Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

The only scheduled flights to Statia are with Winair, which has several flights a day from Sint Maarten. Winair also has a daily flight between Statia and Saba.

Statia's harbour includes an anchorage for visiting yachts. Yachties should check in with the harbourmaster upon arrival. Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' schooners and a few other small cruise ships also visit the island.

For stays of more than 24 hours, there's a departure tax of 5.65 for flights within the Netherlands Antilles, 12.00 to other destinations.

Getting around

Statia has no buses, so renting a car is useful if you want to explore the island properly (which takes about a day). If you're staying in Oranjestad, you probably won't need a car for most of your stay but expect to do some serious walking as the town is spread out.

You can rent a car at the airport or in town. Your home driver's license is valid for driving on Statia. By Caribbean standards Statia's roads are good, albeit sometimes narrow, and you need to watch out for stray animals on the road. Drive on the right-hand side of the road.

There are usually one or two taxis on hand to meet flights at the airport, which is about a kilometre northeast of town.

Visa information

Valid passports are required of all visitors except for US and Canadian citizens, who need only proof of citizenship, such as an official birth certificate accompanied by a driver's license. This will change as of December 31 2006, however, when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative mandates that all travellers reentering the US will be required to carry a passport. A round-trip or onward ticket is officially required.