Saba vs. Dominica?

[morecowbells]

Saba is a beautiful island with some wonderful diving. I have to admit, when we arrived to our hillside cottage, I was worried that we may get bored topside. However, we found some great restaurants and walking trails. It is a very safe and friendly island with low crime. The downside is lack of any beach. We would meet up at the dive shop in town, load up into a van, then drive on a hairpin road to the marina. The flight to St. Martin is long, which may limit your connection to Saba. The main issue I have with returning, is assuring that I get a connecting flight in the same day. If your wife is happy hiking, reading a book or birding, Saba would be a great choice. Otherwise as @Scott from LongIsland said, she may get bored.

St. Vincent has a lot to offer topside. The water and topography are stunning. We stayed close to the marina and had some good restaurants to choose from. The town of Kingstown was not a place I would stay. I found the lodging and diving to be a bit more $$ than other destinations. In order to ensure the once a week flight, we stayed overnight in Miami the night before. We also had to stay in Miami on the way back. $$$. I feel St. Vincent has the healthiest coral in the Caribbean places that I have visited. The people were wonderful the the day trip to Bequia was magical. I would like to return and spend a couple of nights in Bequia.

I am hoping to visit Dominica soon. I keep hearing stories about vacations getting cancelled due to flight issues and again, the limited flights. I have a friend who loved Tobago. It looks lush topside and has some good diving. That is on the radar as well.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have never been to Dominica, and I know next to nothing about it.

I dived a day (3 tanks) on Saba while staying in nearby Ste. Maarten, and I thought it was the best diving I have ever done in the Caribbean. My non-diving wife had a good time hiking and doing other visits with our dedicated taxi driver. We both loved it, but I do not think we would consider a whole week there. Our one day from Ste. Maarten was fine.

If you take the 10 minute flight to and from the island, you get 3 dives. Take the ferry instead and you get two, if you aren't too seasick for the first one. The island boasts the world's shortest landing strip, and each end of it is at the edge of a cliff. Planes landing there use about 1/3 of the runway. Planes taking off use every single inch. Believe me. My seat was right behind the pilot when we took off. When we turned at the end of the runway, I looked out the side window at the waves crashing below. When we reached the end of the runway taking off, the wheels were still on the ground. It was like a jet taking off on an aircraft carrier.

 

[j3weber]

Dominica has amazing diving, but yes off the beaten path. There are no white sandy beaches, but Fort Young Hotel is an awesome resort with shore diving. Soufriere Pinnacles & Scott's Head are incredible.

I heard Saba is great too but I have not been able to get there yet since COVID. They had the island shut down for a long time

 

[tursiops]

Dominica has amazing diving, but yes off the beaten path. There are no white sandy beaches, but Fort Young Hotel is an awesome resort with shore diving. Soufriere Pinnacles & Scott's Head are incredible.

I heard Saba is great too but I have not been able to get there yet since COVID. They had the island shut down for a long time

Saba has been open for almost 6 months.

 

[sagibson]

Saba has been open for almost 6 months.

Yes, Saba was one of the first to open up for vaccinated travelers.

 

[Sauropod8]

From what I have heard about Saba is that there isn't much to do except dive and hike. I am going there for 3 days in April and very excited!

I spent 3 weeks in Dominica this summer (studying lizards) and managed to get one dive in. Would highly recommend Nature Island Dive in Soufriere. They were communicative, had all good kit (no chewed mouthpieces!) and were really friendly. They treat the coral around the dive sites when they see it is diseased, and they remove lionfish which are invasive there - you can have a lionfish sandwich on the grill at lunch.
Dominica still has a lot of damage from Hurricane Maria but is recovering well. There are lots of hikes, volcanoes and waterfalls to discover. It has black sand beaches and good snorkelling at the (somewhat touristy) Champagne Reef.

 

[Spizeck]

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.

Depending on what someone wants to do, there is plenty to keep you entertained on Saba. If you want shopping, night clubs and casinos, Saba is not for you. If you want a laid back vacation with some art (glass bead classes with JoBean for example or Indo Dying with Anna Keene) and a real authentic local vibe, Saba could be just what you need. You will be hard pressed to find a cleaner, safer and friendlier island than Saba...

 

[diverrex]

I spent two weeks on Dominica and 10 days on Saba and I would rather go back to Dominica for both diving and topside activities. Much better hiking on Dominica in thick jungles and lots of waterfalls. Food is better on Saba though.

 

[JMBL]

Well, I'm not an expert, as I know only Dominica. Went there some years (6 or 7 I guess, and my logbook is not here, so I cannot check) with some friends. 12 persons : 6 divers 6 non-divers. Everybody was very happy with the trip.

Diving was nice : good boat, good captain, good dive master, plenty to see (no sharks though). Easy dives for beginners, longer ones for more experienced divers. All within NDL, which, in my own opinion is a pity, as some reefs where clearly interesting below 35m.

As far as walks are concerned : you've got plenty of opportunities as well, from nice places to visit with kids, to treks for more able walkers.

Food and lodging shouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, people, where ever we went, were friendly, talkative, and helpful. No awkward feelings.

Hope it helps.

 

[tcle80]

As a Freedive I found both to be my favorites in the Caribbean. Saba has the tamest sealife it was like photographing still life. Dominica obviously larger and you get the jungle. For water alone I'd say Saba but if you wanted more options for non diving then Dominica