www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Do you guys have a recommendation for a decent fishing charter out of the Jaco / Los Suenos area. I will be out there July 4th with about 6 or 7 friends and we want to go finishing on the 4th or 5th but the quotes we have received seem a bit inflated. I have a $2400 and a $2200 quote for a 8 person trip on a 42ft boat...this doesn't include fishing licenses, gratuity for the crew (15-20%) plus a new 13% VAT. So really the trip comes out to something like $3k or $400 a person roughly. I figured I could get something for $2k total, am I not being realistic?

Just wanted to throw this out there and see if you all can recommend a better boat or captain and let me know if this pricing is accurate and I should just pay it.

Thanks

DS

The guy we have been going with for the last 3-4 years just went up on his fees from $1800 to $2100 for 5 of us. He was open only one day for our 2020 Superbowl trip so he said he would get one of his 'friends to take us the second day for $2200. After just a little research we have reserved a boat with Maverick Sport Fishing ( mavericksportfish dot com) out of Los Suenos...they bought out the old Costa Rica Dreams and go out of the same dock Costa Rica Dreams used to go out of there in Los Suenos. They are $2100 for a full day on a 35' or 36' boat. It will be a bit more expensive on a bigger boat if you want to fit all 8 guys on one boat and even more expensive if you get 2 boats. Plus you still have the tip, Fishing Lic (we did not have to get one this past superbowl but they are only $15-20 if they force you to get one) and the 13% VAT which we have never had to pay as we have been dealing directly with the captain.

One alternative for a cheaper trip is to drive to Quepos which is about a 1 hour drive south of Jaco and charter a boat there. Contact John at queposfishadventure dot com. Please do yourself a favor and read the reviews on TripAdvisor. John is somewhat a of a shyster and a lot of people do not like him.. He'll meet you at the dock and take your money before even getting on the boat. A very dismissive attitude at best but I guess he has been burned by gringos not paying to many times and is the way he is for a reason. Our 3 or 4 trips with him have been good...nothing spectacular but trips where everybody on board landed a sailfish or 2. Worth checking out , prices are about 1/2 what Los Suenos charges but the boats are not near as nice and you have the hour or so drive each way. If you have a rental vehicle its a no brainer especially if you can wake up early enough to make the drive. Hell, just go down there one morning, fish spend the night in Quepos, fish the 2nd day then go back to Jaco.

Please read all the reviews on Trip Advisor before reserving with any of them. Good luck & I look forward to your report.

CostaReeker

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Boynton Has given you some solid advice and just by showing up at the beach in Herradura. You will be able to find a couple of boats to take you out for sure and possibly one larger one but the more expensive boats are usually in the Marina. Let them know you want to fish together on 2 boats though and you will have more fun cheaper. If you do not speak spanish you will have a bit of trouble on the beach though. We quit using the expensive boats as you usually end up with a boat ride and only a couple of fish. You will not get the luxury though on the boats you get off the beach 95% of the time. Puerto Jimenez or Gofito are much better to fish out of but you have a 4-5 hour drive unless you take a domestic flight on Sansa for about 250 round trip but be aware you might be delayed on your flight if there are not sufficent people booked as they will make you wait till a later flight if people are booked so they do not make a trip for only a couple of people.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Thanks for the info guys. We do all want to be on the same boat and all 8 of us probably won't fish. 5 will and the other 3 just want to come along for the ride and drink. We don't really want to waste time with driving so it sounds like the prices we've been quoted are typical. Maverick was actually one of the quotes we got back so we may just go ahead and use them. We're trying to accommodate the wishes of everyone so i'll let them know that either we pay the price or we split the group so that half can fish while the other half go fish for chicas or something.

Thanks again for all the input, very helpful !