Saba - Saba Deep Dive, Saba Divers, or Sea Saba

[DeputyDan]

We used Sea Saba when we visited and had no issues.

On all of the afternoon dives (except one day) we were the only divers on the boat.

 

[DeputyDan]

my old trip report.....

Saba trip report

 

[Where2Next]

Thanks for linking your trip report! I read it the other day; not too many Saba posts on here, lol! I have been in contact with Sea Saba - we'll see how things go. I also emailed Saba Divers. Both came back quickly with detailed responses. Thank you everyone!

 

[howswedeofme]

We dove with Sea Saba in January. I didn't feel like it was a cattle call even a little bit. We had one day that the boat felt crowded topside because there were some non-divers who came out with us, but underwater I had plenty of room to go at my own pace, which is slow because my face is in the reef looking for my little macro buddies to take pictures of. I dove my air - we weren't limited to any certain amount of bottom time except on the night dives. I think I had 2-3 dives with 75-ish minutes when we were at shallower sites. If you don't want to stay "with" the group underwater, they didn't seem to care as long as you had a buddy and let them know you were going to go off a bit. None of the dive sites are so huge that you get too far away from the boat, anyway. I thought that dive staff on the boats for Sea Saba were some of the best I've had. Very friendly, very engaging, very accommodating. If you don't like how they're running the dives, ask for something different. We didn't want incredibly deep dives for the sake of going deep while some people in another group did and the next day we went out on separate boats so we could all do the diving we wanted to do.

 

[Where2Next]

This is really excellent feedback, thank you! I have been in touch with Lynn and she has been exceptionally helpful and communicative. Now to find a private home that is not an arm and a leg! We had hoped for the Anole House but the new owners have DOUBLED the price. ugh. In all fairness it sounds like they have done some remodeling on it too.

 

[howswedeofme]

If you tell Lynn your price range and type of property you're looking for, she should be able to help you with that, too. It's a very full-service operation.

 

[Where2Next]

I did and she is! Unfortunately our dates are VERY popular and there is a limited selection. I found the Anole house online but never received a response back. Lynn is the one who let me know it has new owners, they have made upgrades to it, and she is the one who was able to contact them. She has been helpful and given me lots of other options. We shall see!

 

[howswedeofme]

Finding accommodations can be difficult without some help. None of the houses emailed me back, either. We wound up getting in touch with a travel agent recommended on Sea Saba's website. Looking back, I would have just worked with Lynn for diving/lodging and then booked my own flights. The less expensive houses were booked by the time we started planning (which was still 5 months in advance!) so we wound up at Hummingbird Villa. We had two couples, so it wasn't entirely cost-prohibitive and it was a fantastic property. There are a few small cottages at Juliana's, too. Everyone I've talked to has seemed to really like staying there. Learning how the logistics work on Saba was the biggest learning curve for us. I look forward to going back now that I know how to do it!

I highly recommend Tent Reef and/or Hot Springs as night dives (and day dives too, of course). I don't really like night dives because I find them stressful, but we did both sites on our trip and it was amazing.

 

[Where2Next]

Thank you for the feedback! We are waiting on one property to get back to us, if they are not available then I guess we will just go to another island and save Saba for another time. I too thought booking 6 months out for a none holiday week during hurricane season would be fine. But I guess they do have a limited inventory there. Now I know! I will book next time a year + in advance if I can not make it work this time around!

Thanks for the night dive advice, we do not normally do them, but will maybe get one in every once in a while if it is worth it. Last time we did a night dive was a few days after a full moon and we watched the glow worms mate in Grand Turk - amazing and thrilling to be in pitch black and watch the blue little lights going off! Highly recommend!

 

[howswedeofme]

I agree that I want a night dive to really be worth it, which is why I have only done 3 so far (two in Saba). We saw an octopus on both dives and on one, we saw it get away from a nurse shark which was fantastic. He changed colors three times and inked at the shark before scooting away. We also saw bio-luminescence and a juvenile spotted drum (my favorite!). I will keep in mind to ask about the glow worms if we ever make it to Grand Turk!