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Dive Review of Sea Saba/Julianna's in
Saba

Sea Saba/Julianna's: "The unspoiled Queen is better than ever", Oct, 2019,

by Jeff Bloomer, IA, US (Contributor Contributor 19 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11172.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments So heading to the Caribbean in October is always a gamble. I watched for developing storms off the coast of Africa and was glad to see that we were going to be in the clear. Texting with Sea Saba on the awesome WhatsApp revealed flat calm water and sunshine. Little did I consider that rain over OHare would cause American Airlines to cancel not 1 but 2 flights on our group of 8 intrepid divers. We ended up switching to Midway and Delta and got to St. Martin on Sunday just 1 day late. Sea Saba was great about contacting WinAir and getting our flight moved to Monday morning on the first flight out. We had divers and non divers and with limited space on the plane the divers went first and the non divers followed a couple of hours later. We were met at the airport and quickly spirited off to Julianna's for a proper breakfast. Then it was down to the boat. Sea Saba had given us our own boat and arranged for 3 dives to get us on track to make all of our dives. The crew could not have been better. All the tanks were ready to go with Nitrox and Air for our little team of divers. Aaron, who seemed to be the head guy, asked us what type of dive we wanted to start with. As the group lead I suggested something easy as I knew some of my team had not been in the water in awhile. Sea Saba put 2 DMs in the water on the first dive probably to make sure we were not a bunch of newbies. All other dives were done with a single DM until later in the week when we picked up additional divers and they broke the group up into Nitrox and Air divers.

Through out the week we dived a combination of reef and walls. The wall dives were some of the best. Very healthy and just awesome views. Sharks on most dives and literally the biggest lobsters I think I've ever seen in the wild. Just monsters and lots of them. The marine park here is really well managed. I even observed the Sea Saba team shoo away some boaters off of the dive moorings. Kevin, JP and Aaron were keen to look out for current and made all of the dives well organized and relaxing.
We reserved the deep pinnacle dive until Friday and it paid off. No current and really good visibility made for a great dive.

Gear stays at the dock when diving here and it is washed and back on the boat each morning so no lugging of your gear. It is given a good cleaning and is delivered to your resort when the diving is done for the week.

Julianna's is still our favorite place to stay on Saba. You are in the heart of Windward Side where everything is. The resort looks great with all of the rooms and cottages having been recently updated. They are even adding on to the resort with more standard rooms and have plans in the work to raze and old abandoned property down the hill from them and building a new structure. The meals at Tropics, their onsite restaurant, were good. Breakfast every morning is perfect. Everyone enjoyed the lunch menu and happy hour, with discounted beer and FREE wine at the new outdoor bar was more than popular. Julianna's was having a customer appreciation event and one of our group won 3 free nights in the upcoming year. Can't beat that! We stayed in the Mango Cottage which, along with the Orchid Cottage, is our favorite and just $100 more than the standard rooms for the week.

As far as other places to eat on Saba you have to go to Brigadoon's Restaurant and Chez Bubba 's(pronounced Booba). Reserve the wine room and sit in air conditioned comfort and enjoy some of the best food you have ever had and a nice glass of wine. Saba Snacks is a nice place for lunch as well. Lots of food options on Saba to be sure.

We were here for the start of Sea and Learn which is a great month long gathering of experts in all things Sea and Island life with presentations given every other day at various spots around Saba. This event was started by Sea Saba 17 years ago I believe and it is going strong.

If you have never been to Saba you should. It is unlike any other island in the Caribbean and is more than worth the trip. You will not be disappointed.
Websites Sea Saba   Julianna's

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving All over the world
Closest Airport Saba International Getting There Fly to Saint Martin SXM and then WinAir flight to Saba.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 84-86°F / 29-30°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Dive time of 60 minutes and stay out of deco.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Sea Saba provides you with a soft sided cooler bag for your housing. You can transport your gear to and from the dock in the bag. I usually pack one of these myself so that was a nice touch. Fresh water on the boat for rinsing. Our cottage had ample room for gear so no issues there as well.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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