Saba vs. Dominica?

[parkergm]

I am considering new Caribbean islands to visit and dive in 2023. I am an experienced diver with over 200 dives and my wife is a non-diver. I have been to a lot of the Caribbean, including the Caymans (Grand and Little Cayman), the ABC's (including several times to Bonaire), Belize, Cozumel, Turks and Caicos (both Provo and Grand Turk). I am looking for a new island to try. We dont do live-aboards since my wife doesnt dive. I was considering Dominica but not sure about the resorts and dive shops from reading recent threads. Saba looks nice - might also consider St Lucia. My wife likes to relax on beaches and explore islands (with me when I am not diving).

 

[ontdiver]

Saba is nice but due to the mountainous topography there is a bit of a trek to and from the water that requires motorized transportation. There are also limited diversions on the island which may be challenging for non-divers. Divers I know who have been to Dominica fell in love with the place.

 

[drrich2]

I have been to neither and am curious about both. Since both Dominica and Saba (along with St. Lucia, which seems to tend to get left out of these comparisons) are known for lushly vegetated rainforest topside, they might get compared in competition for 'where should I go' threads.

By the way, St. Lucia can be expensive but it is nice. I've been there twice on cruise ship stops. You can find a few trip reports. I don't know your budget but they have some Sandals Resorts and Anse Chastanet Resort (if your funds are generous).

I've noticed Saba is known for deep pinnacle diving (though it's been said not all Saba diving is like that). Dominica I don't recall reading that about. From looking at a map, it appears Dominica is far larger than Saba. Here are some old threads on Dominica:

Discussions of Dominica -

Dominica…everything I should know but don’t - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/gr...minica-everything-i-should-know-but-dont.html
I was surprised by how nice the diving was in Dominica. Excellent! - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/le...rised-how-nice-diving-dominica-excellent.html
Dominica Recommendations? - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/494111-dominica-recommendations.html
No Diving Dominica? - No diving Dominica?

 

[parkergm]

Thanks everyone - I was also considering St Lucia as noted. Will make up my mind in a few months. Have a trip to the Maldives booked first.

 

[mbs]

Saba was wonderful! But I don't think there are any sandy beaches.

 

[drrich2]

Will make up my mind in a few months.

Hope you'll write us a trip report whatever you decide. Couple of quick notes on St. Lucia:

1.) In 2006, did a cruise stop there with a rain forest hike excursion. Very lush and beautiful vegetation. Don't recall seeing any animals. That's not to say they don't have animals; we also visited a banana farm where there were bags over the banana clusters - the bags had the nickname banana condoms. The stones of the path were at times somewhat slick; I recommend shoes with a dependable sole that has some grip, not something worn smooth (as Crocs sometimes do). You need a grip on the ground or you could twist an ankle.

2.) IIRC, trip reports dealing with Sandals Resorts have at times mentioned 45-minute dive times, and given the clientele I suspect they get a number of occasional vacation divers. One our 2nd cruise stop, I booked with ScubaSteve's and was quite pleased.

Islands that get a number of cruise ships tend to have topside excursion offerings.

 

[Darnold9999]

No beaches on Saba. Lots of hiking, some restaurants a couple of small towns to explore. It is a very small island. The diving is good Caribbean diving - there is a very good article on Saba diving in the latest Alert Diver.

 

[Scott from LongIsland]

I think your wife would be quite bored on Saba. Unless she hikes a lot and wants to do a lot of vertical hiking, there is very little to do on the island. It is also not possible to walk many places so you are really stuck wherever you are staying. There are no beaches on Saba. There is a small sandy outcrop that gets exposed as a “beach” at low tide but its not at all a true beach.

The diving on Saba is some of the best that I have found in the Caribbean. The coral is very healthy as there is not a lot of diving there. I love the island in general. It is indeed the Unspoiled Queen.

 

[tursiops]

My wife likes to relax on beaches and explore islands (with me when I am not diving).

Forget Saba. Go to Dominica.

 

[Damselfish]

How important is dive quality and what do you look for?

St Vincent might work, especially if you like macro life. Great scenery, most of which we’ve only seen from the water. Used to be a pain to get to, but they built a new airport not long before covid so hopefully airlify will improve. You could do the tour up north to swim in a waterfall and visit some Pirates of the Caribbean movie stuff - we actually did it by boat with our dive op and dove our way there and back, but I’m sure if any are doing that she could go along. We’ve stayed at Young Island a few times. Also fun to take the ferry to Bequia and dive/explore there for at least a few days, lots of unique stuff to check out for a little island. (Or, save St Vincent for whenever the new Sandals finally opens.)

Grenada? Lots of beach and interesting things to explore. Also I think a fair number of spa options if she’s into that.

St Martin has beaches, great food, tons of shopping and interesting things to explore. Also ferries to other islands like Anguilla, St Barts, Saba. I don’t think diving is generally good enough to go there for a dedicated dive trip, but you can get certainly some dives in, and can get lucky if the dive gods like you.

perhaps USVI or BVI