Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) · December 2024 to January 2025
Saba: New Year's on the Unspoiled Queen
They call Saba the Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean, and there is no better place to welcome a new year in unfussy style. This tiny volcanic island has no beaches and no crowds, just steep green slopes, a single winding road, and underwater, a set of legendary pinnacles that draw divers from around the world. We rang in the year diving by day and celebrating island style by night.
Day by day
Days 1-2
Arriving on the Queen
Getting to Saba is half the adventure, and arriving on this dramatic green spire feels like slipping off the edge of the map. We settled in, met the group, and got ready for a few days of the diving that makes this little island famous.
Days 3-4
Diving the pinnacles
We dropped onto Saba's celebrated submerged pinnacles, seamounts whose tops sit well below the surface and pull in sharks, schooling fish and the occasional pelagic surprise. Between dives there was rum tasting, easy island meals, and the kind of unhurried pace that makes Saba special.
Day 5
A New Year's Eve to remember
We spent the last day of the year underwater, then gathered to ring in the new one island style. Saba does New Year's with heart rather than glitz, and it was a celebration the whole group will be talking about for years.
Days 6-7
Polar plunge and the summit hike
New Year's Day called for a Saban-style polar plunge and a hike up the Queen herself, climbing through cloud forest to the island's misty summit for views over the whole Caribbean before our farewell.
From the trip
Shark-patrolled pinnacles, a heartfelt island New Year, a cheeky polar plunge and a cloud-forest summit. Saba reminds you that the most memorable celebrations are often found in the quietest corners.
Want to do this one yourself?
We run trips like this every year. See where we're headed next and grab a spot before the group fills up.