TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Additional ferry to Saba

thx for that link.............anyone been to Saba for the day by boat..time it took, rough ride? What to do there...if one is not into hiking, climbing hills, etc...?

Yes. I dove while my wife climbed mt scenic.

bran,

We day-tripped the first time (after 20 years of SXM visits.....) and fell in love with Saba. It is so beautiful and so different from all the other islands we've visited and we were actually so enamored with the island we chose to go back a few years later and just lime out for four nights.

The day-trip was via the Edge and we booked a pre-packaged tour that included transpo to and from, an air conditioned van tour with site-seeing and a stop to drop off and later reclaim hikers going to Mount Scenery, stops to purchase Saba lace and spice, photo stops across the island and an incredible lunch at Queens Garden Inn.

QGI was so nice, we booked our return trip there a few years later and were so glad we did. We took the boat the first trip and there were some on the boat who were sea-sick and many, like us, who did not. On our return stay-over we flew. My best recommendation would be to fly over for the experience of landing on their airport runway and take the boat back, hopefully enjoying much calmer seas returning to SXM.

And for the record, we were there almost five full days and we don't hike, snorkel or dive and as I'm sure you know, there is virtually no beach there at all for most of the year, and we loved every minute of our stay. We did some very serious limin' but truth be known, as nice as the QGI was and as much as we enjoyed the pool there and the island as a whole, five days was more than enough and we were happy to return to the more active vibes of SXM.

If it helps at all, I'd go back in a heartbeat and do it all over again.

Thx Pat, great write up. Yes, QCI was one of the reasons I wanted to visit. How long was the boat trip? Would only go for the day I think. Sounds totally unique and different.

bran,

I could be mistaken since it's been a few years but it seems to me it was about an hour and a half give or take a bit. I didn't think it was that long but my Granddaughter thought it was about half a lifetime. (She was one who was suffering the dreaded mal de mer!)

If you check out the website for QGI, it is just as pictured. Their dining room is very good and you can opt (or at least, you could then.....) to dine inside or out on the patio. The island is quite unique, IMHO, without a lot of shopping or site-seeing beyond beautiful scenery. And if you are still able to book the all day boat, van, hike, lunch and ss trip, it is a full day but so enjoyable.

Personally speaking, if your island trip is a week or less, I'd stay on SXM and just enjoy ALL it has to offer or maybe even squeeze in a quick trip to Anguilla if you haven't been there before, but if you are there longer, it's worth the effort to book Saba just for comparison sake. Saba reminds me somewhat of St. John, USVI, but nowhere near as big and roads I would never, ever consider driving, hence the need on our part for the package tour.

Thx again Pat....sounds exciting but I think you are right, plane not boat! Wonder if one can fly from the french side....staying in SXM for three weeks and have more than enough time. Been to Anguilla many times and St. Barths, so this could be on the cards. Used to Love St. John and absolutely went on a tear around the island so have no fear of driving, in fact the more tricky and winding the better! Not a great one for package tours either and the included tour with hiking for my wife with a bad back is definitely out.

Just as an FYI, you don’t have to hike but it is an option if you’re of a mind to, and my driving comment isn’t because of the condition of the roads - they’re pretty decent, or were when we were last there, but the corners can be tough. On one of our trips around the island, our van taxi got stuck on one of the turns. Please don’t go on a tear there though I know it was just a euphorism....... many of the turns are not for the feint-hearted.

Three weeks is a perfect SXM vacation - plenty of time to see and do and then to relax, too. I’m not certain if it’s even doable, but if you are able to fly from L’Esperance to Saba you might have to pay a hefty departure fee since you’re going from one country (technically France) to another but from PJIA I’m not so sure. When we went a few years back, there was no departure fee since both islands were technically Dutch but It might pay to confirm that with someone who is more up to date on these things.

I love Saba - can you tell?