Saba, the smallest Dutch Antil
Saba is basically a dormant volcano. The islands size is only 5 square miles. Most shore sides are cliffs, there are two beaches and small harbour. The road from the harbour leading up towards the villages is extremely steep. You’d wonder why first various Taino and then the Dutch wanted to settle here. For the Dutch it was trade of course.
The highest peak of Saba is Mount Scenery at 2,910 feet high. Fun fact is that this is also the highest point in the whole Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Getting into Saba
You can access Saba by air or by water. Saba’s Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is the smallest in the world with a runway of only 1,312 feett. Around the time I was going boat trips were going twice a week from Sint Maarten, which is what I did.
Due to the size of Saba you can view it in a single day. Unless you’re into diving you might want to stay longer, because the island is pushed out of the earth so it seems there’s a unique underwater life around the island.
Things to see and do
First off you should explore the island of course! There was sort of a sightseeing tour in my package included. We’d drive from the harbour to the airport to have a look and then people could go hike up to Mount Scenery or they could roam around in the village of Windwardside. I had my hiking shoes packed with me, but unfortunately it was so cloudy I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy more of the view than I already had. That’s why I decided to walk the village.
You should also visit the Dutch Museum. While that’s the name is more of a museum about the Dutch presence on Saba. There’s a lot of attention for the WIC (Dutch West India Company). What interested me the most was how Saba was settled and how they got large equipment and cars onto the island. Even the building by itself is already worth a visit because it’s housed in a traditional Saban cottage. And maybe less interesting for non-Dutch citizens, there’s also a few pictures of events and Dutch royalty visiting Saba.
And at the end of the day, why not exit with a delicious cold beverage?
This trip was made in 2016.
If you have any thoughts or questions feel free to leave a comment!
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