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Visitor Information & Tips
Getting Around
If you choose not to walk or hike, transportation, on and around the island, is easy on the ten miles of concrete
roads, secured to the mountainside with hardy stone walls. Taxi drivers in modern vans can be your guide for your
trip, or you can rent a car and explore on on your own.
Location
Saba is located just to the East of St. Croix and south of St. Martin.
Language and Culture
Everyone speaks English, although Dutch is the official language
Because of Saba's precipitous terrain, settling was difficult and left for the hardy and the adventurous. Having
been under English, French, Spanish and Dutch rule for many years, peace came with the Dutch Crown in 1816. The
cultures of the variety of settlers are now uniquely blended into a hard-working people. Their history of farming,
fishing and seamanship account for their keen knowledge of their nature. Many locals are well traveled and well
educated; conversations are easy and interesting. The Saba museums house many artifacts and photographs, which
tell the stories of settling this remote island with its dramatic landscape.
Airport and Taxes
You must pay a $5 departure tax when leaving Saba by plane for either St. Maarten or St. Eustatius, or $22 when
continuing on an international flight. (Note: when flying home through St. Maarten from here, list yourself as
"in transit" and avoid repaying the tax in St. Maarten, which is $20.) There's no departure tax when
you leave by boat.
Entry Requirements
Saba is a free port, there are no customs. A valid passport, birth certificate or voter's registration is needed
to enter as well as a return or ongoing ticket. *
See Special Note
Climate
Daytime temperature on Saba averages 80°F., give or take a few degrees. Easterly trade winds and the mountain
create ever-changing cloud movements. Winter evenings often require a light sweater. Temperatures will always be
cooler on the top of Mt. Scenery.
Time
Atlantic Standard (Eastern Standard + 1 hour).
Currency/Credit Cards
US dollar, all major credit cards are accepted
Electricity
US Standard, 110 volts
Telephone
Hotels have direct dialling worldwide. Landsradio has phone booths in The Bottom and Windwardside for calls anywhere
in the world.
Shopping
Enter into any of the shops within the villages and you'll find beautiful, delicate linen items with hand-drawn
threadwork designs. Artists find Saba a perfect inspiration for their work. many watercolours, photographs, jewelry
and books are displayed in two art galleries.
Your shopping trip is not complete until you visit the Windwardside's mini-mall. Its here you'll find take-home
souvenirs, tasty boutiques, dive shops, the tourist office, an art gallery, two restaurant/bars, a supermarket
and a bank. The Mini Mall is where you'll pick up take home memories of the beauty of Saba.
No trip to Saba would be complete without checking out Saba Lace.
Saba lace is a unique needlecraft painstakingly created by the industrious women in Saba. Saba lace, also known
as Spanish work has a special history . In the 1870's, Mary Gertrude Hassell Johnson was sent by her parents to
study at a convent in Caracas, Venezuela. While she was there, the nuns taught Miss Hassell to create the intricate
designs of this needlecraft. Miss Hassell brought the craft back to Saba and in 1884, when regular mail service
first connected the island to the outside world, the wives and daughters of Saba's seafaring men turned the craft
into a mail-order cottage industry.
How the Saba women marketed their needlework demonstrates their ingenuity. As boxes of merchandise were sent from
the United States to Saba, the ladies would copy the addresses of the American companies and then write them a
letter explaining their work and the prices. Often a sympathetic person receiving the letter would post it on the
company bulletin board and ultimately the lace makers would receive orders for their work. By 1928, the Sabans
were exporting almost $15,000 worth of needlework annually!
Now, more than a century later, the skill learned by a young Saban girl, still provides a means of support for
many families on the island. Blouses, dresses, tablecloths an napkins are only a few of the pieces the Saban women
create in a variety of colors.
Saba Lace is just one example of the unique beauty that is Saba. We hope you enjoy owning and using your piece
of this special needlework.
Saba Lace is available at:
Saba Lace Boutique - Hell's Gate
Heritage Shoppe - Winwardside
Peggy's Boutique - Winwardside
Hellen's Notions & Fabrics - Winwardside
Artisan Foundation - Botom
Taxes and Tipping
The government room tax of 5% is automatically added to your bill. A service charge of 10% or 15% will be added
to your bill. For taxis and guides, tip at your own discretion.
Banking
The official currency is the NAfl (guilder) exchanged at about NAfl 1.80 = $1.00 US. Travellers cheques and US
dollars, as well as major credit cards, are widely accepted. Two branch banks are open on Saba.
RBTT Bank (Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago)
Windwardside, Saba
Tel: 416-2454/2453
Fax: 416-2452
Opening Hours 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
First Caribbean International Bank
Windwardside, Saba
Tel: 416-2216
Fax: 416-2475
Opening Hours 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m
Medical Facilities
The A.M. Edwards Medical Center is located on Saba. A resident doctor and registered nurses oversee this medical
facility. Saba also has the Saba Marine Park Hyperbaric Facility.
Saba Tourist Offices
Saba Tourist Office
PO Box 527
Windwardside
Saba Dutch Caribbean
E-mail : iluvsaba@unspoiledqueen.com
Telephone: 599-416-2231/2322
Fax: 599-416-2350
Director: Glenn Holm
Kabinet van de Gevolmachtigde Minister van de Nederlanse Antillen
Badhuisweg 173-175
2597 JP's-Gravenhagen
Holland
Telephone: 0031703512811
Fax: 0031703512722
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