Duration: Full Day · Price: From $249 USD per group of 1–4 · Difficulty: Moderate
About this tour
Marina Pez Vela in Quepos is built for fishing, and the boats that leave it every morning are serious — fully equipped offshore vessels with outriggers, fighting chairs, fresh bait prepared at the dock, and captains who have spent decades reading the Pacific weather and following the birds. This is not a scenic boat trip that happens to have rods. This is sport fishing done properly.
The waters off Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast are among the most productive in the Pacific for billfish. Sailfish are the daily quarry from November through April, running in numbers that make double and triple hookups a regular occurrence. Marlin patrol the deeper water beyond the shelf break, and from June through September, yellowfin tuna gather in schools large enough to show on sonar from a kilometer away. Your captain reads sea surface temperature charts before dawn and positions the boat where the warm current meets the cooler upwelling — that's where the fish stack.
Fighting a 40-kilo sailfish on 30-lb test line for twenty minutes is genuinely exhausting. The mates handle rigging and bait so your job is simply to fish. Catch-and-release is standard practice for billfish. Meat fish — mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo — can be kept and prepared at a local restaurant for dinner.
The $249 tour price covers round-trip transportation from San José and full coordination at the marina. The fishing charter itself is priced separately — we offer both half-day and full-day options at current market rates. Contact us for a quote and we'll match you to the right boat and package for your group.
What's included
- Round-trip transportation from San José
- Bilingual guide and full-day coordination
- Marina access and dockage
Not included
- Fishing charter (half-day and full-day options available — contact us for quote)
- Fishing tackle and bait (included with charter)
- Lunch and drinks on board (included with charter)
- Gratuities for crew
- Personal travel insurance
Good to know
- Drive from San José to Quepos is ~3.5 hours — plan for a full day
- Half-day charters: ~4 hours on the water. Full-day: 8+ hours
- Wear polarized sunglasses and a hat with a brim
- Pack sun protection and seasickness medication if prone
- Bring a change of clothes — you will get wet
- Free cancellation 48 hours prior