Sint Eustatius
Small Caribbean Netherlands Island Of The 'First Salute' Of 1776, Fort Oranje, The Quill Volcano And The Statia Marine Park · Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, known to almost everyone as Statia, is a small volcanic island of about 21 square km in the north-eastern Caribbean, part of the Caribbean Netherlands, with roughly 3,000 residents, English as the everyday language and the US dollar as its currency. In the 18th century it was one of the busiest trading ports in the Americas, nicknamed the Golden Rock, and on 16 November 1776 the guns of Fort Oranje are said to have answered the salute of an American brig, the Andrew Doria - often described as the first salute of the American flag by a foreign power. Today the island is very quiet: the restored fort and the upper town of Oranjestad, the ruined warehouses of the lower town along the shore, the dormant volcano The Quill with rainforest inside its crater, and the Statia Marine Park with about 36 dive sites of walls, reefs, wrecks and scattered colonial relics. It suits divers, hikers and history lovers who want no crowds at all. The honest caveat: there are few beaches, few restaurants and limited services, and a large oil terminal dominates part of the coast.
Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands; Oranjestad upper and lower town, F.D. Roosevelt Airport and The Quill volcano, Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius, Netherlands
An all-year island. The outdoors has no opening hours: trails are walked in daylight and The Quill is best started early, before the heat. Fort Oranje can be walked around freely; the small museum keeps weekday daytime hours with shorter weekend hours - confirm. Dive centres run boats most mornings, weather permitting, and dives should be booked ahead. Winair flies from St Maarten (SXM) to F.D. Roosevelt Airport in about 20 minutes, roughly five times a day - confirm schedules. Buy the trail tag and marine park dive tags through the national parks foundation or your dive centre. Many shops and restaurants close on Sunday.