Great Diving in Saba - Dutch Antilles

[ezodeiko]

Hi Everyone,
New to this forum, but thought it would be nice to share. I just returned from diving in the island nation of Saba, with Sea Saba Dive Shop. Ellie, Dave, Mel, and everyone else at Sea Saba were great! Upon recommendation of my Dive Shop, Underwater World, in Horsham, PA, I contacted Sea Saba three to four weeks prior to my trip to Saint Martin.
Sea Saba took time to understand my dive needs, recommended a few different dive sites and options, and also helped me understand and arrange transportation to Saba aboard “The Edge” high-speed ferry, one of two which visit the island daily. (If you would like to do a morning dive, it seems that you need to spend the night on Saba, as the earliest the ferries arrive at Saba is 10:00am.) When I arrived at Saba, Dave was there to meet me at the dock, and arranged for a taxi to take me into town for a little exploring before my dive.
The boat was equipped with fresh water, all the correct dive gear, and a dry berth for the girls to change. I had guessed the wrong size for my fins, and they even made a special trip back to the dive shop to get the right size! We had a pre-dive review, and while a buddy was encouraged, it was not mandatory. (Ellie was kind enough to be my buddy!)
A week or two after I returned home, Sea Refunded emailed me to say they were going to refund me the cost of a dive computer I rented, when they discovered it was left on the counter in the store and never used. (I totally forgot I had rented it and dove without it!) They contacted me about this all on their own, and the money was back in my account within days.
Good luck!

 

[divesergeant]

ezodeiko,

Thanls for taking the time to post. We've been thinking about diving Saba and it is always nice to hear some feedback.

Did you stay over on the island, or commute over for a day?

DS

 

[DeputyDan]

Went to Saba for 10 days this year - Used Sea Saba and stayed at the cottage club. There were a few bumps in the trip but I would rate the lodging and the dive operation a solid A and would definitely use them again!

 

[divesergeant]

Thanks DeputyDan,

Looks like we should move Saba up toward the top of our must-go-to place list. So many islands, so little time....

DS

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

You really can't go wrong with Saba. Still one of the most unique and beautiful all round dive destinations.

 

[ezodeiko]

RE: divesergeant,

No, I did not spend the night on Saba, though I wish I did. Apparently all the deeper dives are done in the morning (60ft+) and the shallower ones in the afternoon. There seems to be only smaller hotels/B&Bs on Saba, but all my serious dive friends say it’s one of the top places to dive in the Caribbean. While walking around the little town at the top of the Island, I visited the Saba tourism office, and apparently last year Travel and Leisure magazine rated Saba as the top 'undiscovered' dive site in the Caribbean. The island also has a lot of hiking, and some of the people on the dive boat said there are some small little bars for something to do at night, but there isn't really any 'nightlife' there per say; much more on Saint Martin. If you go, have a great time!

 

[divesergeant]

Thanks! We keep looking at it for a trip, and then keep going back to our opld friends on Grand Cayman.

We'll simply have to get there soon.
DS

 

[syd2315]

My wife and I always try to find less touristy places to vacation. We are excited to check out Saba. We rented a cottage and I will be diving with SeaSaba. 2 months and a couple days to go...

 

[catskill diver]

syd2315 - looks like your there before us on march 14 to 21. would love feedback during or after if you could. thanks cat

 

[trim2gofast]

This is great info. We returned from diving in Grand Cayman last night and will be going to St. Martin in April. I was just starting my dive site research for my next trip. I guess I am ready for the next vacation as I look out at 2-plus feet of snow in my back yard.