judypots
Registered
Hello diving buddies,
My husband and I and another couple went to Saba from March 20 - March 27. Before I proceed, let me say Saba is definitely on our "would return" list. Won't bore you with the details of the trip there (unless someone asks), but unlike some who have apparently had trouble with Win Air losing luggage, we thankfully had no such problems. Landing on Saba is an adventure unto itself, however.
We stayed at the Cottage Club which is in Windwardside, one of the 4 villages on Saba, which is, drumroll, on the windward side of the island. And it was breezy, and actually fairly chilly the first couple of days. I wore jeans and a light jacket when we went out for dinner. The Cottage Club was a fine place to stay. As implied, consists of a number of separate cottages - 2 rooms each on either side of a small front veranda. Very spacious and clean with kitchenette. Not upscale, but perfectly comfortable and clean. You can have your fee include breakfast, which was fine, but which got kind of monotonous - eggs however you like, individual small bread loaves, which I didn't particularly care for, fresh fruit and plain yogurt with honey on the side. There wasn't even an option for dry or cooked cereal. If I were to stay there again, I would make my own breakfast. The managers at the Cottage Club were a charming young couple - Christos and Ina, who were thoroughly delightful.
Before this trip, I would have liked to know that the Queens Garden Resort, a much more upscale place, is nestled up the mountain in The Bottom (one of the towns on Saba), which is where the harbor is located. It is also warmer and sunnier than Windwardside and only a 5 minute ride to the harbor. The dining options aren't as varied as on Windwardside, but some of the people who were staying at the Queens Garden said their restaurant was terrific. If we go back, we might give that a try.
The trip to the harbor where the dive boats are docked is a 15 minute winding drive from Windwardside through the island via taxi - another adventure by itself. Best to take your seasicknessw meds before the trip! We dove with Sea Saba, the largest dive outfit on Saba with the biggest boats. Seemed very professional to us. I got seasick the first day - I mean over-the-side wretching, even with my half a pill which is usually sufficient for me. Luckily our friend had some extra patches, so I was okay the rest of the week. I should say that the boat trip to most of the dive sites was no more than 10 minutes, so that was a plus.
Now for the diving. Some of the most beautiful we've seen. I should say our experience is limited to the Caribbean - Bonaire (which was largely bleached and brown in December when we last went, sadly), Cozumel, Little Cayman and Turneffe Island, Belize. The color on Saba was gorgeous - beautiful tube and barrel sponges. Brilliant oranges, reds, aquamarines. Saba is particularly know for it's deep pinnacle dives, but we prefered the shallower dives. Tent Reef was the best, with 4 different sites, each more beautiful than the last. Rounding a corner on Tent Reef Red, we were face to face with a large barracuda, staring each other down, and right behind him, a huge Nassau grouper. Turtles on every dive, eels, drumfish, huge French and Queen Angelfish, Triggers, Filefish, Southern Rays, some Reef sharks, nurse sharks and of course all the other usual suspects - gorgeous little guys of every color and shape.
I'll be happy to answer any questions.
All in all a trip to remember.
My husband and I and another couple went to Saba from March 20 - March 27. Before I proceed, let me say Saba is definitely on our "would return" list. Won't bore you with the details of the trip there (unless someone asks), but unlike some who have apparently had trouble with Win Air losing luggage, we thankfully had no such problems. Landing on Saba is an adventure unto itself, however.
We stayed at the Cottage Club which is in Windwardside, one of the 4 villages on Saba, which is, drumroll, on the windward side of the island. And it was breezy, and actually fairly chilly the first couple of days. I wore jeans and a light jacket when we went out for dinner. The Cottage Club was a fine place to stay. As implied, consists of a number of separate cottages - 2 rooms each on either side of a small front veranda. Very spacious and clean with kitchenette. Not upscale, but perfectly comfortable and clean. You can have your fee include breakfast, which was fine, but which got kind of monotonous - eggs however you like, individual small bread loaves, which I didn't particularly care for, fresh fruit and plain yogurt with honey on the side. There wasn't even an option for dry or cooked cereal. If I were to stay there again, I would make my own breakfast. The managers at the Cottage Club were a charming young couple - Christos and Ina, who were thoroughly delightful.
Before this trip, I would have liked to know that the Queens Garden Resort, a much more upscale place, is nestled up the mountain in The Bottom (one of the towns on Saba), which is where the harbor is located. It is also warmer and sunnier than Windwardside and only a 5 minute ride to the harbor. The dining options aren't as varied as on Windwardside, but some of the people who were staying at the Queens Garden said their restaurant was terrific. If we go back, we might give that a try.
The trip to the harbor where the dive boats are docked is a 15 minute winding drive from Windwardside through the island via taxi - another adventure by itself. Best to take your seasicknessw meds before the trip! We dove with Sea Saba, the largest dive outfit on Saba with the biggest boats. Seemed very professional to us. I got seasick the first day - I mean over-the-side wretching, even with my half a pill which is usually sufficient for me. Luckily our friend had some extra patches, so I was okay the rest of the week. I should say that the boat trip to most of the dive sites was no more than 10 minutes, so that was a plus.
Now for the diving. Some of the most beautiful we've seen. I should say our experience is limited to the Caribbean - Bonaire (which was largely bleached and brown in December when we last went, sadly), Cozumel, Little Cayman and Turneffe Island, Belize. The color on Saba was gorgeous - beautiful tube and barrel sponges. Brilliant oranges, reds, aquamarines. Saba is particularly know for it's deep pinnacle dives, but we prefered the shallower dives. Tent Reef was the best, with 4 different sites, each more beautiful than the last. Rounding a corner on Tent Reef Red, we were face to face with a large barracuda, staring each other down, and right behind him, a huge Nassau grouper. Turtles on every dive, eels, drumfish, huge French and Queen Angelfish, Triggers, Filefish, Southern Rays, some Reef sharks, nurse sharks and of course all the other usual suspects - gorgeous little guys of every color and shape.
I'll be happy to answer any questions.
All in all a trip to remember.
