Dive Review of Saba Divers/Scout's Place in
Saba

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Saba Divers/Scout's Place, Jan, 2008, by Kevin Klocek, pa, USA ( 1 report). Report 3792.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Winair from St. Martin offers frequent flights to Saba, and gives you a generous 44kg per person allowance if they know you are divers. This allowed us to bring all of our own gear, including camera housing, strobes, and lights, plus hiking boots and clothes. However, because the planes are small and the runway is short (Saba has the shortest commercial runway), don't overpack. Flight is a memorable 12 minutes. Aerophobes can take the 1hr, 45 min ferry. We stayed at the Pirate's Cottage at Scout's place, a 2-bedroom, 1-bath cottage. Accomodations were newer (remodeled in early 2007), clean, and comfortable. Daily maid service was great, and two grocery stores were within walking distance for us to stock the kitchen with snacks and beverages. Air conditioning was not needed -- the steady cool breeze was more than enough to keep cool (we needed sweatshirts at night). We had wireless internet, but it worked best in the restaurant. The staff a Scout's was very attentive to all of our needs and making sure everything ran smoothly. They handled all of the transportation to and from the airport and dive shop, and were quick to address any problems. We ate most of our meals at Scout's. The menu was varied and all of the food was good, generous, and reasonably priced. Other restaurants in Windwardside are in easy walking distance -- Swinging Door Saloon has a $16 steak night, and their ribs are great too. Brigadoon has good seafood. The dive staff at Saba Divers was friendly and professional, and allowed us to run longer profiles when we had more air and bottom time than the guides. Nitrox was free for the entire week, which we used since many of the dives required profiles in the 80-100 foot range. They took great pains to separate the groups based on ability and interests, even when the total number of divers could have fit in one boat. There can be deep dives in Saba, but there are also shallower sandy bottom dives to be had as well. On three separate days my group of four people had our own boat to tackle some of the more challenging sites, while another boat stayed in to shallower waters. On the second day of diving we came across 5 gray reef sharks out in the blue near the pinnacle known as the "Needle." This was a welcome sight in the wild without having to feed or chum the waters. Other dives sites varied and included deep pinnacles, walls, patch reefs, and sandy bottoms. We saw turtles and sting rays on nearly every dive. Currents could be strong in some locations, but conditions varied by the hour and day. While the coral and fish life is better in Bonaire, Saba offers more variety both topside and underwater. As an island, it is pretty comparable to Dominica (lush jungles for hiking, and pretty good diving for the Caribbean), but Saba is much cleaner and friendlier, and the food is much better. For a quiet vacation in a friendly, small community with plenty of diving and hiking, Saba is the place to go. If you are the Beach and Casino type, go somewhere else.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Bonaire, Curacao, Caymans, USVI, NY, NJ, Palau, Dominica, FL
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-150 Ft/ 15-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive time 60 minutes with a depth not to exceed your Max. Operating Depth of your EaNx mixture.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Crew was considerate of photographers and equipment. Boats lacked a fresh water rinse tank, but adequate facilities were provided at the dock. Photo equipment was well segregated from the rest of the gear on the boats.

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Dive Review of Saba Divers/Scout's Place in Saba

Saba Divers/Scout's Place, Jan, 2008,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Saba Divers/Scout's Place in
Saba