Diving in Saba
Saba & St. Kitts are famous for offering high quality scuba diving. Situated in some of the clearest Caribbean waters, corals are healthy dotted with wrecks. Turtles regularly frequent the area along with nurse sharks and schools of fish. St. Eustatius is home to unique marine life whilst Nevis has volcanic hot vents.
Diving in Saba and St. Kitts will satisfy your need for beautiful scenery both above and below the surface. Whilst everyone dreams of diving the warm, turquoise waters of the Caribbean it can be trickier to decide where exactly you want to dive. Saba and St Kitts diving are full of beautiful dive sites and great views and beaches to take in, in between dives. These small islands dotted throughout the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles are filled with incredibly warm and welcoming locals. While other areas of the Caribbean can be congested with tourists, Saba and St Kitts feature less foot traffic and incredibly well preserved reefs.
The entire island of Saba is surrounded by an extensive and well-maintained marine park to a depth of 60 meters! The result is supersized versions of all your favorite colorful and lively Caribbean reef fish. This small volcanic island has 29 dive sites to explore. Its neighbour St Eustatius also has a successful marine park resulting in plentiful dive sites ready to be ventured through. While St. Kitts tends to host far more tourists than Saba it manages to do so without sacrificing any character or underwater beauty. Diving in St. Kitts allows you to explore both wrecks and reefs. The island of St. Kitts forms the nation of St. Kitts and Nevis with another island named, you guessed it, Nevis. Nevis boasts the same awe-inspiring views and beaches and still provides some great dive spots to explore.
Diving in Saba FAQ
What marine life can I expect to see in Saba?
Diving in Saba & St Kitts and Nevis will give you the opportunity to get up close and personal to many of your favorites, including turtles (both green and hawksbill), a wide variety of sharks, schools of fish, and an abundant variety of reef fish. Each island, and even specific dive site, will have a reputation for a different abundance of animals. Expect to see many morays, barracudas, rays, sharks ranging from the mellow nurse shark to the white tip reef shark. Schools of fish are common features on the reef and both juvenile and adult reef fish are plentiful. If you visit during the winter months, you may even get serenaded by some migratory whales during your dive and sneak a peak of them breaching on the surface! While different dive sites may be hotspots for different creatures, no matter where you dive you're sure to see a ton of novel life.
What are the best dive sites in Saba?
Scuba diving among these islands can take you many places and to even more dive spots. If you choose to explore all the islands these nations have to offer you may find yourself in the namesake islands, Saba and St. Kitts, or even in St. Eustatius and Nevis.
St. Eustatius, neighbor to Saba, is a volcanic island likely to take your breath away during both your scuba dives and surface intervals. The total protected area of the land and the sea of Statia is more than double the area of the island itself. The incredibly well kept marine park supports an extremely high biodiversity. These reefs are havens for angelfish, butterflyfish, sea horses, frog fish, and spotted drums and these are only some of the many fish you'll find here. Octopus, turtles, rays, and sharks are common guest appearances on dives and are likely to hang around for a while since the success of the marine park has made them all the more comfortable around divers. While every dive site is teeming with life in St. Eustatius, you can't go wrong diving the Charlie Brown, Grand Canyon, Volcano Fingers, or Blue Bead Hole.
Nevis, the sister island to St Kitts has fewer dive sites but is likely to impress with its unique diving opportunities. You're likely have fewer divers to share the reef with as there is far less traffic through these dive sites than those in neighboring St. Kitts. In Nevis you have the opportunity to dive among a volcanic hot vent at a site aptly named Thermal Vents. All this heat supports an abundance of life including black corals, spotted drums, large lobsters, and arrow crabs. Other notable dive sites include Devil's Cave, which hosts an abundance of fun swim throughs, and Coral Garden.
Monkey shoals is an offshore atoll reef equidistant between St. Kitts and Nevis. The reef occupies approximately 1 square mile. Due to its offshore location it often has great visibility and life lacking at other sites nearer to shore. While often a calm setting for a relaxing dive the current can pick up making for some great drift dives. Monkey Shoals has four amazing sites to fill your days with. Chose between the Donut, the White Hole, the Basin, and the Ledge or make time for all four!
What's the best time to dive in Saba?
Diving in Saba and St Kitts is great for its versatility. The season for diving in Saba and St. Kitts is all year! The air and water temperature are relatively static throughout the year - this allows for great flexibility when planning a dive trip to these beautiful islands. The air temperature ranges between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius annually and the water temperature, only slightly cooler, ranging between 26 to 28 degrees Celsius year round. So whether you want a break from the chilly winter or a change of pace in the summer St. Kitts and Saba are fantastic options year round. While most of the marine life is constant throughout the year, the winter may bring you the songs of migrating whales and dolphins during the dives though be warned you're far more likely to see them above the surface than below.
What's the recommended experience level for diving in Saba?
Most dive sites here are perfect for all levels of divers though the occasional dive site is recommended for advanced divers. To take advantage of the ubiquitous wreck dives a wreck diving specialty will come in handy here and are required to explore the interior. With each island you visit be sure to consult the Divemaster or Instructor and figure out which sites are best for you. When visiting the marine parks of Saba and St. Eustacius, local dive masters are required for each dive and will ensure both your safety and that of the reefs. Learning to dive in Saba and St Kitts is highly recommended as most dives are perfect for beginners, lacking current, while still boasting all the beauty of more advanced dive spots.
How do I get to Saba?
Most of the islands in the Leeward Islands have their own airports; however, St. Maarten is often the preferred airport for tourists as it offers many flights and is a bigger airport compared to some of those found on the neighboring islands. Once you've arrived in the region, navigating between the islands can be done via boat or plane. While island hopping via plane is possible - with Saba even boasting the shortest runway in the world - traveling by boat is the favoured method making Saba & St.Kitts a great option here allowing for the most fun, relaxing, and convenient dive trip among these Carribbean gems.
