Saba travel guide

Saba Island is one of the world’s top dive destinations but don’t be fooled into thinking Saba is only for dive fanatics. This dormant volcanic island with a tiny population of around 1,500 has plenty on offer for everyone and if hiking is your thing you will be in heaven! A "must do" for the adventurous is the hike to the island's peak appropriately named Mount Scenery. At just under 900 m above sea level, this steep but not overly challenging trek takes around two hours depending on starting point and rewards you with rainforest vegetation inside the volcanic crater and amazing views to the neighbouring islands Saint Kitts and Saint Eustatius. After a hard day of hiking you can unwind at one of the luxurious retreats, villas or eco friendly retreats and enjoy some well earnt pampering!

Saba Island is often listed as one of the top 10 dive destinations in the world and for good reason. The water visibility, underwater vegetation, marine life and topography of dive sites make this one of the best places to blow some bubbles. An annual flock of cinematographers set up camp for the peak dive season between December to March which is also when Humpback Whales inhabit the area during annual migration. Saba is probably most famed for it's group of pinnacles which tower towards the surface from the deeps of the ocean floor. These massive underwater monoliths are home to so much marine life, also attracting those of the predatory kind so don't forget your underwater camera!

Forget all the fun to be had on this beautiful "get away" island, just arriving by air is an adventure. Saba boasts the world’s shortest commercial runway and has gargantuan cliff drops on either end of it's miniscule 396 metres of tarmac. But don’t let that stop you from visiting, the pilots that fly in on these propeller planes must comply with very regular testing to land on the island plus the experience is both nail biting and exhilarating. As you approach the island and see the steep angles that surround it your initial thoughts linger towards questioning where a plane can land and then.. BAM! From the rubble of fallen rocks from the cliff face a flat black surface emerges and you suddenly come to the realization that the time has come. As every passenger eagerly peers through the windows to gain a view of this feat the secondary concern kicks in. "How long is the runway?" But rest assured, the sheer drop at the other end is off in the distance and the elation of living and being on Saba begins to take over.