Tour Overview
| Duration | 5 Days / 4 Nights |
|---|---|
| Destination | Saba — Caribbean Netherlands (Caribbean) |
| Price From | $1,795 per person (twin share) |
| Tour Style | Tropical Island Adventure |
| Best Season | December — May |
Itinerary Highlights
Day 1: Arrive Saba — The Island That Time Forgot
Fly from St. Maarten on a 12-minute hop in a small aircraft — the landing at Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, with the world’s shortest commercial runway (400m) bookended by cliffs and sea, is thrilling. Saba (13 km²) is a dormant volcano rising 887m from the Caribbean — no beaches, no mass tourism, just a single road (The Road, built by hand over 20 years) connecting four villages. The island has about 1,900 residents descended from Dutch, Scottish, and African settlers. Check into your cottage in Windwardside. Evening: walk the village’s white picket-fenced streets and red-roofed cottages — it feels more like a remote Yorkshire village than the Caribbean. Overnight in Windwardside.
Day 2: Mount Scenery — Climbing a Caribbean Volcano
Mount Scenery (887m) is the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The trail climbs 1,064 stone steps through the Elfin Forest — a cloud forest of tree ferns, orchids, and mountain mahogany draped in moss. The humidity creates its own ecosystem: wild begonias, elephant ears, and the rare Saba anole lizard found nowhere else. At the summit, you’re literally in the clouds — the view, when they part, encompasses Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and Nevis on clear days. The 3-hour round trip is steep but rewarding. Afternoon: explore Windwardside’s Harry L. Johnson Museum, a 19th-century sea captain’s cottage filled with period furniture and whaling artifacts. Overnight in Windwardside.
Day 3: Saba Marine Park — Diving the Pinnacles
Saba is a world-class diving destination — the Saba Marine Park, established 1987, protects the waters around the entire island. The underwater landscape mirrors the topside: volcanic pinnacles rising from the deep, covered in coral and sponge. Dive sites include Tent Reef (coral-encrusted wall with swim-throughs), Third Encounter (a 30m pinnacle covered in black coral), and Man O’ War Shoals (volcanic boulders with nurse sharks and turtles). Visibility regularly exceeds 30m, and water temperature is 26-29°C. Two-tank morning dive (for certified divers). For non-divers, excellent snorkeling at Torrens Point. Afternoon: visit The Bottom (Saba’s capital, population 500) and the Saba lace makers — women who produce the intricate Spanish-style drawn thread work known as Saba lace, a tradition brought from Spain via Venezuela in the 19th century. Overnight in Windwardside.
Day 4: Hiking, Hot Tubs & Hell’s Gate
Morning hike: the Mas’Cohones Trail to the north coast, or the Sandy Cruz Trail through abandoned agricultural terraces reclaimed by tropical forest. Afternoon: visit Hell’s Gate (Zion’s Hill), the island’s northernmost village. Stop at the Saba Spice Factory to sample the island’s unique liqueurs — Saba Spice rum infused with local herbs. Evening: soak in the natural volcanic hot tubs at the Cove Bay tide pools as sunset colors the sky over the Caribbean. Overnight in Windwardside.
Day 5: Saba Morning & Depart
Morning at the Saba Heritage Center in Windwardside. Transfer to the airport for the unforgettable takeoff — the 12-minute flight back to St. Maarten.
Inclusions
- 4 nights Windwardside cottage with breakfast
- Mount Scenery guided hike
- 2-tank dive (certified) OR snorkel excursion
- Harry L. Johnson Museum entry
- Saba Spice tasting
- All island transfers
- Round-trip flights St. Maarten-Saba
