COSTA RICA FISHING VACATIONS: QUEPOS

Every year about 115,000 people enjoy tropical Costa Rica fishing vacations. Most visit Costa Rica to catch billfish like marlin and sailfish as well as dorado but yellow fin tuna are also popular.

Indeed, Costa Rica fishing is BIG business. Sports fishermen and fisherwomen spent nearly $600,000,000 (excluding travel to Costa Rica) on their fishing vacations in Costa Rica in 2008, generating almost 2% of the country's gross domestic product and creating 63,000 jobs according to The Billfish Foundation.

I could, of course, simply regale you with the wonders of Quepos fishing or. . .

You can see for yourself why so many travel to Quepos Costa Rica for their fishing trip vacation.

Traveling to Quepos Costa Rica

Fortunately, the peak fishing season runs from December to August, though there are fish here year-round. March and April can get pretty hot and September and October can bring a lot of rain, typically in the afternoon.

TRAVEL TIP: December (particularly the last two weeks) and the week before Easter are also peak high vacation periods. Expect heavy traffic from San Jose to the Pacific coast and high season prices for everything from hotels to fishing tours. It's also advisable to book hotels in this region in advance during these periods.

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Getting to Quepos is easy.

There's a brand new highway from San Jose but Warning the traffic is a nightmare (think bumper-to-bumper for 50 miles) in late December and again the week before Easter.

Bus service is cheap and ubiquitous if you don't want to rent a car. We have the current Costa Rica bus schedule.

And, if you'd prefer to fly, there are several Costa Rica air charter companies.

What can you expect on Costa Rica fishing vacations to Quepos?

Of course, like fishing anywhere, some days are way better than others but it is often common to release a half dozen sails and even a marlin or two in a fishing day (this is catch and release country) and it's not unusual to hook more than a dozen sailfish.

There are also mahi mahi (dolphin), giant yellowfin tuna, wahoo, cubera, and roosterfish, not to mention several varieties of snapper, grouper, blue and rainbow runners, snook, jacks, and mackerel.

Fishing licenses are required for blue-water Costa Rica fishing vacations. It's the law! Licenses are $24/year but most charters don't include that cost.

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