Saba Recommendations

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jas

Registered
Messages
41
Reaction score
19
Location
s.e. wis.
# of dives
200 - 499
I am looking for dive shop recommendations and any other information you may have for Saba.
My husband and I will be taking the ferry over from Saint Martin, the end of October. I have seen threads posted, but nothing recent.
We are planning on staying 5 to 7 days, then meeting friends in Saint Martin for a week.
It looks like Sea Saba gets good reviews, has anyone used them recently?
Is there a certain area we should be staying in? I am thinking of the Windward area.
Are cabs readily available?
Thanks!
 
Their medical school isn't too bad, either.
 
We've been to Saba three times. The third time was for two months in January/February 2021. Sea Saba is the shop we dive with when there. I'd recommend staying in Windwardside. Pretty much everything is there except the government offices in The Bottom. Taxi's are always available but if you're staying in Windwardside for less than a week it's doubtful you'll need them too many times. Maybe to go to a restaurant or trailhead once or twice. There are two primary activities, diving and hiking (casual or serious). I'm not a hiker but I've done most of the hikes. Saba is a place that you need to love for everything it is AND everything it isn't. It is NOT big hotels, casinos, all-inclusive resorts, beaches, or nightlife. It is friendly people, tremendous views from almost everywhere, fantastic diving, great hiking, nature trails.

I'm happy to go on more about how much we love Saba if there is anything else you want to know.
 
An alternative might the the Explorer Ventures liveaboard that runs between Saba and St. Maarten.
 
You might be interested in diving on the liveaboard Caribbean Explorer II. Up to 28 dives during the week, accommodation, meals, and diving services included. It departs out of Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. Here is the info: Saba - St. Kitts Liveaboard Diving | Explorer Ventures
 
+1 for Explorer Ventures Liveaboard aboard the Caribbean Explorer II. Great Company all around with all their trips. We did the Saba/St Kitts trip some years back and enjoyed it very much.
 
I am looking for dive shop recommendations and any other information you may have for Saba.
My husband and I will be taking the ferry over from Saint Martin, the end of October. I have seen threads posted, but nothing recent.
We are planning on staying 5 to 7 days, then meeting friends in Saint Martin for a week.
It looks like Sea Saba gets good reviews, has anyone used them recently?
Is there a certain area we should be staying in? I am thinking of the Windward area.
Are cabs readily available?
Thanks!
Right now Sea Saba is the only game in town. It changed hands about a year ago, so be aware that any reviews older than one year may not be applicable.

Windwardside and the immediate area around it is where virtually all tourists stay. There are a few hotels and there are also a number of cottages available to rent if that is more to your liking. Check the listings on the Saba Tourism website for an up-to-date list. There are several good restaurants there and if you rent a cottage, you can do your own cooking if you want.

Taxis are readily available, but you may need to arrange your trips ahead of time as you can't just hail one. Hitch hiking is also a good option. We once got picked up by the island Governor!
 
Hi! Jumping on this thread as I can't find anything in the search. I am headed to Saba in April! Can't wait.

Originally we booked the plane there from Saint Martin, and the Edge Ferry back. But now the Edge timetable has changed! The Makana ferry also doesn't run Sunday afternoons.

Anyway, my question - can we really dive in the morning and fly back to SXM in the afternoon?

I asked SeaSaba and they just directed me to the website which says people do day trips by plane and dive
Just wanted some reassurance that people do this. Apparently the flight doesn't go over 12,000 feet and lasts 15 mins.

Any info is appreciated, thanks!
 
People do lots of things that are not a good idea. Ascending to 12000 ft after diving is one of them, even if only for 15 minutes.
But that's not likely what happens. First, the plane may be at 12000 ft but if it is pressurized then it is probably not more than 8000 ft equivalent in the cabin. Do you know if the plane is pressurized or not? How long is the SI after the dive until the plane takes off? How deep and long are the dives? Some of the information you need is in Tables 9-6 and 9-7 of the US Navy Diving Manual Version 7.

Example: you do one dive on the day that you fly, and it is the only dive within the 24h preceeding the flight. Assume the dive is on air, to 60 ft, for 60 mins. That puts you in Pressure Group (Table 9-7) K. According to Table 9-6, you should wait for 15h35min before ascending to 8000 ft.

The example assumes a square profile and air. A multilevel profile and Nitrox will make things better.
How much better? Hard to say.... Breathing O2 after the dive will help. How much? Hard to say....

Follow what your computer says....

But doing it because "Frank did it yesterday and didn't get bent" is terrible science. You are welcome to be a crash dummy if you want.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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