Quepos Fishing Packages
Packages
Fishing Info
Seasons
Available Species
Accomodations
FAQ’s
Long before any world class marinas or luxury resorts were ever built, the small coastal town of Quepos had been known as the ‘fishing capital of Costa Rica’. Today the state of the art Marina Pez Vela now exists, and the fishing in Quepos is as good as it’s ever been thanks to bountiful sailfish and marlin numbers and increased protection for tuna and mahi. With its idealic location along the Central Pacific Coast, the boats can run north to fish near Los Suenos or south to fish close to the Osa Peninsula. The inshore fishing in Quepos for roosterfish and snook is also some of the best that Costa Rica has to offer thanks to various islands, reefs and three different major river mouths. The Quepos Fishing Packages below will give you an idea to the type of fishing vacations we can offer, but we will customize your package once you contact us. Trust our local expertise and you’ll see why nearly 40% of our guests are repeat & referral anglers!
Quepos Fishing Adventure
The Best of Costa Rica
Coast 2 Coast
Target: Roosterfish
Inshore Galore
Fly Fish Quepos
The Complete Local Expert Guide to Fishing in Quepos
Perhaps more than any other beach town in Costa Rica, Quepos is responsible for putting fishing in Costa Rica on the world map. The combination of calm seas and bountiful billfish numbers while offshore fishing, highly productive inshore fishing for roosterfish and Pacific snook, the Manuel Antonio National Park, abundant wildlife, and beautiful beaches was hard to beat – and still is today! For the anglers who have been fishing in Quepos since the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, there is no doubt that they’ll remember walking out on the big cement pier, “El Muelle”, and then putting their knees and ankles to the test walking down the floating ramp (which was often wet) to board their fishing boat. Today, Quepos is the proud home of the Marina Pez Vela, a world class marina that features 195 wet slips, shops, restaurants, and luxury condos. The Marina Pez Vela hosts several international billfish tournaments each year, including the biggest offshore fishing tournament in the world, the Offshore World Championship, every year since 2013. Quepos has long been one of our favorite destinations in Costa Rica since I caught my first roosterfish here back in 2003, but it’s been producing incredible fishing experiences for our guests for us the past twenty years. Check out our YouTube video to see why we love it:
Location and How to Get There
The town of Quepos, also referred to as Manuel Antonio, is located along Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast. Quepos is the town you’ll see on the map and where the marina is located, Manuel Antonio is the famous national park. The two are located about four miles apart, and the main road that connects them is where you’ll find all the best hotels, villas, and restaurants in the area so the names are used interchangeably. For all Quepos fishing packages, you will want to fly in and out of the Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose (SJO).
From San Jose we will take you down to Quepos in a private, air-conditioned van with a professional, insured English-speaking driver. The drive time between the SJO Airport and Quepos is approximately 3 hrs depending on traffic. One piece of advice that we give to all our guests is that they stop at the Rio Tarcoles to break up the drive as it is about the halfway point in your journey. Here you’ll find a couple local restaurants serving cold drinks and typical Costa Rican dishes. The main reason to stop here of course is to walk out on the bridge and look down on 15-25 totally wild American crocodiles below. The Rio Tarcoles is said to have one of the densest populations of crocodiles in the world, so seeing them beneath the bridge is almost a guarantee.
If your international flight arrives early enough into SJO, we can also fly you from San Jose down to Quepos on a short, 25-minute domestic flight. This is convienent and what a lot of our repeat guests prefer to, but it can be risky because if your international flight is delayed you may miss the domestic flight. The last flight of the day from San Jose down to Quepos is often 3-4 PM during the dry season.
Offshore Fishing in Quepos
Quepos, Costa Rica has been known as one of Central America’s premier offshore fishing destinations for the past several decades. As far back as the 1980s, international anglers started coming to Quepos because of its natural beauty, calm seas, and copious amounts of sailfish found swimming in these warm blue waters. Most days, the run to the offshore fishing grounds will be 22-30 miles away from the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, which typically takes 60-90 minutes depending on the boat. Some weeks the best action can be as far as 40-45 miles away, and on good weeks it can be found as close as 15-18 miles. Fishing out of Quepos gives you easy access to fish popular offshore spots like ‘El Furuno’ and ‘The 26’, which is also a great spot to speed troll for wahoo. Every year, especially in the green season, lucky anglers are surprised by black marlin who are also fishing the reef for a snack. It’s very common to see boats from the Los Suenos Marina and the Marina Pez Vela fishing in the same spot on some days.
Marlin
The species at the top of most offshore anglers’ bucket list is marlin. Quepos is home to blue marlin, black marlin, and striped marlin. While some months are historically better than others, we can (and do) catch marlin 12 months year. Marlin can be caught while trolling ballyhoo for sailfish, or they can be specifically targetted by slow trolling live bait like bonito. While the average marlin caught in Costa Rica is 300 lbs, some of our captains have the fame of catching 800-1,000 lb trophy marlin. We can also run our popular overnight trips out to the FADs from Quepos.
Sailfish
A day of targeting sailfish typically consists of slow trolling a combination of plastic teasers and ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks. Most Quepos charter boats will set some variation of a spread with a plastic teaser or squid daisy chain about twenty feet off each side of the stern and then two to three lines with ballyhoo on each side of the boat. Some captains will even run a long shotgun line from the tower to increase the odds of a hookup. The higher end boats and the more competitive captains will also troll dredges in an attempt to raise more fish. With as many sailfish that there are in the waters off Quepos, double and triple hookups on sailfish are quite common. It is also the best place to fly fish for sailfish as we have several offshore captains that specialize in fly fishing.
Yellowfin Tuna
The offshore fishing from Quepos certainly is not limited to trolling for billfish. While trolling for billfish, if you come across a pod of spinner dolphins that are swimming with tuna, the crew will quickly take down the spread and allow you to start fishing with cedar plugs, poppers, or keep trolling ballyhoo depending on how they are feeding. Some days the tuna only want live bait, so having live bonito in your tuna tubes or live blue runners (cojinua) in the livewell can make all the difference between going home empty handed versus home with fresh tuna.
Dorado (Mahi-Mahi)
The dorado (mahi) fishing is also excellent out of Quepos. In fact, the dorado numbers are so consinstenly good that the Marina Pez Vela hosts an annual Dorado Derby tournament every November – so that’s saying something if you get a tournament named in your honor! In front of Quepos there is often a current line less than 15 miles out that many boats will explore in the morning to see if there are any mahi. If not, they’ll head offshore and hope that you can spot a log or a garbage flow, which are common dorado hangout spots. Many dorado are simply caught on ballyhoo while trolling for billfish, but if you do spot a natural FAD that has live bait you can certainly troll or cast your way around it to see if there are any dorado lurking underneath it waiting for an easy meal.
Wahoo
The rarest of our pelagic species, Quepos is a great spot to target wahoo thanks to various offshore reefs and pinnacles. Everyone once in a while one is landed while trolling for billfish, but if this is on your target list then speed trolling Rapallas with wire leaders is the way to go.
Inshore Fishing in Quepos
When inshore fishing from Quepos, you’ll stay much closer to home and will always have the coastline in sight. Quepos is home to some of the best inshore fishing in Costa Rica due to the various rocky islands spread along the coastline, reefs, and three major river mouths. Hands down the best way to get bites while inshore fishing is using live bait. The bait in the area can be sardines, lookdowns, and the roosterfish favorite – blue runners. We can also troll live bonito in hopes of finding a large cubera snapper or amberjack, but many times in the past it ends up being a black marlin that takes the bait. For anglers who don’t enjoy trolling all day, you can also cast poppers and stick baits towards the various rocky islands or over reefs. Bottom fishing with chunk bait or jigging is also productive for edible fish like groupers, sea bass, amberjacks, and snapper.
Fishing the Rocky Islands
Once you arrive to Quepos, many of you will enjoy the stunning ocean views that your hotel or private villas offer. You will no doubt see a dozen volcanic islands just off the coast, including the largest Olocuita Island. These serve as the first set of structure that most inshore boats target and can be home to jacks, snappers and roosterfish. Being close to the marina and in front of the national park, they do get a lot of pressure from other boats. Farther south by Playa Domincal, there is a fantastic set of rocky islands the are great for casting poppers and swim baits to. Most local captains won’t run this far to fish these rocks, but our top inshore guides will so we can set you up with them if popper fishing is your style.
Fishing the Reefs
Jutting out from the mouth of the Naranjo River and the national park is a long, submerged reef that is great for inshore fishing. This reef is fished nearly every day by the local captains, yet with live bait it still produces an awful lot of roosterfish week after week! Our local captains also have various smaller reefs and pinnacles marked on their GPS that we can fish. If you want to target our biggest roosterfish, slow trolling live bait by these reefs and pinnacles is your best bet.
Fishing the River Mouths
Quepos is in the ideal spot surrounded by the Rio Parrita to the north and then Rio Savegre and Rio Naranjo to the south. Rio Naranjo and Savegre are the most common spots to catch large Pacific snook. Our best inshore captain has four IGFA world records for snook, all of them caught right in this area. The Rio Parrita to the north doesn’t tend to produce as many snook, but at the changing of tides it can produce insane amounts of jacks, snapper, and roosterfish. From our experience, when we catch huge numbers of juvenile roosterfish, they are patrolling right behind the surf break around this river.
Finding the Right Captain for Inshore Fishing
Many of the bigger offshore boats can take you inshore fishing, but for the best experience we prefer to fish with one of our dedicated inshore guides since they’ll be on smaller, more agile boats and they know the various spots better than anyone. We certainly have a few offshore captains that are very skilled at inshore fishing as well, but the key is that they don’t dedicate themselves to that fishery all day, every week like our specialized inshore captains do. Plus, if you really want to catch Pacific snook, you need to get as close as possible to the river mouths and that is only possible in a quicker, more agile center console with outboard motors as the larger sport fishers can’t get into the surf.
Fly Fishing in Quepos
Quepos has earned a reputation as one of the best fly fishing best destinations in Central America for the past few decades. More than all the other sport fishing destinations in Costa Rica, the fleet in Quepos has several captains that specialize in fly fishing and actually love to do it. The key is that most charter boats will say they can fly fish, but only some actually specialize in it and do it on a weekly basis. Some of our captains love it so much they will even provide the fly tackle for our anglers, which is a rarity in the fly fishing industry. When we plan your fly fishing vacation, we’ll make sure you are fishing with one of our trusted fly fishing captains.
Offshore Fly Fishing
The offshore fly fishing in Quepos is centered around the incredible billfish bite. With such high numbers of marlin and sailfish year after year, Quepos, Costa Rica is regarded as one of the top offshore fly destinations in Central America. The billfish action is historically so good that there was even an annual fly fishing tournament held here for many years in the early 2000s. We have curated a collection of experienced fly fishing captains are experts at teasing fish up behind the boat so that you can make a short cast and present your fly to an agitated billfish. While almost any charter boat in the marina will say that they can fly fish if you bring your own tackle, our dedicated fly fishing boats will provide all fly tackle, leaders, and flies that you need. While offshore you can also come across schools of yellowfin tuna and dorado that can be cast to. The months of November and December are particularly great to target large, adult mahi on the fly. We recommend 12 wt-14 wt rods for sailfish, while 16 wt rods are ideal if you are specifically targeting marlin.
Inshore Fly Fishing
Inshore flying fishing in Quepos is also available. The various islands, reefs, and river mouths hold a variety of species like jacks, mackerel, snook, snapper, and of course the prized roosterfish. We always make sure to tell our fly anglers that inshore fly fishing is actually much more difficult than offshore fly fishing as it involves a lot of blind casting. Sometimes you’ll blind cast towards structure like an island, other times near bait balls if you can find them. Another fun, but challenging method, is to have one angler (or the mate) cast a hookless popper to tease up fish and bring them closer to the boat so the fly angler can make a cast. This involves a lot of coordination between the teaser and the fly angler, and of course a lot of luck to have a fish follow your lure long enough for you to make an accurate cast. The ideal inshore set up is a 9 wt or a 10 wt rod with a large arbored reel to handle the scorching runs jacks and roosters will put you through. You will also want to have intermediate to full sinking line on your reel so that your flies can drop in the water column and fall into the natural strike zone of the fish.
Freshwater Fly Fishing
Last but not least, our best kept secret is the freshwater fly fishing available from Quepos. One of our favorite ways to spend a day is doing float trips down our nearby jungle rivers. The main target on this trip is the feisty machaca, but roncador, tepemachin, and even juvenile snook & snapper can be caught in these coastal rivers. You’ll float down the Class II-III Savegre River with our expert local guide as you cast towards the banks and aim for calm water behind rocks and under trees.
When is the Best Fishing in Quepos?
The peak fishing season in Quepos is December through April. That’s the common answer that most tourism or charter boat websites give, however that doesn’t tell the full story nor cover the nuances of the different species. Due to the combination of offshore, inshore, bottom fishing available, Quepos truly does offer great year-round fishing. The full answer is that the peak billfish season runs from December through April. Our peak mahi (dorado) months are October through December. The peak variety and meatfish season when we catch tuna, smaller mahi, and wahoo runs from May through November. The months of May through September are when we offer our overnight trips marlin fishing at the FADs. October is the slowest month of the year, in part because it is also the rainiest month of the year. This month many boats take the opportunity to come out of the water for repairs and paint jobs. Inshore fishing is productive year round, but is certainly better when the baitfish are around and the water is clear. Below you can review our Quepos fishing calendar and the best fishing by species, but keep in mind these are historical patterns, not an exact science as every year is different. Our twenty year history has also taught us that El Niño and La Niña years affect the fishing in different ways
When is the Best Marlin Fishing in Quepos?
The peak marlin fishing months in Quepos are December, January, and February. Those months are the start of our dry season, so the waters are clear, blue and full of baitfish. This immediately follows the peak mahi run of Octobter & November, plus with the increased tuna population thanks to new commercial fishing laws set in 2022, there are plenty of fish to keep the marlin around. Once we move into March and April the water temps warm up a bit and the marlin bite slows down as the sailfish bite heats up, but they are certainly still around. One of the most overlooked time to marlin fish in Quepos is during our green season months of June, July, and August. This is a particularly good time to catch black marlin, which are often found on the deep water reefs when we are targetting cubera snapper or wahoo. I’ve personally caught blue marlin in September so we can truly catch them any month of the year, but if this is your target species we can help you plan your trip to be here at the right time and on the right boat.
When is the Best Time to Catch Sailfish in Quepos?
The best months to catch sailfish in Costa Rica are December through April, which is considered our peak billfish season. Not coincidentally, this coincides with the dry season, or summer, months in Costa Rica so the seas are calm, flat, and filled with clear blue water. Better evidence of this is that all of the major billfish tournaments that the Marina Pez Vela hosts are held from January through April. That doesn’t mean that sailfish simply leave the area during our green season months of May to November, we will catch sailfish every month of the year, but the numbers are higher from December to April. June & July are sneaky good months for sailfish most years.
When is the Best Time to Catch Dorado in Quepos?
The best months to catch dorado in Quepos are October through December. This is the annual peak mahi run, where not only do we catch a ton of fish, most of them are large, mature adults. Better evidence of this is that the annual Dorado Derby touranment is held every November, so the numbers are pretty good in order to form a tournament around one specific species! Once we get into the peak billfish months of Dec-Apr we will still catch mahi, and usually big mature fish, but it’s typically one or two a day. When we move into our green season months like May, June, and July, we can find huge quantities of fish, but these tend to be the smaller schoolies and juvenile sized fish.
When is the Best Tuna Fishing in Quepos?
The answer to this question used to be “in our green season”, but thanks to new commercial fishing laws we truly catch them 12 months a year. Commercial boats have been pushed out to 80 miles, so we’ve all seen a drastic and tangible increase in tuna numbers the past five years. Rather than a seasonal treat, it’s more of a weekly occurence now.
When is the Best Time to Catch Roosterfish in Quepos?
The best roosterfish bite in Quepos is during the dry season, December through April. Roosterfish are not particularly fond of freshwater, green water, or dirty water, so the best roosterfish action tends to be during our dry season when the coastal waters are clear blue. That said, they are not a highly migratory fish like the pelagics, so we do catch them 12 months a year. May, June, and July are very good months too because the afternoon rains start to push the bait out of the rivers, so while we don’t catch as many roosterfish this time of year, they do tend to be bigger. The slowest months are August, September, and October as those are the rainiest months in Quepos. My personal best day was 7 roosterfish, and that was in December. The all-time Central America Fishing record is a whopping thirty four roosterfish (34!) in a single day, set in January 2024 by the Johnson family right here in Quepos.
When is the Best Snook Fishing in Quepos?
The best snook fishing in Queops is January through May. The fishing for Pacific snook has grown in popularity over the years, in large part due to several different IGFA world records being set in the waters around Quepos. During the dry season months, they can’t access the rivers as easily so they spend more time in the coastal waters, where anglers like us can target them. Once the rainy season is in full affect, it opens up more territory for them and makes them much harder to find. All of the world records for Pacific snook were caught during the dry season months of January to April.
All About the Marina Pez Vela
The pride of Quepos is the new Marina Pez Vela. Talked about and partially built for over a decade, it finally opened in 2012 and instantly brought the small fishing town into the 21st century. For those of us who fished here in the 90s and early 2000s, we remember walking out on the long cement pier, known as “El Muelle”, and signalling to our boats idling in the distance to come pick us up from a floating platform. In 1999 the lease was given to finally build the marina, but when the economy crashed in 2008 the project came to a grinding halt barely a quarter of the way finished. Fortunately, new investors picked up the plan and finally completed the first building in 2012. The classic Costa Rican fishing town finally had it’s modern marina, not just to rival the Los Sueños Marina to the north, but any marina in Central America.
Today the Marina Pez Vela boats 195 wet slips and the ability to accommodate yachts up to 200 ft long. Every slip has fiber optic interet and digital cable wired to it, making it extremely attractive to leisure yachts and fishing boats alike. It also offers 40 dry rack spots that can house boats up to 38′ long. The yacht yard is one of the finest in Central America with a lift system that has a 200 ton capacity. Last but not least, the marina village is inviting to anglers and non-anglers alike. It offers multiple restaurants ranging from sea food to pub food to a gelatore store. There is a guest center, a dive shop, and offices for numerous adventure activities like jet skis and catamaran cruises. There are also several shops including a tackle shop, a souvenier shop, clothing stores, a mini mart, and the first and only Pelagic store outside of the United States. You even have the ability to stay right in the heart of the action and walk to your boat in the morning by staying at the Marina Pez Vela Villas. These eight luxury villas range from 2-bedroom to 3-bedroom units and come fully furnished with everything you need to enjoy a luxury fishing vacation with your family or fishing buddies.
One of the aspects that we love about it is that it’s completley open to the public. Unlike many marinas that are private for boat owners or tourists with a reservation, locals and tourists alike enjoy meandering through the marina village and gazing at the boats on the water. The marina is also more family friendly than others, as evidenced that on Friday nights they play free movies in it’s amphitheater on an inflatable screen. Every year during the month of December they hang Christmas lights and have a boat parade for all to see. The marina has done a masterful job of creating both employment opportunities for locals and entertainment options for all it’s visitors.
Of course Costa Rica being one of the world’s leaders in it’s green initiatives, in January 2024 the Marina Pez Vela was proud to annouce they were the first marina in Central America to offer 100% polished diesel fuel. The fuel passes through six filtration stages and 24 microfilters before it touches any boat. In addition to improved efficiency and extended engine life for boat owners, it also provides reduced emissions.
Quepos Fishing Charters
The charter fleet in Quepos is as diverse as the fishery itself. Being one of the best billfishing destinations in Central America, the marina is full of high end offshore sport fishing boats. However due to the incredible inshore fishing, there is also a fleet of smaller center consoles and super pangas that dedicate themselves to that type of fishing. In the Marina Pez Vela you’ll find a mix of expat captains, mainly from the US, as well as local Tico captanis. Unlike most other marinas in Costa Rica, in Quepos you still still find quality charter boats for around $1,000/day.
Offshore Fishing Boats
We have three tiers of offshore fishing boats in Quepos: Small (26′-34′), Medium (36′-42′), and Large (45′-60′). All of the offshore boats will have bathrooms, but the the Medium and Large boats typically have air conditioned salons as well. For the smaller offshore boats, 3-4 anglers is ideal. The medium sized boats are great for groups of 4-6. They are also an upgraded choice over the smaller boats as they are typically faster, more luxurious, and have air condtioned salons. For larger groups or those looking for a VIP charter fishing experience, we have a few luxury yachts that earn rave reviews every time they take our customers out fishing. While a bigger boat doesn’t guarantee more fish, it does guarantee a faster ride and a more luxurious experience inside and out. If the bite is 18-25 miles out, any boat in the marina can and will catch fish. The difference is that when it’s a challenging week and the bite is 40-50 miles away, only the best and fastest boats will make the long run to ensure that our guests catch fish.
Inshore Fishing Boats
While many of the same offshore boats say that they can take you inshore fishing, the truth is that we only have a select few captains that actually excel at and enjoy doing both inshore and offshore fishing. Oftentimes we often prefer to have you fish on a dedicated inshore boat with a captain who knows the tides, the best spots and who does this type of fishing every day. Our inshore captains typically drive smaller, more agile boats with outboard motors to get you close to the islands and river mouths where the fish can elude larger boats.
How to Pick Your Charter Boat in Quepos
Using an online booking site is one way to go about it, but most of our best captains don’t even list themselves on those types of faceless sites. In fact, we have relationships with a few captains that don’t work with bookings sites or any travel agencies for that matter. Due to our experience of living, working, and fishing here for the past 20 years, we have connections and contacts to make sure our CAF guests are fishing with the best captains in the marina. Every captain has a different personality, and every boat has different pros and cons, so trust our local knowledge to hand pick the perfect fishing charter for your group.
All our Quepos fishing charters are private so the boat is 100% yours, we do not set up shared charters or party boats. All Quepos fishing charters include bait, tackle, gas, lunch, snacks, and drinks (beer/water/soda). A quality tip for your crew is generally 15%-20% of the cost of the charter.
Quepos Fishing Tournaments
One of the first things that the Marina Pez Vela did was create a series of fishing tournaments that were fun and accessible to all. Unlike the prestigous Los Sueños Triple Crown that carries an entry fee of $15,000 per team, the Quepos fishing tournaments are often only $500-$1,000 per team. The Los Suenos Triple Crown is also strictly a billfishing tournament, whereas the tournaments in Quepos feature and reward various offshore species. I was fortunate enough to fish in the first ever Marina Pez Vela open in 2013 as well as the Rooster Rodeo with one of CAF’s longest running repeat guest back in 2022, so I can tell you first-hand that they are well run and a ton of fun. Below is a list of the fishing tournaments hosted at the Marina Pez Vela.
Pelagic Rock Star Offshore Tournament
Normally held in January, this is said to be the largest and richest tournament in Central America with over $1,000,000 in prizes. There are different divisions for different sized boats and prizes for marlin, sailfish, tuna, and dorado. The legendary shotgun start is something you don’t want to miss.
Rooster Rodeo
Normally held in February each year, this one day tournament is all about catching and releasing as many roosterfish as possible.
Pescadora Billfish Championship
This two-day tourney is proud to be a womens-only tournament. It has grown in popularity each year and is typically in mid to late Feb.
Sailfish Slam
This fun, one-day tourney only costs $300 to enter. Held in March, it’s all about sailfish!
Marina Pez Vela Open
The flagship tournament of the marina, this one-day tourney has prizes for marlin, sailfish, tuna, and dorado.
Dorado Derby
One of the most fun tournaments of the year, the Dorado Derby has been around since 2021. There are two, one-day tournaments held in November during the peak dorado run. Nothing else matters, just dorado (mahi-mahi)
The Offshore World Championship (OWC)
The grand-daddy of them all, the OWC is said to be the largest offshore tournament in the world. The Marina Pez Vela has been proud to host it since 2013 as teams from all over the world come to fish in this invite-only tournament.
Available Species Fishing in Quepos
Offshore Fishing
Black Marlin
Blue Marlin
Striped Marlin
Sailfish
Yellowfin Tuna
Dorado
Wahoo
Inshore & Bottom Fishing
Roosterfish
Cubera Snapper
Jack Crevalle
Horse-eye Jack
Bluefin Trevally
Squirrelfish
Schoolmaster Snapper
Red Snapper
Lane Snapper
Black Grouper
Broomtail Grouper
Barracuda
Mackerel
Needlefish
Quepos / Manuel Antonio Accommodations
The Manuel Antonio area offers so much more than just sport fishing, it’s also home to beautiful beaches, wildlife, and Costa Rica’s most visited national park, Manuel Antonio. For multiple reasons, the area has been attracting visitors to the area since the 70’s and 80’s, so there is no shortage of options when it comes to accommodations in Quepos and Manuel Antonio.
Hotels & Resorts
As one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica, there is no shortage of luxury 4 and 5-star hotels in the Manuel Antonio area. However since it’s been popular for decades, many of the most popular hotels are a few decades old now. With a finite amount of space and real estate at a premium, there simply isn’t a lot of room for new properties to be built. Most hotels in the area are 40 rooms or less, the largest is El Parador at 130 rooms. You won’t find any all inclusive resorts or fishing lodges in Quepos/Manuel Antonio, rather a selection of quality boutique hotels. If you don’t need ocean views, there are a few more economical 3-3.5 star hotels that offer great service and rainforest views for a fraction of the cost of the most popular hotels.
Private Villas & Condos
For larger groups and families, there are also several private villas and condo rentals available in Manuel Antonio/Quepos. The properties in Manuel Antonio tend to offer stunning views of the Manuel Antonio National Park and the islands just off the coast, while the private rentals in Quepos tend to offer views of the marina. We have hand-picked a selection of private rentals that range from 1-bedroom units to lavish 8 or 10-bedroom villas. Nearly all private villas will offer full kitchens and private pools, so it’s a great way to spend a vacation with family or friends. If you want to be able to walk to your boat in the morning, the Marina Pez Vela Villas are eight, luxury fully furnished 2 and 3-bedroom condos that sit on the second floor of the marina village.
Can I Stay at an Airbnb in Manuel Antonio / Quepos?
Yes. As Airbnb has become more of a mainstream option, there are countless options in the area. We have connections to over 50 units in Manuel Antonio, ranging from budget-friendly 1 & 2 bedroom condos to luxury private villas with ocean views. All of the Airbnb’s that we offer have been personally vetted by us and come with a concierge and maid service throughout your stay, so you will not be left to fend for yourselves. Just like with our hotels and villas, when you book an Airbnb property through us it costs you the exact same as booking it online by yourself.
Are there alll inclusive resorts or fishing lodges in Manuel Antonio / Quepos?
No, there are no all inclusive resorts or fishing lodges in Manuel Antonio / Quepos. The majority of the all inclusive resorts are located in Northern Pacific region known as Guanacaste. In Manuel Antonio you’ll find boutique hotels, private condos, and luxury villas.
Just like the fishing boats themselves, we will hand pick the best fit for you once we start customizing your Quepos fishing package.
Quepos Day Tours & Non-Fishing Activities
- Canopy zip-line tour
- ATVs
- White Water Rafting
- Horseback Riding to a Waterfall
- Guided Tour of Manuel Antonio National Park
- Guided Tour of nearby Private Nature Reserves
- Catamaran Cruise + Snorkeling
- Surfing
- Jet skies
- Parasailing
- Spice Farm
- Mangrove Tour (by boat or kayak)
- River float fishing trip
Planning Your Fishing Trip to Quepos
As you can see, there is a lot to consider when planning a Quepos fishing vacation. You can spend hours researching when to visit, where to stay, and who to fish with – or you can just contact the local fishing experts and we’ll make the vacation planning quicker, easier, and mistake free for you. Using twenty years of experience living, working, and fishing here in Costa Rica, we’ll make sure you are in the right spot, at the right time, and fishing with the best captains available.
At Central America Fishing, there are no fees or extra charges when we help you plan your Quepos fishing adventure, so spending time trying to figure this all out on your own doesn’t save you any money anyway. We always charge the same rates as the hotels, tour companies, and fishing boats, so when you work with us you’ll receive 20 years of experience as local sport fishing outfitters plus the same direct pricing that you’d see anywhere else online. With our decades of experience in the sport fishhing industry, we have contacts and operators that you’d never find online on your own.
Whether it’s a hardcore fishing trip, a family vacation, a honeymoon or anniversary trip, we’ll manage all the in-country travel logistics and then hand-pick the perfect accommodations, day tours, and fishing boats to make sure that your vacation with us is one of the best you’ve ever had. We are very proud that 40% of our groups are repeat & referral guests. Call us anytime at 855-414-3474 or submit and inquiry and we’ll get back to you within 24 hrs to start planning your dream fishing vacation!
What Our Guests Love
About Quepos Fishing
Quepos is one of the best billfishing destinations in the world. Whether you are hoping to catch and release your very first billfish or a seasoned angler visiting us on your annual fishing trip, the combination of calm seas, skilled local captains, and a healthy billfish population are hard to beat. Anglers have been visiting here for decades and it there is now slowdown in site.
Unlike many saltwater sport fishing destinations that only offer fishing, Quepos offers something for everyone. For the hardcore anglers, they can enjoy world class inshore and offshore fishing from a new modern marina. For non-anglers, or for the anglers who simply have a free day, you can enjoy tours like canopy zip-line, ATVs, white water rafting, horseback riding, jet skis, parasailing, and snorkeling. Of course being home to the famous Manuel Antonio National Park, the beaches and wildlife are as good as it gets in Costa Rica.
The new Marina Pez Vela has completely transformed fishing in Quepos. No longer do anglers need to walk down a slippery ramp to a floating dock that bounces in the waves, now they can stroll down the docks of the first-class, modern marina. More than just a safe haven for sport fishing boats, the Marina Pez Vela is a destination itself with various shops, bars, and restaurants in its quaint marina village.
What We Love
About Quepos Fishing
Quepos has been a world-famous sport fishing destination for decades and now it’s home to the prestigious Marina Pez Vela, yet it still manages to remain authentically Costa Rican. Unlike a lot of sport fishing destinations where ex-pat captains have cornered the market, many of the best captains in the Marina Pez Vela are locals from Quepos. The marina is open to the public as well, not just tourists or boat owners, so it has become part of the Quepos scene over the past decade.
Unlike many billfish destinations, Quepos is not a one-trick pony. Yes, the fishing for sailfish and marlin here can rival any destination in the world, but the inshore fishing is fantastic as well with opportunities to catch roosterfish, jacks, snappers, grouper, mackerel and world-record sized Pacific snook. Many of our groups prefer to mix a few days of offshore fishing with a day of inshore fishing to experience the variety of species we have here.
Our fleet of boats ranges from 26′ super pangas that are perfect for inshore fishing to 55′ luxury yachts. The majority of our groups fish on 31′-45′ sport fishers as that is the most common sized boat in the marina and the perfect fit for groups of 2-6 anglers. Thanks to our curated selection of boats that we’ve fished on ourselves, we have the ability hand pick the perfect boat and captain for your group. We even have specialized fly fishing captains for those that want to try and land a sailfish or marlin on the fly.
Costa Rica Fishing FAQs
Do I need a fishing license to fish in Costa Rica?
YES. All anglers need a fishing license to fish in Costa Rica. These are sold by the Instituto Costarricense de Pesca y Aquacultura, or INCOPESCA as they are known here. Unfortunately their website has functionality and language issues so it’s not easy to use, so you can buy the license in the morning right before you fish for the first time. The cost is $15 for one week or $30 for one month and it must be paid in cash.
How many people will be on my fishing boat?
All fishing charters booked by Central America Fishing are private, so the boat is 100% yours. We do not set up any shared charters.
What is the standard tip for a fishing charter in Costa Rica?
A standard tip for a charter fishing crew in Costa Rica is 10%-20% of the cost of the charter. Most captains are paid a low salary with the idea they’ll earn more tips the more they fish, but many mates rely 100% on tips for their income. Tipping in USD or Costa Rican colones is fine. We recommend giving the entire tip to the captain and let him divide it up with the mate.
Can I bring my own fishing gear?
OF COURSE! Even though our private charters provide all the fishing tackle and bait you’ll need, you are always welcome to bring your own lures, reels, and even rods if you want to catch fish using your own tackle. Fly anglers are always encouraged to bring their own fly gear.
Which fish in Costa Rica are catch and release and which ones can I keep to eat?
By law, all billfish in Costa Rica are strictly catch and release. While not a law, we also strongly encourage releasing all roosterfish, tarpon, and cubera snapper as they are such prized inshore species. Other species like tuna, dorado (mahi), wahoo, snappers, groupers, corvina, snook can be kept and enjoyed for a fresh seafood dinner.
Can I bring fish back home with me to my own country?
If you really want to enjoy your catch our best advice is to eat it while it’s fresh here in Costa Rica. We understand many of you love the idea of a Costa Rican seafood dinner in the comforts of your own home, so the good news is there is no law against it and people do it all the time. However – we do not have the final say in this so there are some things you need to keep in mind:
1 – Unlike some other popular fishing destinations, in Costa Rica there is no service that will package and ship fish home for you. If you want to bring fish home with you you’ll have to do it yourself in your own luggage. Our best advice is to bring down a soft sided, leak-proof cooler, have your fish frozen completely solid, wrap them in newspaper, and then check your cooler as part of your luggage since it will stay cooler in the cargo hold of the plane versus in the cabin as a carry-on. If you don’t have a cooler or forget to bring one, you can purchase affordable plastic coolers here in local grocery stores.
2 – While Costa Rica does not prohibit you from bringing fish fillets home with you, your international airline might. We strongly recommend you confirm this with your airline (in writing if possible) or you may have the fish confiscated from you at the airport check-in.
3 – Even if your airline lets you fly the fish home, your local customs may have an issue with you bringing in meat products from a foreign country. In our experience most customs agents don’t seem too interested in you bringing back frozen fish fillets from your fishing vacation to Costa Rica, but it can depend on the agent and depend on the day.
What if there is bad weather on our fishing day?
First of all, it is extremely rare to have a fishing day cancelled due to bad weather. Costa Rica is too far south for hurricanes, and on top of that we custom design every single one of our Costa Rica fishing packages to factor in not only where you’ll have the best fishing but also the best weather & sea conditions for the time of year you visit us.
It does happen every once in a while however, so if the captain, local marina, or government deem the conditions are unsafe the trip will be cancelled. The first course of action is to try and reschedule you, but if that is not possible you will be refunded in full.
Please note that rain and dark clouds are not considered bad weather. We are in the tropics and rain is a common occurrence here so that is not a cause for cancelling the trip. Many great fishing days happen in the rain – as they say the fish are wet anyway!
Why Fish With CAF?
We have been fishing, living, and traveling around Central America since 2003. Plan your trip with local experts to make sure you are in the right place, at the right time, and on the right boat. We’ll help you fish for what you want, the way you want.
Free vacation planning + the best direct rates. No booking fees!
Personalized service from pre-arrival to 24/7 in-country support.
Hand-picked accommodations, fishing captains, expert guides for the best vacation experience.
Nearly 40% of our anglers are repeat & referral guests. CAF puts you on the fish!
We are proud to have a global reach and have hosted anglers from 14 different countries here in Central America!
About the Author
I first visited Costa Rica during a semester abroad in 2003 and instantly fell in love with the language, culture, and natural beauty. I caught my first roosterfish on that trip, and ever since then I knew that I wanted to live here. After graduating in 2004, I worked for a year in the corporate world, but I was unhappy and unstimulated, so I returned to live in Costa Rica full time in 2005. Today I can proudly say that I’ve been in Costa Rica for half of my life, I met my wife here, and my two boys were born here so they are “Ticos”.
I’ve been working in the sport fishing industry in Central America for twenty years, I’ve had articles published in fishing magazines, hosted fishing TV shows, fished in several tournaments, and I’m a four-time IGFA trophy club member. I am however most proud to say that 40% of our anglers are repeat and referral guests. I’ve personally visited every destination, hotel, and fishing lodge that we partner with so that your next vacation with us is one of the best you’ve ever had.
Chris Atkins - Angler & Owner of Central America Fishing
All fishing vacations booked with Central America Fishing include the following:
- Free Vacation Planning (no fees + direct rates)
- VIP Airport Meet & Greet upon arrival into SJO
- Private, air-conditioned transfers with English speaking driver.
- Luxury, private accommodations hand-picked and customized for your group. Choose between private condos & villas, luxury beach resorts, exclusive boutique hotels, and fishing lodges.
- Private fishing charters
- All eco / adventure tours you’d like to include
- All Costa Rican taxes
- Free quotes on travel insurance
- Pre-arrival assistance with dinner reservations, tee times, pre-stocking your condo or villa, hiring a private chef, and special requests.
- 24/7 support once you are here in country
Most Popular Fishing Packages
– COSTA RICA – 
Los Suenos Fishing
Costa Rica Tarpon Fishing
Costa Rica Fly Fishing
– PANAMA – 
Panama Sport Fishing
Panama Tuna Fishing
Panama Fishing Lodges
– BELIZE – 
Belize Fly Fishing
Belize Permit Fishing
Belize Tarpon Fishing
– GUATEMALA – 