Saba – the unknown Caribbean island for the adventurous traveler
Last updated on December 16th, 2024 at 06:37 pm
Someone told me about Saba. So I went.
I’m so glad I did. It’s easy to get, in fact it can even be thrilling to get to!
Dramatic cliffs rise from the ocean supporting a lush and hilly interior – with people just as rugged and of course with only 2000 of them – they are indeed friendly. There’s plenty for you active souls to keep you entertained, and the diving is known to be world class. Bizarrely for me, I have to go off-piste from my normal wild side chat, and mention the food. You know I’m not a foodie, but seriously its the best of the Caribbean – just yum!!
Placenames are either as quirky as the island itself, or downright unimaginative! There is basically one road – its called The Road! The one relatively flat place on the island is called Flat Point. There are four townships: Hell’s Gate (Also called Zion’s Hill), Windwardside, St. Johns, and the capital of Saba is The Bottom!
So, if you are planning to be nearby in St Martin, St Barts, or Anguilla, then pencil in a few days for this crazy little rock in the ocean. Better still – make this your destination in its own right and add on a couple of days in one of those for a ‘lie on the beach’ fix afterwards. I can’t imagine you would ever regret it.
This is why you should go….
1. Take a wild plane trip!
Saba’s airport, the Juancho E Yrausquin Airport, has the shortest – 400 metres (1,312 ft) short – commercial runway in the world. On one side is a high hill and surrounding the rest are sea cliffs.
Don’t worry its more of a thrill than scary – you’re in a small plane and the pilots are well trained. I did hear of people that had three ‘circles’ before landing, but generally it is just a very fun short 15 min flight from St Martin with a pretty cool descent and landing! If this doesn’t appeal, you can take a ferry in either direction from St Martin so its not a must!
2. Scale the highest peak in the Kingdom of the Netherlands – great bragging rights!
Mt Scenery is not only the highest peak on Saba – its the highest peak in the whole of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at 877-meters (2,910 feet). I guess, for this reason, its the most popular too.
The hike takes about 1.5 hours each way and you get a feast of greenery – all kinds of greenery – as you head up the mountain with its 1064 stairs. (I didn’t count but will believe them.) I weaved my way through giant elephant ears, orchids, tree ferns, mountain palms and I don’t know how many more plants, until I got to the magic of the mossy cloud forest and its old mahogany trees. They call it the Elfin Forest and it is perfectly named – you expect little elves to pop put at any moment. This was my favorite part – apart from the final ascent which is a case of hauling yourself up a rock with the assistance of the well placed rope handhold – thanks guys!
the peak of Mt Scenery is in the heart of the cloud forest, so of course often its in cloud! It was pretty cloudy for me, but I got glimpses of what would be incredible 360 views on a sunny day – taking in all the nearby islands.
The track starts in Windwardside near the Trail Shop – which you definitely should visit. They know all there is to know about the trails! Check the mountain for cloud before you leave and go early – its often clear then but clouds over later.
3. Dive – in the most sustainable place you’ll find!
These Sabans are not only rugged – they’re smart. They decided to establish a National Marine Park completely around the island in 1987 – before any damage could be done. Because of this, Saba has some of the healthiest ocean there is – complete with spectacular pinnacles, seamounts, drop offs, walls, corals and fish – not forgetting the turtles and two ancient canons they found recently – yet no shipwreck nearby!
There are over 30 offshore dive sites from easy to advanced. Something for everyone, and if you are not a diver – you can also book a snorkel trip with Sea Saba and they will take you to a turtle wonderland!
4. Hitchhike, drive or walk if you like…. on the road that couldn’t be built!
They say the engineers said it couldn’t be done. The Sabans said it could. So they hand built it – with their own sweat blood and tears no doubt! You will know what I mean when you see it.
It is 14km (8.7 miles) long and these rugged Sabans built it between 1938 and 1963, without the use of machines. The true story is close but maybe not exactly as told and it is worth reading and looking at these photos. Whatever, the exact truth, it is nothing short of an incredible road.
5. Climb ‘The Ladder’ and be glad your not carrying a piano!
Another walk and another favorite for me!
Ladder Bay is the only possible anchorage in Saba, and these are the 800 steps leading down from The Bottom to the bay. (Again – I’ll believe them – no counting for me.) Until the 1970’s this was therefore the only way to get goods onto the island! When you walk the steps imagine them carrying up their bath tub or piano! I felt like a complete whimp even thinking about it!
The stairs give superb views over the Marine Park and Diamond Rock, the coastal cliffs – complete with crazy goats (true), and you can see the old Custom’s House on the way down. Give yourself 1-2 hours return depending on how long you will take in the views!
5. Walk around Windwardshire and The Bottom
Just walking around the towns is interesting – graves in the gardens, the standard White green and red homes (you dare not mess with the colors), the pretty gardens and cottages, graveyards, and churches.
Of course, during your wanders, try the local cafes and restaurants as you go – the food truly is good!
Pop into the Sacred Heart Church in The Bottom and admire the mural! Its a pretty little church and the mural is as vibrant as the Caribbean.
Visit three museums:
The Harry L Johnson Museum in an old sea captains cottage and true to form.
The Saba Heritage Center in Windwardshire – focussed on preserving the cultural heritage of the island.
The Major Osmar R. Simmons Museum in The Bottom – showing the household of Major Simmons who was a police officer here for 40 years and was quite the collector.
7. Do some hiking – there are other trails too!
Saba has 20 trails to hike – from 10 minutes to 3.5 hours. Perfect – how long do I need you can hear me say!
Even better, you can join a number of the trails together to make a longer trail, and some are close together. The Trail Shop by the bottom of Mt Scenery will explain.
These are the trails that you can do, as well as Mt Scenery, the Ladder and the Tide Pools Trail which I write about separately. The trails in bold are the ones I walked:
15-20 mins one way: Thai’s Hill, Dancing Place, Mas’Cohones Trail
40-45 mins one way: Sulfur Mine, Tara’s Ground
1 hour one way: Crispeen Track, Elfin Forest Trail, Bottom Mountain, Marys Point, Middle Island Trail
1.5 hours one way: Giles Quarter Trail, Parish Hill Trail, Buds Mountain Trail
2 hours one way: All too Far Trail
2.5 hours: Spring Bay Heritage Trail, Sandy Cruz Trail
3.5 hours: North Coast Trail (This may be closed now – please check at the Trail Shop.)
The other ‘trail’ is the Ethno-Botanical Garden trail – near the Trail shop which explains a lot of the flora on the island and goes through the Banana / Breadfruit Gut, which was farmed until the 1970s. It is worth a wander!
My favorites are: Mt Scenery, the Ladder, the Tide Pools, the Elfin Forest Trail, the Sandy Cruz Trail, the Spring Bay Trail, and the North Coast Trail. I also enjoyed the little Dancing Place trail – just for the bit of the old road it follows. By combining tracks I got to see a lot in a few days. These are some suggestions to do the same.
If you are going up Mt Scenery, you can walk up the standard trail, but walk back down the Elfin trail to the Sandy Cruz Trail (or the All Too Far Trail, but I suggest the Sandy Cruz trail because its got beautiful forest and wonderful views – and it ends up back at The Bottom. This makes a great mornings walking. (Not that I did the All Too Far Trail tbh.)
Equally you can go part way up Mt Scenery, then break off onto Buds Trail, and then either onto the Crispeen Trail which takes you down to The Bottom, or, back in a loop on the Mas’ Cohone’s Trail to Windwardshire – either way its another great morning.
Another good day out is to do the Spring Bay Trail, then walk or hitch down to Tide Pool Trail – hopefully have some time cooling off in the water, then either hitch, walk (not recommended), or have arranged transport to take you up to do the Sulfur Mine Trail. Definitely arrange transport ahead to get you home again! This is a hot day – lack of shelter, so leave early. Also whatever you do, make sure you know about the poisonous Machineel trees which are found throughout the Caribbean – they are extremely poisonous and do not even touch them or sit under them. Make sure someone shows you what they look like – otherwise you could assume every tree on the trail is going to kill you!!!
The North Coast Trail was actually closed at the time I did it, but I went with a couple of locals who knew it well, and it was fine except for two very dodgy bits – check the current status before you go as it may be permanently closed. However, Marys Point is also the start of the North Coast Trail.
Use this great interactive map which will help you make some hiking plans!
8. Swim in tide pools or at the disappearing beach
You don’t come to Saba for the beaches and swimming – but there are a couple of fun options. First you can try the disappearing beach – it may or may not be there! Wells Bay is at best a thin strip of black sand, but often disappears depending on the swell.
The walk is long and the road steep, as I found out, so you might want to organise ahead for a taxi to pick you up – there is no cell coverage. You can snorkel here – its about your only on-shore option.
just near the airport is another trail – the Tide Pools. Its a different one in that it is right on the coast and weaves through the tide pools that have formed between the cliffs and rocks of an ancient lava flow. You can swim in the pools but check on the day as waves can smash into the pools – it changes day to day. Just nearby at Cove Bay is a boulder breakwater which enables you to swim or snorkel away from the current and rips on a calm day. Again be cautious!
9. Check out Saba’s flora and fauna
Saba has over 700 species of plants across the island which you will see on the trails and alongside the road. It also has 60 species of birds – a lot of seabirds for sure. Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, Red-billed and White-tailed Tropic birds, Frigate birds, Brown Boobies, Storm-petrels, Pelicans, and Gulls to name a few!
Saba also has its own endemic small lizards which are a species of Anoles lizard found only on Saba. You are likely to see them as you walk along the footpaths or tracks. The male has black leopard spots and the females are smaller and an olive color. You are also quite likely to see the (harmless) Racer snake which is only found on Saba and St. Eustatius. There are two species of large iguanas, and a tiny tree frog called the Coquee which you are more likely to hear than see. Unfortunately I only saw the anoles and heard the coquee – obviously I need to go back for more!
10. Other not so wild side things to do in Saba
Take a tour with a taxi driver – there are ten on the island, but find one that will be happy to do this and point out things of interest and tell you all the island stories as you go. Its a great way to get your bearings and to find out how this island ticks.
Enjoy a day, or half day, learning how to make glass beads at the Jobean Glass Art.
A bit of luxury pampering? Try the Frangipani Spa.
Support local artists and crafters and shop at Handmade on Saba, or, for organic hand made wellbeing products try Saban Rock Living.
Eat – anywhere! And don’t forget to try the local Saban spicy rum – aptly name Saba Spice – yum!!
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