Trip report - St Maarten/Saba: Ocean Explorers, Octopus Diving & Saba Deep

[UtahGetMe2]

Great write-up! It was very informative.

I will be heading to SXM in November and was planning to do the 1 day trip to Saba via ferry. I would love to stay a night or 2, but will be going with other people and I am the only one diving. I was curious about taking the ferry and the amount of diving it will allow. It appears that 2 dives would be the maximum amount of diving, but did you find any downtime to hang out before leaving? I would love to try to take some photos if possible.

 

[lkgators]

Great write-up! It was very informative.

I will be heading to SXM in November and was planning to do the 1 day trip to Saba via ferry. I would love to stay a night or 2, but will be going with other people and I am the only one diving. I was curious about taking the ferry and the amount of diving it will allow. It appears that 2 dives would be the maximum amount of diving, but did you find any downtime to hang out before leaving? I would love to try to take some photos if possible.

We crossed on the ferry from Sint Maarten to Saba in the morning. We arrived in Saba, went through their customs and made a very short ride to Saba Deep. You can see their shop from the ferry. I think all of the operators on Saba are located in the harbour where the ferry docks. We ordered lunch before heading out and got in a couple of very nice dives - we were in a hurry, but did not feel rushed. Made it back in time for lunch and made it back to the ferry on time for the ride back to Sint Maarten.

The dives are likely to be close to the harbour since you won't have much time. This isn't a problem since there are some very good dive sites close to the harbour.

Enjoy your time on Saba.

 

[jlevine]

If you're willing, I'd be interested in hearing about your lodging on St. Maarten.

 

[MerMomDiver]

If you went back to that area, would you stay on SABA as opposed to doing the ferry in? (Is that even an option?) I am totally unfamiliar with that destination, having dived consistently Cozumel since certifying in 2010. I'm looking for an alternate destination to add to Cozumel, just to change it up a bit. You are the 3rd posting I have happened across very recently (while exploring new dive destinations) to speak very highly of the enchantment of SABA. We are looking for a great week destination for our family -- a 13-yr-old Junior Diver accustomed to 2 years of Cozumel drift diving, plus us two adults with 30 dives and 100 dives respectively. We like seeing things close up... beautiful coral, seahorses, turtles, morays... do not need big animals and big deep walls.

 

[sladerer]

We stayed at the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort (RCI time share exchange). Nice place, pretty modern amenities, good location between Phillipsburg (cruise ships, shopping, etc) and Simpson Bay (great beach, dive ops, etc). Diving ranged from mediocre to good, we dived both Dutch and French sides (I have a dive report from Feb posted). It will not compare to Cozumel - we only had current on one dive, all much shallower than cozumel, reefs are pretty flat, though there is decent fish life. Diving on Saba will remind you more of Cozumel with walls, tall reefs, structure, swim throughs. We did the ferry over since we used a time share, you'll only have time for 2 dives. We were told to take our time eating and that ferry would not leave, but it did feel a little rushed after getting back from our dives.

There is not much to do on Saba besides diving. If you're looking for on-land variety and great dining options, St Maarten/St Martin has it. If it's a dedicated diving vacation, I'd stay on Saba.

 

[UtahGetMe2]

Enjoy your time on Saba.

Thanks... Can't wait to get down there. I just got nitrox certified and plan to use it on the trip if it is available.

 

[gams313]

My wife and I can also throw a vote of support behind Ocean Explorers and Saba Deep. Our DM with Ocean Explorers was Astrid, she was knowledgable and fun. We were also asked if our transmitters were synced to our dive computers, which spoke volumes to me.

Big Mike with Saba Deep... OMG what a character, had my wife laughing so hard she almost wet her suit, before she got wet....

To jlevine: My wife and I stayed early June at the Grand Case Beach Club, on the North side. Great place to stay, quiet and awsome food. We rented a car so never had any problems getting to the dive shop on time.