i give lessons on string instruments. If in case you will love to learn more about Violin, the  smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use.
I haven't ever played the violin but played the saxophone.  Is it at all similar?
Not at all. saxophone  is a family of woodwind instruments
what is the violin like?  guitars?
Yes guitar where as unlike guitar , The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths
Does it use the bow or can you strum it?
strings, though it can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow (col legno). 
Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition, both in ensembles (from chamber music to orchestras) and as solo instruments and in many varieties of folk music, including country music, bluegrass music and in jazz. Electric violins with solid bodies and piezoelectric pickups are used
Violin
The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused. The violin typically has four strings, usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its