Sportfishing in Playas del Coco

A fishing town that's easy to reach

Playas del Coco is one of the oldest beach towns in Guanacaste and still has the feel of a working port. Its biggest advantage for anglers is location: it's about half an hour by road from Guanacaste Airport in Liberia, so it's possible to land in the morning and fish the same afternoon.

There's no marina in Coco itself. Sportfishing boats, dive boats and local fishing pangas ride on moorings in the bay, and you board from the beach, usually by walking out to a small tender. Marina Papagayo, on the Papagayo Peninsula to the north, is the nearest full marina, and some larger charters are based there instead.

What you'll catch and when

The Gulf of Papagayo and the coast north of Coco are full of rocky islands and points, which is classic roosterfish country. Roosters, snapper, jacks and Sierra mackerel are the main inshore catches, and you can fish for them any month.

Offshore, Guanacaste's billfish season runs opposite to the Central Pacific's. FECOP, the Costa Rican sport fishing federation, gives roughly May to December as the best period for sailfish and marlin on the northern Pacific. The same trips turn up dorado, yellowfin tuna and wahoo.

From about December to March, strong offshore winds known as the Papagayos blow across northern Guanacaste. They can make the sea rough, especially in the afternoon, and they cool the water. Captains work around them with early starts and sheltered inshore spots, but if offshore fishing is your priority, the calmer months are a better bet.

Choosing a boat

Coco has everything from family-run pangas to fully rigged sportfishing boats in the 30 to 40 foot range. Pangas are good for inshore roosterfish; bigger boats make the long offshore runs more comfortable. Ask whether you'll board from the beach or the marina, how far out the boat expects to go, and whether your INCOPESCA licence is included. Since there's often no INCOPESCA office near the beach, buying your licence online before the trip is the easy route.

A typical day on the water

Inshore trips usually head north into the Gulf of Papagayo or south toward Ocotal and the Catalina Islands, working the rocky shorelines with live bait, poppers or jigs. Roosterfish are the fish most anglers want, and the crews here know which points hold them on each tide. These trips are often 4 hours, and they're the best choice in the windy months.

Offshore trips run out to blue water for sailfish, marlin, dorado and tuna. In the calmer months, the boats may not have far to go before they start trolling; when the fish are farther out, a full day makes more sense. On any trip, the crew should release billfish in the water and can usually let you keep a dorado or tuna if you'd like it cooked for dinner. Several restaurants in town will prepare your catch.

Coco is also a good base for anglers on a budget of time. Because the airport is so close, you can fish on your first or last day without losing much of the holiday to travel, and the dive shops in town make it easy to switch to a day underwater if the wind is up.

Where to stay

Coco has everything from budget hostels and small hotels near the beach to condos and resorts on the hills around the bay. Playa Ocotal, a few minutes south, is quieter, and Playa Hermosa, just north, has a handful of beachfront hotels. Staying in town puts you close to the boats and the restaurants, which helps with early departures.

Getting to Playas del Coco

From Liberia's Guanacaste Airport (LIR), Coco is about 30 minutes by car or shuttle. From San José it's roughly 4.5 to 5 hours by road. Local buses connect Coco with Liberia through the day.

Other things to do

• Scuba diving: Coco is the main base for dive trips to the Catalina Islands and the Bat Islands, known for large rays and bull sharks in season.
• Beaches nearby: Playa Ocotal, just south, is smaller and calmer; Playa Hermosa and Playa Panamá are north toward Papagayo.
• National parks: Rincón de la Vieja, with hot springs and volcanic mud pots, and Santa Rosa are both within a couple of hours.
• Sunset sails: catamarans run evening trips from Coco Bay.