Most fishing charters in Puerto Vallarta are sold as fixed packages: a 4-hour trip here, an 8-hour trip there, each locked to a destination somebody else picked. Ours are not. You book a boat and a block of hours, and how far offshore your captain runs is simply a function of how many hours you bought.
How Far You Go, By the Hour
There is no separate "fishing package" here. Fishing is one of the things you can do with the boat you booked, alongside snorkeling, beach stops, sunset runs and whale watching. What changes with your hours is range:
- 4–6 hours — inside Banderas Bay. Calmer water, short run times, still productive. The right call if you are mixing fishing with a beach stop.
- 6–8 hours — just outside the bay. Roughly 5–8 miles out. More open water, generally better action.
- 8–10 hours — Corbeteña. A well-known offshore mark. What we target depends on what you are after; tell your captain.
- 10+ hours — El Banco. The furthest we run in a single day, and the trip to book if you want serious offshore range.
- Multi-day (1–3 days at sea). On Steel n Time only — the one boat in the fleet that sleeps guests, with a full kitchen and salon.
The Captain Is the Difference
Anyone can rent you a boat. What decides whether you catch fish is the person driving it. Our captains have spent their working lives on this bay and know where the bite is this week, not last season. On a fishing day the captain works from the tuna tower, spotting fish, birds and whales long before you would see anything from the deck, while the mate rigs lines and gets the rod into your hands the second something hits.
Which Boat to Fish From
All three fish well. The difference is comfort, range and group size:
- Peaceful Easy Feeling — 32' center console, twin Mercury 300 HP outboards, Furuno GPS and fish finder. Fast and nimble, up to 8 anglers.
- Guanatuna — 34' Gulfstream, twin turbo 250 HP Cummins diesels, Raymarine GPS, radar and fish finder. Up to 15 guests, open-air with full shade over the deck.
- Steel n Time — 53' Hatteras, twin Detroit diesel 900 HP, Furuno GPS, sonar, radar and fish finder, three air conditioners. Up to 22 guests and the only multi-day option.
Morning or Afternoon?
Early departures are the norm for longer trips: calmer water, cooler air on the run out, and more usable daylight if you are pushing toward Corbeteña. Shorter 4–6 hour trips inside the bay have more flexibility, including afternoon departures, because you are not racing daylight to reach a distant mark and get home.
Combine It With the Rest of the Day
Fishing trips here rarely stay just fishing. The most common charter we run folds in all three: fish while watching for whales, stop everything when the whales show up, then fish again on the way to a beach for the last stretch of the day. Popular pairings are Los Arcos for snorkeling and Las Ánimas for lunch on the sand.
What to Bring
Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and polarized sunglasses — sun on open water hits harder than people expect. A light long-sleeve layer for the early run out. Cash if you plan to tip the crew, and a cooler bag if you want to take part of your catch home. If you are prone to seasickness, take something before you leave the dock.
What's Included
Captain and crew, life jackets, bottled water and ice, rods and tackle. Not included: a fishing licence if one is required for your catch, food and alcohol, and a fuel surcharge on trips that run well beyond the bay (Corbeteña, El Banco and multi-day charters).
