Ladder Bay, Saba: Where Everything Used to Arrive
Eight hundred steps down a cliff to the landing that supplied the island for centuries.
Why Go
Ladder Bay is the stony shore below The Bottom, and until Fort Bay harbour was built in the 1970s it was how Saba received the world. There is no road to it and there never was. Everything — barrels, timber, furniture, the stones of the churches, at least one piano — was landed on the rocks and carried up around eight hundred steps cut into the cliff face by hand. The Ladder is still there and still walkable, and going down and back up it is the single most affecting hour on the island.
The Experience
The steps begin at the western edge of The Bottom and drop steeply, switchbacking down the cliff with the sea opening out below. They are stone, uneven and completely unshaded, and the descent is deceptively easy — the climb back is where the point of the place lands. At the bottom there is a small customs house, long disused, and a stony shore with no beach to speak of. The bay is part of the marine park and the water is clear and deep close in. Standing at the foot of the steps and looking back up is the moment most people understand what the island's isolation actually meant, and why Saban families have a reputation for hardiness that the rest of the region takes seriously. The bay also settles an argument visitors sometimes have about whether Saba is difficult to reach. It is now a short flight or a ferry; within living memory it was these steps, and the island stayed small, self-reliant and unusually cohesive because of exactly that. The Ladder is the reason Saba is the way it is.
What to Try
Walk down and back, taking water and starting early — allow half an hour down and considerably longer up, and do not underestimate the return in the middle of the day. There is nothing at the bottom but the old customs house, the rocks and the sea, and that is the entire point. Snorkelling is possible from the shore when the water is calm and the bay is inside the marine park, though entries are over rock and it is not a casual swim. Back up in The Bottom, Saba Snack Gourmet, Rendez-Vous at the Ecolodge and Midway Bar are where to eat afterwards, and you will want to. The Saba Heritage Center in Windwardside puts the whole thing in context if you go before or after. Saba Wishes and the shops up in the capital cover anything you need before or after the descent.
Insider Tip
Do the Ladder early and treat the climb back as the real walk. The descent takes half an hour and feels trivial; the ascent is eight hundred steps with no shade and no water, and people who go down at midday regret it in a way they remember. Start at eight, carry more water than seems necessary, and go before you climb Mount Scenery rather than after — doing both in one day is possible and unpleasant.
The Practical Stuff
The Ladder starts from the western edge of The Bottom, about ten minutes from Fort Bay harbour and twenty from Windwardside by road. There is no vehicle access to Ladder Bay itself and never has been — the steps are the only way down. There is no shade, no water, no facilities and no supervision anywhere on the route. The bay lies within the Saba National Marine Park. Entries to the water are over rock and only advisable in calm conditions. Saba is a special municipality of the Netherlands using the US dollar, with English the everyday language. There is no beach here or anywhere else on the island. Saba is in the hurricane belt, roughly June to November.
Common Questions
What is the Ladder on Saba?
A stone stairway of around eight hundred steps cut into the cliff between The Bottom and the sea. Before Fort Bay harbour was built in the 1970s, everything arriving on the island came up it by hand.
How hard is the walk?
The descent takes about half an hour and feels easy. The climb back is the real walk — eight hundred steps with no shade, no water and no supervision. Start early and carry water.
Is there a beach at Ladder Bay?
No. There is a stony shore, a disused customs house and the sea. Saba has essentially no beach anywhere, which is one of the island's defining facts.
Can you swim or snorkel there?
In calm conditions, yes — the bay is inside the marine park and the water is clear and deep close in. Entries are over rock, so it is not a casual swim and conditions should be judged on the day.
Can you drive down?
No, and you never could. There is no road to Ladder Bay and the steps are the only access, which is precisely what made the island so hard to supply.
Should you do this and Mount Scenery on the same day?
It is possible and unpleasant. Both are long staircases in the sun; doing them on separate days, with the Ladder first, is much the better plan.
Pair It With
- The Ladder Guide — The climb that explains Saba's isolation.
- Saba National Marine Park Guide — The water at the foot of the steps.
- Saba Snack Gourmet Guide — Food at the top, and you will need it.
