Cabo San Lucas is known as “The Marlin Capital of the World” and it is home to some of the best sport fishing in general. Anglers come from around the world to catch the striped, black, and blue marlin and many more of the 5,000 different species living in the Sea of Cortez. Whether you are a rookie angler or a seasoned pro, everyone can have a great time reeling in the biggest catch of their life out on the Los Cabos waters. Sport fishing in Cabo San Lucas has brought in some of the best charter boat companies, tournaments, and anglers from all over. You can charter a smaller 4 man boat or celebrate with all your friends on one of the state-of-the-art all inclusive yachts that can host up to 25 guests. If you are planning a trip to Cabo San Lucas, do not pass up the opportunity to go sport fishing, it is an adventure you will remember forever.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing - General Information
Los Cabos Charter Boats: It is highly recommended that you reserve a charter boat far in advance, and at latest up to one week before you arrive in Cabo San Lucas. You can reserve anything from a shared charter to help lower the costs if you only have one or two people all the way up to 8, 12, and 25 person super yachts. View a list of Cabo San Lucas sport fishing charters or read advice on sharing a fishing charter.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Costs: A smaller vessel that will fit up to four people will generally cost around $500 for an eight hour day, not including taxes, fees, gratuity, cleaning and freezing, etc. If you have a large group, expect to pay upwards of $1,500 for a whole day on a nicer boat or $2,800+ for a yacht. It is expected that you tip your captain anywhere between 10-20% of the total charter price, which he will share with his deckhand. Tipping should be related to their quality of service, not for the amount of fish you caught on the trip. If you plan on keeping any fish, you will have to pay for the cleaning and freezing once you get back to the docks; price depends on size of fish.
Catch and Release: Although the Los Cabos area is well known for its abundance of large sailfish, you are only legally allowed to bring in one sailfish per day. Most anglers will catch and release all of their sailfish and bring in the smaller game fish that are great for eating like tuna, Dorado, Wahoo, and yellowtail. Bring your fresh fish back to your resort’s restaurant and for a small fee they will cook your fish for dinner that evening… nothing better than fresh fish that you caught with your own hands.
What to Bring: After several margaritas the night before and an early meeting time with your captain, people will often forget the bare essentials. Here are several items that you must remember if you want the fishing trip to be fun for your group: sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, warm clothes for the early morning, camera, Dramamine for sea sickness (take one hour prior to setting sail), lunch and beer if you didn’t pay in advance for them to be included, and towel for when you get wet.
Cabo San Lucas Fishing Season: Sport fishing is great year around in Baja, but there are several months where the big prized marlins are biting. If you want to catch a blue or black marlin, your best bet is to head down sometime between June and October. View our entire Cabo San Lucas fishing calendar for a complete breakdown of what fish are biting and when. Read over our insider fishing tips to ensure a successful adventure your next time visiting Baja California.
Complete Cabo San Lucas Fishing Guide
Reviews
We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed Villa del Arco. We were thrilled upon check-in at 1:00pm that our room was already cleaned and ready and had a beautiful view of the full ocean. The restaurant was open until 11pm and that was a pleasant surprise in that it allowed for greater flexibility. The rooms were spacious and the 3 bathrooms were wonderful for a family of 5, especially when the 3 children are teenagers. The washer/dryer amenity was a plus as we used it several times over the five days. The service was excellent and although the dinner menu was a little fancy for the kids, they made it work. After we went deep sea fishing and caught a mahi-mahi, the restaurant prepared and cooked or fish for us which was a nice treat. It made for a special dinner. The boys loved the taco bar and the quesadillas from the restaurant and actually ate lunch twice a day a few times. We went to the market and filled the fridge with Gatorade and snacks; that was a great suggestion! The boys used the kayaks provided by the resort and "surfed" for hours in the ocean. We met a nice couple at the pool who had only a master suite and shared with us that they paid the same amount for the all-inclusive option as we did for 5 "adults" in a master suite with an adjoining 1 bdroom suite, because they booked through a traditional method. I'm not sure we will ever want to stay in a regular hotel room ever again, or book with anyone besides you guys. Thank you for your help and we look forward to booking our yearly Cabo trip(s) with you again. Thanks again, Rebecca
Rebecca H., Cypruss, tX
Just wanted to thank you for helping us book the Villa in Cabo. Everything turned out great, and the place was nice.
Hiten
We wanted to send a quick note to say that we SO enjoyed our family vacation. It was exactly what we hoped for! We did not do any of the extra excursions or tours because we had 2 little ones with us but we had a wonderful relaxing vacation and we were beyond comfortable in our lovely room. After our first night the hotel was able to accommodate our request and move us to a ground floor room with patio/pool access (room 1105) and it was perfect for our family. We arrived in the evening and declined to tour the resort the next morning, so we didn't buy the timeshare but its very possible that we will return again.
Thank you for all your help!
Also have to say that the transportation was great and felt very safe.
Best,
Austin & Gabriela
Austin & Gabriela Longfish, Davis, CA
Our stay at Villa Los Arcos was excellent. The food was exceptional (and even though our package was a special offer that did not include any costs for the inclusive package, I would recommend the inclusive package to anyone planning a vacation there, as it eliminated a lot of headaches such as meal planning, taxi fares and having to watch every nickel). With 3 hungry teenagers along for the trip, this was totally the way to go. The accommodations were outstanding, in excellent repair, and the staff at Los Arcos was friendly and accommodating. Of the three resorts that are all in the same area, I found the staff at Los Arcos to be the friendliest. The staff at the sister neighboring resort (I can't recall the name) were not nearly as outgoing and friendly, possibly because of the genre those resort were more geared to (younger kids and parents).
Thanks for lining us up with this package. It was an outstanding price and a great deal.
John T., Benicia, CA
Bob our stay way amazing...thanks again. You are a class act and this was a great gesture. The service was great to use on the way back. We will for sure use them again on our next trip.
Michael B., CA
What a place!! My girlfriends and I had an exceptional time in Cabo! Villa 3201 was incredible! Spacious (plenty of room for 8 comfortably), clean, updated, warm, and inviting, not to mention the view!!! The catering services we used on site were top notch. I was expecting a Mexican taco bar brought to the villa in aluminum trays and on a more "serve yourself" type fare. Not so! It was a full-on 5 course personally served gourmet meal! What a pleasant surprise! The staff couldn't have been more professional. From the time we stepped off the plane until we got back to the airport! PERFECT! Thank you, Bob, for all your help. You went above and beyond and I so appreciate it! Sorry we didn't ever connect but maybe next time! Take care and thanks again for everything!
Cheers!
Mary B.
The picture is the night of the Mexican taco bar! (I'm in the pink!!) :)
Mary Buntmann, Greenwood Colorado
We had a really great time on our family vacation. The two bedroom suite we had was absolutely beautiful. The view was super. We could see the ocean and the pool. I really liked that the bldg. we were in (3) was shaded in the evening so we could sit on the deck and relax. The Villa del Arco was a really nice choice. The nachos and Guacamole at the pool were very good. The service was great too at the pool. We met some great people. I liked that this resort was not constantly noisy with the music or people. The view out to Lands End was great. We went to town couple times and we had so much fun. Love the culture. Our kids are 18 & 22 and they loved it too. Love the food and the drinks and the shopping.
We definitely will be back.
Thank you Bob for setting us up at a really nice place-we had a super family vacation.
Patty Steinkamp from Iowa
Patty Steinkamp, Iowa
We had a wonderful stay at the Villa Del Arco. Our room had an amazing view of the pool and ocean. It was perfect for our family. We did 2 timeshares, one at Cabo Villas and one at the Del Arco. We saved a lot of money booking thru you and you gave us the best deal around. I am so glad I found your web site and will be calling you next year to book another week at the Del Arco if available.
Shawna S., Scottsdale AZ
Gail and I had a fabulous time. The Villa de Arco was as advertised and our room was exactly as the pictures you sent. As you remember we had scheduled to stay 5 days in 1601, then move to 1501 for the last two nights. The guests coming to stay in 1601 called the hotel and were stuck in the states so we got to spend our whole stay in 1601, a nice treat. We enjoyed the fresh desserts delivered to our door nightly by the head chef and the little touches by the maid staff (towels that looked like swans and a turned down bed designed differently every night). The transportation to and from the airport was timely and efficient. This time of year was a bit muggy and we did get rained on 2 1/2 days, limiting our water activities but so what. It even rained so much one night that our ceiling leaked and the staff offered to move us to another room. Not necessary as it dried up quickly and was no real bother at all. All in all a tremendous stay and well worth it. We look forward to using your services again. Tommy & Gail O'Rourke
Tommy & Gail O'Rourke
I wanted to say thank you for the special birthday wish (Cake, Wine & Bday cake made-up towels covered with confetti) when we arrived at the hotel. I assume you were behind that and had called ahead to let the staff know of my special occasion. I didn't realize until we got to the room (with King bed as requested) why the front desk staff were talking and surprised at how young I looked for 50 even though I had said nothing upon check-in about my birthday!! :) Btw, my brother who didn't book through you got a room with two queens on the 3rd level backside near where they are rebuilding the new restaurant at the hotel. Very noisy!! Thank you!!
Sabrina and I will certainly use your services again on our next trip to Cabo. All the best, Tom
Tom, Semi Valley