If you’re looking for a Caribbean island that feels completely different from the typical resort vacation, let me introduce you to Saba. Known as the “Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean,” Saba is a tiny five-square-mile island in the Dutch Caribbean with fewer than 2,000 residents, dramatic volcanic landscapes, lush hiking trails and some of the most beautiful water I’ve experienced.
There aren’t sprawling all-inclusive resorts or crowded beaches here. In fact, Saba doesn’t really feel like a traditional Caribbean vacation at all—and that’s exactly what I loved about it.
Our days were spent hiking historic trails, snorkeling around incredible rock formations, learning traditional Saban crafts from local women and eating at small restaurants where it didn’t take long to start recognizing familiar faces.
If you’re considering a trip, I’m sharing everything I learned in this Saba travel guide, including how to get to Saba, where we stayed, my favorite things to do and a few things about everyday island life that completely surprised me.
Saba Island Travel Guide: Where to Stay, What to Do & Things to Know Before You Go
Where Is Saba?
Saba is a small Dutch Caribbean island located southeast of St. Maarten. The island is only about five square miles, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in elevation. Saba is essentially a volcanic mountain rising dramatically from the Caribbean Sea, with winding roads, steep cliffs and green mountainsides.
There are four main villages on Saba
- The Bottom – (Where we went to snorkel)
- Windwardside – (Where we stayed)
- St. John’s
- Zion’s Hill (which is also known as Hell’s Gate)
Most visitors travel to Saba through St. Maarten, and you have two very different options for completing the journey: fly or take a ferry.
How to Get to Saba
Getting to Saba was part of the adventure. Because there aren’t direct flights from the United States to Saba, you’ll typically fly to St. Maarten first and then continue to Saba either by plane or ferry.
Flying to Saba With Winair
We chose to fly to Saba with Winair, and I highly recommend doing it at least one direction if you’re comfortable flying on a smaller aircraft. The flight from St. Maarten to Saba is only around 12 minutes, but it might be one of the most memorable 12-minute flights you’ll ever take.
That’s because you’re landing at Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, home to what is widely known as the shortest commercial runway in the world.
As you approach the island, you see Saba’s steep volcanic landscape rising from the Caribbean before the plane makes its famous landing. It is definitely an adventure!
Taking the Ferry to Saba
If you’d rather travel by sea, you can also take a ferry from St. Maarten to Saba.
The ferry takes approximately 90 minutes, depending on conditions and the operator. It’s a completely different experience because you get to watch Saba’s mountains and volcanic cliffs emerge from the Caribbean as you approach the island.
Ferries arrive at Fort Bay Harbor, Saba’s only harbor.
One thing I didn’t fully appreciate until visiting is just how important this harbor is. It isn’t simply where tourists arrive. It’s essentially Saba’s connection to the outside world for goods and supplies arriving by sea. When you consider the fact that almost everything needed to support an entire island community has to make its way here, you begin to realize just how unique everyday life on Saba really is.
Where to Stay in Saba: Juliana’s Hotel
We stayed at Juliana’s Hotel in Windwardside, and I loved it as our home base for exploring Saba. Rather than feeling like a large Caribbean resort, Juliana’s has a much more intimate island atmosphere. It feels relaxed, personal and very connected to the destination.
Its location in Windwardside also makes it convenient for exploring the island.
Another huge perk is having Tropics Café right on the property. We could have breakfast before heading out for the day, return after hiking or snorkeling and enjoy dinner without needing to go far. It was also walking distance to all of the other amazing Saba restaurants.
Juliana’s also provides complimentary transportation for hotel guests to and from the airport or ferry, which makes arriving and departing especially easy.
Best Things to Do in Saba
One of my biggest misconceptions before visiting Saba was wondering whether there would be enough to do on such a small island. There absolutely is. The activities here aren’t built around massive tourist attractions. Instead, they connect you to Saba’s nature, history and people.
These were some of my favorite experiences from our trip.
Take a Palm Weaving Workshop With Marie Petit
One of the experiences I especially loved was learning palm weaving with local artist Marie Petit. Instead of simply buying a souvenir, you have the opportunity to sit down with a local artisan and learn how to create something yourself.
Marie works with natural materials found on Saba and also creates beautiful jewelry using island seeds and other natural materials to Saba.
Travel experiences like this are so special to me because you aren’t simply seeing a destination, you are spending time with the people who call it home and learning about their traditions directly from them. And you leave with something handmade to remind you of your trip.
Hike The Ladder
One of the most fascinating places we visited was The Ladder. Before Saba had its modern road and harbor system, goods arriving by boat had to be unloaded along the rocky coastline and carried up more than 800 stone steps. Yes, carried.
Those historic steps became known as The Ladder, and today you can hike the same route. As you make your way along the trail, it’s almost impossible not to imagine what life must have been like when residents had to carry food, packages, furniture and other supplies up this mountainside.
The hike itself is beautiful, but understanding the history behind it made the experience much more meaningful to me.
Explore More of Saba’s Hiking Trails
If you love hiking, Saba should absolutely be on your travel list. The island has around 20 hiking trails, and because of Saba’s dramatic changes in elevation, the landscapes can feel completely different depending on where you are.
You can hike through dry coastal vegetation, lush rainforest and even cloud forest. One of the island’s most famous hikes is the Mount Scenery Trail. Mount Scenery is the highest point on Saba, and reaching the top involves climbing more than 1,000 steps through increasingly lush vegetation.
If you aren’t looking for a strenuous hike, don’t worry. Saba also has shorter and easier trails, including hikes to tide pools and scenic viewpoints. I definitely recommend bringing good hiking shoes. This isn’t the Caribbean trip where you’ll spend the entire week in flip-flops!
Go Snorkeling With Sea Saba
One of my favorite experiences of the entire trip was getting out on the water with Sea Saba. Saba is volcanic, and some of the island’s most spectacular scenery can be found around and underneath the water.
Huge rock formations rise dramatically from the Caribbean, and being able to swim and snorkel around them was incredible. Underwater, the volcanic landscape continues with rock formations, walls and coral-covered areas filled with marine life.
There’s something almost surreal about floating in that beautiful blue water while these massive formations tower around you. If you’re visiting Saba, I would put a snorkeling or diving excursion very high on your list.
Learn Saba Lace With Peggy Barnes
Another experience that gave me a much deeper appreciation for Saba was learning about Saba Lace with Peggy Barnes. Saba Lace is an important part of the island’s history.
For generations, Saban women created intricate needlework that was sold and shipped abroad. It became an important cottage industry and helped women on the island earn money from their homes. Peggy learned the art from her mother when she was young and has helped preserve the tradition.
Seeing the amount of patience and detail that goes into each piece completely changed the way I looked at the finished lace. I love bringing home souvenirs with a story behind them, and Saba Lace is about as meaningful as it gets.
Watch the Free Saba Documentary at Tropics Café
If you’re on Saba on a Wednesday night, make plans to have dinner at Tropics Café at Juliana’s Hotel. Every Wednesday evening, Tropics shows the documentary “Reaching for the Clouds: The Nature of Saba.”
The documentary explores the island’s incredible natural environment and is a great way to learn more about what you’ve been seeing while hiking, snorkeling and exploring. I especially loved that we could sit down, enjoy dinner and learn more about the island at the same time. It’s free to watch, making it an easy addition to your Saba itinerary.
Things About Saba That Completely Amazed Me
Traveling somewhere this small makes you notice things you would probably never think twice about at home. There were several details about life on Saba that I found absolutely fascinating.
There Is Basically One Main Road
The road winding around Saba is appropriately called The Road. What’s fascinating is that experts once believed building a road across Saba’s incredibly steep volcanic landscape was impossible. Local resident Josephus Lambert Hassell refused to accept that.
After studying civil engineering through correspondence courses, he helped make the seemingly impossible road a reality. Today, The Road connects Saba’s villages with the airport and Fort Bay Harbor. Driving it is an experience of its own, with sharp curves, steep drop-offs and spectacular views around seemingly every corner.
Fewer Than 2,200 People Live on the Island
I knew Saba was small before arriving, but I don’t think I fully understood just how small the community would feel. The island has fewer than 2,200 residents.
After being there for a few days, you start recognizing people. You might see someone at breakfast and then run into them again later at a shop or restaurant. By the end of the trip, the island begins to feel surprisingly familiar. That sense of community was one of my favorite things about Saba.
Wednesday Is Grocery Day
This fascinated me. Because Saba is a tiny island with limited ways to bring in supplies, food doesn’t arrive with the frequency we are accustomed to at home.
Wednesday is traditionally the big grocery day, when fresh food shipments arrive. It made me think about how easily we take grocery shopping for granted. At home, if a store doesn’t have what we need, we simply drive to another one. Island life requires a completely different level of planning.
Amazon Prime Doesn’t Really Exist Here
Another thing I found fascinating was thinking about online shopping. Ordering something from Amazon or another retailer isn’t necessarily a matter of clicking a button and having it appear on your doorstep tomorrow.
Packages can take considerably longer to reach Saba because simply getting goods onto the island requires additional logistics. It makes you realize how geographically isolated this little island really is.
There Is Only One Harbor
Fort Bay Harbor is Saba’s only harbor, making it an incredibly important lifeline for the island. Visitors arrive here by ferry, but goods and supplies also have to pass through this tiny gateway. Standing there and seeing Saba’s incredibly steep landscape makes the island’s history even more impressive.
Before there was a harbor and The Road, goods arriving by boat had to be carried up The Ladder’s 800-plus steps. Imagine ordering furniture and then having to carry it up a mountain!
Is Saba Worth Visiting?
If your perfect Caribbean vacation revolves around a huge all-inclusive resort, sprawling sandy beaches, nightlife and endless shopping, this probably isn’t the island I would choose.
Saba is for travelers who want something different. Come here to hike. Come here to snorkel and dive. Come here to meet local artisans, learn about island traditions and sit down for dinner somewhere that feels genuinely connected to the community.
Come here because you want to experience a Caribbean island that hasn’t been transformed to accommodate mass tourism.
What to Know Before Visiting Saba
There are a few things I would recommend knowing before your first trip.
- Pack comfortable shoes. Saba is steep, and you’ll likely do much more walking and hiking than you would on a typical Caribbean vacation.
- Don’t build your trip around beaches. Saba is volcanic therefore, you won’t see long stretches of white sand. The mountains, hiking and underwater world are the stars here.
- Plan your transportation. Decide whether you want to fly with Winair, take the ferry or experience one in each direction.
- Leave some flexibility in your schedule. You’re traveling to a tiny island where weather and transportation can occasionally affect plans.
- Book experiences that introduce you to local people. Some of my favorite memories weren’t simply about what I saw. They were about the people I met.
Why Saba Became One of My Favorite Caribbean Discoveries
I’ve visited Caribbean destinations where you can almost forget which island you’re on once you’re inside the resort. Saba is the opposite. Everything about your trip reminds you exactly where you are.
You’re driving along a road that residents were once told couldn’t be built. You’re hiking steps where generations of Sabans once carried supplies up from the sea. You’re learning needlework and weaving traditions from women helping preserve the island’s history. And you’re swimming around volcanic formations that make Saba look unlike almost anywhere else in the Caribbean.
Saba isn’t trying to be every other Caribbean island. And I think that’s exactly why I loved it so much.
If you’re looking for an adventurous Caribbean destination that still feels intimate, authentic and wonderfully undiscovered, put Saba on your travel list.
Please Note: I always strive to provide accurate and helpful information, but just a quick heads-up—I’m a blogger, not a doctor, lawyer, CPA, or any other kind of certified professional. I’m here to share my experiences and insights, but please make sure to use your own judgment and consult the right professionals when needed.
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