Tamarindo is located on the northwest Pacific coast of Costa Rica, about an hour's drive from Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia, a 4 to 5-hour drive from the Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José, or a 45-minute flight from San José.

We meet on the beach in Tamarindo in front of the restaurant El Chiringuito. For directions, use Google Maps and search for "Fishing charter beach pickup point." We meet for charters between 7:00 - 7:30 AM. For afternoon half-day​ charters we usually meet around 12:30 PM.

Half-day charters​ are 5 hours, ¾-day charters are 7 hours, and full-day charters are 9 hours.

No. Because Tamarindo is situated in the middle of the Las Baulas National Marine Park, there is no public dock. Sportfishing boats are maintained on moorings a short distance from the beach, and fishing operations use skiffs or dinghies to ferry crew, fuel, supplies, and customers from the beach to the boats.

You should bring sunscreen (a must at this latitude!) and perhaps a hat, shoes, sunglasses, a towel, and some cash for crew gratuities (15-20% of the charter price is customary). Bring your smartphone or a camera. If someone in your party is prone to seasickness, you will have to bring your own medication, as boats do not carry this on board.

Yes!  Fishing licenses are required on all sportfishing charters. Licenses can be purchased online from the Costa Rican Institute for Fishing and Aquaculture, INCOPESCA.

Sailfish, blue, black, and striped marlin, dorado or mahi-mahi, tuna, and wahoo are found offshore; grouper, snapper, roosterfish, mackerel, jacks, rainbow runner, reef sharks, and other species are found inshore.

All billfish such as sailfish and marlin, as well as roosterfish, sharks, and some jacks, are released alive after capture. "Food fish" such as dorado or mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo, grouper, snapper, and amberjack are sometimes kept for cooking. The practice here is "catch what you can eat and release the rest." The crew of your boat will fillet any edible fish that you wish to take, and bag it for you on ice.

Yes. There are a number of restaurants in Tamarindo that will take your catch and prepare a meal for you. Typically, you will pay a cover charge for setting up the meal. This charge is usually about the same as what you would pay for a ​regular meal, but, of course, you will be eating the freshest possible fish.

It is customary to tip the crew 15-20% of the charter price.