Saba

Diving at a glance

Saba is the shining star of diving in this corner of the Caribbean, with more than 30 moored shallow reef and open-ocean pinnacle sites in the Saba Marine Park. Most dives take place on Saba's leeward side and none are more than 15 minutes away by boat from the island's main marina. All dive boats depart from Fort Bay, location of the island's recompression chamber. The diving here tends to be more advanced than on other islands in the region, so make sure you feel confident with your skills. Since Saba is basically one big open-ocean pinnacle, there's always the possibility of seeing blacktip, whitetip and bull sharks, spotted eagle rays, hammerheads and the very occasional whale shark. Migrating humpbacks pass by January through March. Saba's marine park was designated more than 10 years ago and was the world's first self-sustaining marine park. Along with Bonaire--a fellow Netherlands Antilles island--its marine park is among the most successful and copied in the world. A nominal per-dive fee is factored into dive packages. Saba is serious about its marine park: If a dive site begins to show signs of wear, authorities will immediately shut it down until it recovers.

Dive conditions

The visibility here peaks at 80 to 150 feet in winter, Saba's cooler, drier season. Water clarity falls to 60 to 100 feet in summer. Water temps plummet from 84F in summer to 77F in winter.

Topside at a glance

When native Josephus Hassell was told back in the 1940s that building a road linking Saba's villages was impossible, he took a correspondence course in engineering. Twenty years later, with the help of close friends and a little dynamite, his dream became a reality. Your landing in Saba will also seem impossible, as the plane makes an aircraft carrier-esque stop on the 1,300-foot runway, with cliffs dropping off all around you. But this has helped preserve Saba's serenity, sparing the place the jet traffic that chokes other Eastern Caribbean islands.

By the numbers

Area - 5 square miles, smallest of the Netherlands Antilles.
Population - 1,200.
Currency - The Netherlands Antilles guilder. NA$1.80 is equivalent to US$1.
Departure tax - US$10.

Phone: 630-941-0355 · FAX 630-359-4024
e-mail: lisa@changeofscene.com