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• Option 1
• Option 2
• Final thoughts

First, you must fly into St. Maarten, which is 28 miles away from Saba. Then you take The Edge Ferry. This high-speed ferry departs from the Simpson Bay Police Dock, which is located about 10 minutes from the airport. You can book tickets with Aqua Mania, who operates the ferry. 

The ride takes about 90 minutes to get to Fort Bay Harbor in Saba. Be aware the waters can be choppy especially during the Christmas winds from November – April. Some have referred to it as the “vomit comet.”

The ferry operates two days a week and leaves at 9 am from St. Maarten on Tuesday and Friday.

Return ferry service from Saba operates two days a week and leaves at 3:30 pm on Tuesday and Friday. 

You can visit Saba on a day trip, but I would strongly advise spending a few days exploring all the amazing hiking and diving it has to offer.  

The one-way ferry cost is $75 per adult. Same-day ferry cost is $100 per adult.  

Another ferry service just started up on December 1, 2021. It runs between St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba. The Makana Ferry is operated by Blues & Blues Ltd, a company that has provided ferry service for over 30 years. 

The ferry only runs on certain days at certain times. The current ferry schedule can be found here.

The boarding location for St. Maarten is Bobby’s Marina and for Saba it’s Fort Bay. 

Rates are $65 one-way or $85 round-trip, so it’s definitely the cheapest option. 

For option #2, you will still need to fly into St. Maarten. But instead of taking a potentially bumpy 90-minute ferry ride, you take an exhilarating 12-minute plane ride and land on one of the shortest commercial runways in the world! 

It’s only 1,312 feet long!

Way more exciting in my opinion. Getting to Saba by air was a no-brainer for us.

Winair operates the 2-3 connecting flights daily. We flew into St. Maarten with American Airlines and arrived early afternoon. We then took the 5 pm flight out to Saba while the sun was beginning to set. What an incredible experience.

The plane is tiny! It can hold 19 passengers total + 2 pilots. You can select your seats ahead of time. If you want to see all the action, I highly advise selecting the seats right behind the pilot. 

As you fly in, you can see the towering mountains on the right-hand side. It reminded me of the Nāpali Coast in Kauai. Then you see the tiny little runway ahead of you. The pilot performs a short stop just before the runway ends, which is at the edge of a cliff that drops off steeply into the sea. 

It’s a nail-biter, and I can see why it was rated as “The 17 Scariest Airport Landings in the World” by Forbes.  I found out later that only highly-skilled pilots can fly into Saba, and they have to have special training to operate that flight. Don’t worry. Saba has an exceptional safety record. 

We paid around $220 per person for a round-trip ticket. A round-trip ferry ticket is $150 (if you don’t do same-day). The extra $70 was definitely worth it. 

Saba has yet to be fully discovered, but it’s only a matter of time before more people start traveling to this little jewel in the Caribbean. You need to spend at least a few days to discover all it has to offer. We did some incredible snorkeling while in Saba and hiked one of the most beautiful trails.

But remember part of the experience is how to get to Saba. Take the plane, and you will have the bragging rights you landed on the shortest commercial runway in the world! You will not regret it. 

Have you done the thrilling plane ride to Saba?

Let me know in the comments below!