SABA diving (Land vs Liveaboard)

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Saba has one of the most interesting airports to land on and that was one of the factors that motivated me to it. The island life also seemed interesting and I thought it would be fun to explore it after the dives though altitude of the place was a concern in regards to DCS. I am also tempted by the discounted price being offered by Explorer liveaboard(s) in the region and was wondering if I would be missing a lot if I decided to do SABA from liveaboard? The lure of constant diving makes me a fan of liveaboard and had it been any other place I would have preferred to be on the boat instead of the land but this is Saba, one of the more unique place and I was wondering if doing Saba by the liveaboard would mean compromising on other non diving related experiences?

Id love to hear from those who have done Saba by land and also from those who have been on Explorer Saba St Kitts and St Marten.

 

[mat4ov]

I did the Explorer Saba St. Kitts and St. Marten in Feb and loved it! Full disclosure, this was the only liveaboard I've been on, but will definitely go again. They did offer a tour of Saba for one of the afternoons, however I skipped this in favor of doing another dive.

 

[diversteve]

There's actually 3 possible land tours on that trip. Saba, St. Kitt's and also St. Maarten if you have time before/after your trip. Land Tours

 

[Freewillow]

Look at the possibility to dive St Barth and Saba. I have never been on a liveboard in the carribean but I dived Saint Martin. For me dives in SABA and St Barth are more interesting. No experience of St Kitts but from what I have read, they are pretty shallow dives. The nice thing about SABA and St BARTH is that you are diving in "natural reserves".

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I heard Saba has the best diving of them all and it would be a better trip if all dives were done on Saba but they throw you along the way just so that they can count 7 days of diving going back and forth. Any truth to it?

 

[DeputyDan]

I have done both.
8 days on Saba land based and the liveaboard.

I actually enjoyed the dives at St Kitts more from the liveaboard.

Depending on the currents you may or may not be able to dive the pinnacles at Saba.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Depending on the currents you may or may not be able to dive the pinnacles at Saba.

Any particular season when diving there is less likey? I am only interested in diving the pinnacles at Saba so if that cant happen, I am not going.

 

[diversteve]

"but they throw you along" <- What does this mean? St. Maarten to Saba is a 2.5 hr. trip. Or St. Kitt's to Saba is 2 hrs.

The ship boards on St. Maarten but doesn't dive there. So the first diving is Saba since it's the next stop - 2.5 hours away the next day. Ending on St. Kitts since that's where you fly from. Or if you start on the turn, you're starting on St. Kitts then over to Saba - returning the last afternoon to St. Maarten. Sometimes I've heard they add Nevis since it's only 2 miles south of St. Kitts.

They bypass St. Barts for some reason and also Statia now since Statia started requiring them to have a local DM/pilot on board. Look at a map, those are literally the only other islands it makes sense to dive on the route north or south between the two origin points.

Read the Itinerary also - if you want to maximize dives on Saba do the St. Maarten arrival.

Since they potentially dive 15 times on Saba - Sun-Tu - 5 dives/day each day.
Then over to St. Kitts for two days plus 2 morning dives on Friday morning. Followed by the island tour/dinner ashore.

The St. Kitts origin does Sun-Tu (3 days) off St. Kitts then 2 days at Saba plus 2 morning dives. Then sails over to St. Maarten for tour/dinner ashore. So only 12 dives at Saba.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Thanks a lot fellows. Great suggestions and very useful info. I am tilting more towards landing there in a small plane and staying on the land while diving the pinnacles from the boat. Not a lot of places where the topside is as interesting.

 

[vicky-g.]

Keep in mind, when you do the liveaboard you are limited on divesites on Saba. All of the divesites have moorings and only some of them are strong enough to have the big liveaboard tied up to. While the smaller boats from the landbased dive operations can tie up to all of them. Its like 25 vs. 10 divesites. Especially if you are interested in diving the pinnacles you will not like the liveaboard, they can only tie up to one of them and dont have access to the rest.