this tiny island lacks in size, it more than makes up in the incredible wealth of beauty found in the waters surrounding it. On Saba you will not find ritzy hotels, casinos, resorts, shopping or any sort of nightlife. Rather what you will discover are some brilliant dive sites, long meandering hiking trails and excellent ecolodges. Currently there are only 3 dive operations on the island, but you find several tour agencies that offer diving expeditions to undersea shipwrecks, coral reefs, a wealth of marine life and stunning pinnacles.

Like no other place on earth, what is so unusual about Saba is that here you can find a plethora of activities to keep you busy for days on end. In fact you will need at least 2 whole weeks to explore the entire island and enjoy all that it has to offer. There are 12 main hiking trails in Saba and countless dive sites, making vacationing here ideal for the active tourist. And what’s more is that with only 1600 people living on the island, you slowly become part of a giant family where everyone knows your name.

Administered directly by the Netherlands, Saba was first discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Caribbean. And though the Bottom is the capital, Windwardside is the most important town on the island and is where you will find most of the tourist infrastructure. There are plenty of good comfortable accommodations to be found on Saba with a surprising number of quality restaurants as well. The best time to visit the island is from December to July, when the weather is dry and trade winds keep the temperature nice and pleasant.

A trip to Saba is often referred to by many as a journey back in time as the entire island has an 18th century feel to it and life moves at a slow and leisurely pace. One of the most quaint features of Saba is its white homes, which all have green trimmed doors and shutters and red rooftops.