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
The place was really so beautiful we loved it so much. Thanks for letting us stay in your villa we have created some memorable moments here thanks once again. We will sure come back again and ask for 1208 villa. The Carveys
Bob,
What a terrific place...Luis moved us to Villa Estancia (I'm sure due to your relationship here!!) and it's a gorgeous 2 BR (w/ wonderful views and just perfect)!! All you have suggested has been "spot-on"--and our trip has just begun...now on our way downtown, might get sidetracked by some seaside bars/eateries... Again, many thanx...this is looking like a wonderful choice--and I'm glad to have your help!!
Best,
Michael
Bob,
The family had a great time. We had an unbelievable whale sighting, jumping in the air and all, from our Jet Skis! What a trip. Even got some pictures. The place is really very nice. Unbelievably clean, and employees were very kind a gracious, and spoke pretty good English too! We declined the food plan, and found some pretty good places in town, via the concierge and owners. The vendors were a little annoying, but I guess I wasn't expecting it. Thank you for hooking us up and working with us on the room. We did enjoy room service on our last evening with Grandma and Grandpa and watched the Academy Awards. It was really comfortable.
Thank you -
Regards,
Gail
We had a wonderful time at Villa del Arco last week! The resort and the room was immaculate. We want to thank you both for setting this up for us and am looking forward returning very soon!
Best,
Wendy and Jason
Hi Bob,
We had a wonderful stay at the La Estancia and it was beautiful, relaxing, and very quiet. We did enjoy that. The direct transportation made our travel to and from the airport so quick and easy. The weather was just right and I'm sure you ordered that for us also. The only part of our stay that was uncomfortable were the hard beds. I suppose we are too spoiled with our pillow top beds. Hope you don't mind that I have given your name out to several people around Pendleton. Thanks again for a great place for our vacation.
Doris
The resort was absolutely spectacular and one of the best vacation spots for this family of 5. Our teenagers, 16,17,20 had a fantastic time with activates, pool, and the beach. The unit we stayed in along with the facilities are 5 star with every amenity you could possible require. I found the staff extremely knowledgeable and attentive to maintaining customer excellence. I recommend working with Bob since he is very accommodating and helped us coordinate our stay. I highly recommend his services.
Jim, North Andover MA
We had a great time. Meeting up with 12 of our far-flung friends was a real treat. The price was very reasonable for the quality of room and food we enjoyed there. The social scene around the pool was lots of fun, and is probably the biggest reason we would consider coming back to Villa Del Arco.
Dan, Ohio
Sue & Bob,
Sorry to take so long to respond. Our Destination Vacations Cabo trip was incredible! We absolutely loved every minute...from relaxing by the pool to swimming with the dolphins. We did several tourist things, but also did a large amount of sitting in a lounge chair and watching the ocean - my idea of a perfect vacation. Thanks again for all your assistance. We will be calling again - hopefully, soon!
Sincerely,
Iris
Clouds and drizzle broke up within hours of our arrival and weather was fantastic throughout the trip. Estancia was all great as was our transportation with Lucas and our encounters with Jose, Arturo and Miguel in regard to the whale watching on La Gringa (as well as the experience itself) ---- all excellent. Everyone was friendly and most accommodating. Thank you for assisting us with a memorable trip. Bob and all.
Bob B., Lincoln, NB
Hello Bob, Thanks for inquiring about my recent trip to VillaDel Palmar Flamingos. First off, the trip was everything I had hoped for and more. I wish I was still there! In my younger days I've beached it in California, Cape Cod,Florida, Hawaii, Phillipines, Thailand, China ,Greece, Spain, and Portugal, but Mexican people and culture are so much friendlier! Why I've never gone to Mexico before now, I'll never know. This was a rather spur of the moment vacation so I had done next to no research, just picked Palmar resort on line and luckily found your website, which made the trip feasible financially. Turns out I had beginners luck with Mexico! Now I realize you provide background info. and recommendations to clients. Perhaps in the future I can take advantage of your services.
This was my first ever luxory beach resort vacation. VillaDelPalmar was perfect for our mom-daughter getaway. It was the most beautiful resort of those there on the beach. I'm trained as a landscape architect, so I appreciated the artistry evident in the layout, design, and materials of the grounds, gardens, and pools. Also the expansive Banderas Bay, the verdant jungle landscape, the tropical heat, and the dramatic weather and thunderstorms provided such a different and exotic experience than we get in our home enrironment. It provided exactly the change we needed.
The gym, spa, pools, beach, restaurants, and friendly resort staff all were lovely. My teen daughter, who has not experienced many other cultures or travel, appreciated how safe and family oriented the resort area was. One thing we both liked was that Mexican families were the main resort clientele.......it made the experience feel more authentic and less like we were gringos on holiday.
And what a surprise bonus to find out that there were incredible snorkling destinations and wildlife havens as well as more disneyland type dolphin swims, all with tours we could conveniently book right at the hotel. We loved the boat trips to Las Caletas, and the Islas Mariettas. The fun and sassy tour guides made these trips all the more memorable. Between these trips and enjoying the resort amenities, we didn't even get into town! Guess we'll just have to plan another trip for that.
About the timeshare end of things, I did take a timeshare tour, mainly to get 20% discount on tours and restaurants, and also out of curiosity. It was my first timeshare tour ever and I am not in a position to buy into something like this, although if I was, I might. We don't take regular vacations. But I can see why one would return here.
We were upgraded upon arrival to a one bedroom suite, which was a greatly appreciated surprise......is that a normal part of timeshare strategy?
Thanks again for helping make our dream trip come true!
Sincerely,
Leslie Riley
Leslie Riley, Seattle, WA