Not to miss

The Bottom

The Bottom is Saba's administrative centre, but beyond that it's a quiet, lovely town. As you first enter, you'll come upon the Department of Public Works, a former schoolhouse flanked by tall night-blooming cacti that give off a wonderful fragrance in the evening.

On the next corner is the Anglican Church, a picturesque stone structure more than 200 years old. The town also has a couple of cobblestone streets lined with old stone walls. The Bottom is located in the southwest corner of the island. A road leads to Fort Bay, the island's commercial port, on the southwestern coast.

This winding section of road leads down through dry terrain punctuated by Turk's-Head cacti. Fort Bay has dive shops, the marine park office, the island's power station, a water desalination plant and Saba's only gas station and hyperbaric chamber. While there's no beach at Fort Bay, it's possible to join the local kids swimming at the pier.

Hell's Gate

When you stand at the airport and look up the mountain, you see the village of Hell's Gate. The manner in which the village houses cling precariously to the slopes seems to defy gravity. The road from the airport to Windwardside passes directly through the village.

The main landmark in Hell's Gate is the Holy Rosary Church, a seemingly old stone church despite the fact it was built in the late 20th century. Behind the church, Hell's Gate Community Centre sells the best collection of Saba lace on the island as well as bottles of homemade Saba Spice liqueur.

The ride from Hell's Gate to Windwardside is steep and winding and passes through a variety of terrains, offering some fine scenic views of Saba itself and glimpses of the neighbouring islands of Sint Eustatius, St Kitts, Nevis and St Barts.

Mt Scenery

A strenuous climb up a virtual nonstop run of stairs - 1064 in all - leads to Saba's highest point. As ample reward for the workout you get a close-up view of an elfin forest and a panorama of Saba and neighbouring islands when the clouds decide to part. Interpretive signs along the way describe the prolific flora and fauna.

Ladder Bay

Before Fort Bay was enlarged as a port, everything - from supplies to the queen - was hauled up to The Bottom via the Ladder, a series of more than 800 steps hewn into the rock. These days there's not much at Ladder Bay other than an abandoned customs house and the coastal views, but you can still walk the route.

Harry L Johnson Museum

The museum is in a gardenlike setting surrounded by wildflowers, including black-eyed Susans, the official island flower. The collection is housed in a typical Saban home, whitewashed with green-shuttered windows, and the interior recreates the living quarters of a 19th-century Dutch sea captain.

Exhibits include a four-poster bed with period decor, a collection of pottery fragments and lots of memorabilia. A small resource center stocks articles on Saba and a collection of artifacts from the Amerindian archeological sites around the island. maritime documents, sextants and a compass.