Fishing from Manuel Antonio

Part of our complete guide: Fishing the Central Pacific: the complete guide

The short answer

You can't fish in Manuel Antonio National Park. Not from its beaches, not from a kayak in its coves, and not from a boat around its islands: the park's protected area takes in the sea as well as the forest, and Costa Rican law bans all fishing inside national parks.

That doesn't make Manuel Antonio a bad base for anglers. It's one of the best. Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, home to one of the biggest charter fleets in the country, is 10 to 15 minutes down the hill, and many crews collect you from your hotel. The open water outside the park is part of the Central Pacific sailfish grounds, best from December to April. This page explains the rules, how to plan a fishing day around a park visit, and which kinds of trip suit a Manuel Antonio stay.

The rules: why the park is off limits

Two laws overlap here. Article 9 of the Fishing and Aquaculture Law (Law 8436) bans commercial and sport fishing in national parks, and the National Parks Service law (Law 6084, article 8) says the same from the park side. Manuel Antonio's protected area runs out into the sea around its beaches and takes in the rocky islands offshore, where seabirds roost. Our fishing rules guide covers the national law in full, and our page on no-take zones explains how the protected waters work around the country.

In practice:

• No casting from the park's beaches, including Playa Manuel Antonio and Espadilla Sur.
• No fishing from kayaks or snorkel boats inside the park's waters.
• Charter boats run straight past the park to open water, or fish the coast north of Quepos and the river mouths outside the boundary.
• Playa Espadilla, the public beach outside the park entrance, isn't part of the park, but it's a busy swimming and surf beach with rip currents. It's not a fishing spot.

Good crews know the boundary well and won't fish inside it. If anyone offers to, book someone else.

Where the boats leave from

Every fishing trip for Manuel Antonio guests starts at Marina Pez Vela, on the Quepos waterfront. It has about 250 slips, a fuel dock and a charter desk, and boarding is dry and easy behind the breakwater. Meet times are usually around 7 in the morning. A taxi from the hillside hotels takes 10 to 15 minutes, and the local bus runs the same road.

Some hotels book boats for guests too. Tulemar, for one, keeps a page of 6 local sportfishing boats it books, from a 27-foot inshore boat to a 38-foot Bertram. Our guide to fishing from Quepos has the full picture of the fleet and the crews.

What you'll catch and when

The calendar follows our site-wide season chart.

The sailfish grounds lie roughly 15 to 40 miles off Quepos, about an hour's run, so the water you see from your hotel balcony at sunset is, quite literally, sailfish water. Our Central Pacific sailfish season guide explains when and why the fish stack up.

Planning a fishing day around the park

Most people come to Manuel Antonio for the park, and the trick is not letting the fishing and the park fight over the same morning. Both are best early.

• Do the park and the boat on different days. The park opens early, and the animals are most active in the first hours; offshore boats leave around 7. You can't do both well on one morning.
• If you must combine them, do the park first thing and book an afternoon mangrove trip. Mangrove Fishing Tours, for example, runs a 5-hour afternoon trip into the Quepos mangroves as well as a morning one.
• Buy park tickets online in advance through SINAC's site. They aren't sold at the gate, the park closes one day a week, and it often sells out in the dry season.
• Buy your INCOPESCA licence online if your charter doesn't include it. Everyone fishing from a boat needs one, sold for 8 days, a month or a year.
• Fish early in your stay. If the weather or the sea is poor, you'll still have days to reschedule.

Trips that suit a Manuel Antonio stay

Crews we checked in November 2026 that fish for Manuel Antonio guests include Quepos Fish Adventure, which owns its own fleet and lists Manuel Antonio and Quepos as its patch, and Quepos Fishing, with 3 boats from 28 to 38 feet at Marina Pez Vela. The Central Pacific guide lists every business we found.

Fishing and wildlife on the same trip

One of the joys of fishing here is what else you see. Spinner and bottlenose dolphins are common, sea turtles surface on calm mornings, and humpback whales pass through in season. Brown pelicans and boobies work the bait schools, and frigatebirds circle high over feeding fish, which is often how crews find tuna. Ask your captain to slow down if you spot something; most are happy to.

If your group is mixed, ask about a trip that combines a few hours of inshore fishing with a cruise along the coast, seeing the park's islands from outside the boundary. Remember the park rules apply to everyone on board: no lines in the water inside the line.

Rainy-season fishing

The green season, from about May to November, suits a fishing day better than you might think. Mornings are usually dry, with rain building in the afternoon, so a 7 o'clock start often stays sunny. The rains wash logs and weed lines out to sea, and that floating cover is where dorado and tuna gather. September and October are the wettest months, and inshore water near the river mouths can turn brown after heavy rain, so ask the crew where the clean water is.

Keeping and eating your catch

Billfish always go back, and most crews release roosterfish too. A dorado, tuna or snapper for dinner is usually fine within the limits, but ask before you leave the dock. The crew fillets it at the marina and bags it on ice. If you're in a rental with a kitchen, ceviche needs only lime, onion, cilantro and salt. Restaurants near the marina have cooked anglers' fish for years, but we couldn't confirm which are doing it this season, so ask your captain where to take it.

Where to stay

The road that climbs from Quepos to the park entrance is lined with hotels, many with views over the forest and the Pacific. Places near the top of the hill have the best sunsets; places near Playa Espadilla are a walk from the beach and the park gate. Quepos town, at the bottom of the hill, is closest to the marina, and there are rooms and condos at Marina Pez Vela itself for the earliest starts.

Getting there

Manuel Antonio is just south of Quepos, about 3 hours by road from San José on Route 27 and the coastal Route 34. Small planes fly from San José to the Quepos airstrip in about 30 minutes, a short taxi ride from the hotels. Shuttles and buses run daily. Our trip planning guide covers licences, packing and timing.