Forget the Caribbean’s golden sands: Castaway for adventure in the unspoiled island haven of Saba

02.01.2025 - 06:11 / euronews.com

Most holidays in the Caribbean follow a similar experience: busy, built-up beaches with oversized resorts offering every holiday experience you can imagine, from a feast of flavours to pampering wellness experiences.

But one place in the Caribbean still provides a one-of-a-kind travel experience, and that's Saba.

Despite being just a stone's throw from some of the Caribbean's most popular destinations like Anguilla and Antigua, you've probably never heard of Saba - and that's because at just five square miles in size, it's one of the tiniest inhabited islands in the Caribbean. It's also a special municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

This Dutch Caribbean island is a home to 2,000 permanent residents spread across just four villages. In a region known for a very particular type of sun-and-sand, fly-and-flop style of travel, Saba also breaks every Caribbean island stereotype you can imagine.

"Saba is totally different from other Caribbean destinations," says Malinda Hassell, director of tourism of the Saba Tourist Bureau.

There are no true beaches on Saba, save a few rocky coves and a tiny sliver of sand built up for beach barbecues.

You won't find any all-inclusive resorts here either. In fact, the island doesn't have a single branded hotel or resort. However you will find a handful of charming boutique properties - offering less than two hundred hotel rooms on the entire island.

"Instead, it's a much more adventurous destination," says Hassell, echoing Saba's 'Big Adventure, Small Island' tagline. "It's really refreshing for travellers looking for something different."

Around 5.2 million trips were made to the Caribbean from Europe and most come for the classic Caribbean beach experience. But while Saba may not have the golden sands of its counterparts, it makes up for it with other adventurous travel experiences.

The island is essentially just the top of a long-dormant volcano peeking above the waves. Its jagged landscapes are now coated in lush, tropical ecosystems hiding hiking trails with stunning scenic viewpoints at every turn.

One of the best things to do in Saba is to hike Mount Scenery, the volcanic peak at the centre of the island and its highest point.

The hike is strenuous but doable, with a well-kept trail to the top cut into the lush rainforest and cloud forest ecosystems by James 'Crocodile' Johnson. This machete-wielding septuagenarian still treks the peak almost daily, guiding visitors to the top with the utmost care, pointing out colourful rainforest flowers, wild ginger, and endemic flora and fauna along the way.

The island's world-class diving and snorkelling is another major draw, and has long-tempted serious in-the-know divers to visit here for up to a week or more.

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