The Unspoiled Queen — a dormant volcano with the Caribbean's best diving and no beach at all
Saba is the smallest Caribbean island with permanent settlement and the most unusual: a single extinct volcano rising 887 metres directly from the ocean, with no beaches, no casinos, no mass tourism. The island has around 1,900 residents, one road (aptly named The Road — engineers said it was impossible; locals built it anyway), and four villages of white cottages with red roofs clinging to the steep slopes. What it lacks in beach it makes up for in world-class diving: the Saba Marine Park, which encircles the entire island, protects pristine pinnacles, sea mounts, and walls where visibility…
Saba was inhabited by the Ciboney and later Arawak peoples before European contact. After Dutch settlement in 1640, the island's steep terrain made large-scale plantation agriculture impossible — instead, Sabans became known as skilled sailors and boat-builders, fashioning vessels at the bottom of the volcano and carrying them to the sea in pieces. In the 19th century, Saban women developed 'Saba lace' (Spanish Work), an intricate needlepoint sold internationally. Saba became a Caribbean Netherlands 'special municipality' (not an autonomous country) in 2010, giving it the same status as a Dut…