Where Are The Boats Located?
Our Playa del Carmen Fishing Charter is located in Puerto Aventuras Marina. We are ten minutes south of Playa del Carmen. We are one hour south of Cancun Airport and the Hotel District. We are thirty minutes south of Puerto Morelos. We are ten minutes north of Akumal and twenty minutes north of Tulum.
Transportation is available in the form of Taxis, Shuttles, Public Buses and of course Rental Cars. Use Taxis for small groups or save money with shuttles for larger groups.
Are The Prices Per Boat Or Per Person?
Prices are per boat. Our boats will hold at least six adults comfortably. Shared boats are available for $95.00 per person, per half day.
Are Children Welcome?
Absolutely! A parent or guardian is required to accompany anyone under 18 years of age. We have life jackets for smaller bodies. Young children should not go out except in the calmest seas.
I've Never Done This. Will Someone Help Me?
Yes, indeed. Our crews will provide just as much help as you want. You should let the Mate know what lever of angler you are.
What Style Of Fishing Should We Expect?
Generally speaking there are two types of open water fishing.
There is trolling. Trolling is riding around dragging lines from multiple rods armed with either bait or plastic lures. The "spread" is meant to imitate the look of a group of bait fish. It attracts the apex (top) predators to approach and strike.
There is "bottom fishing". This generally means being parked with lines dropped into the water. The angler works the line in hopes of attracting a fish.
Under most conditions it is up to the anglers what type of fishing they would like to do. Most people want to catch those apex predators like sailfish and marlin and so on. These are best caught trolling.
Snapper and grouper and the like are bottom dwellers and best caught "bottom fishing".
Bottom fishing is not appropriate in choppy waters. Trolling is much more comfortable.
The usual fishing trip entails a bit of both styles. Trolling out, then a bit of bottom fishing (or not!) and then trolling back.
This generally offers the best opportunities for catching fish.
What About A Snorkeling Break? I Will Be Accompanies By Non-Anglers And I Don't Want Them To Get Bored.
Yes,we offer snorkeling.
In fact, it will sometimes occur that wives or girlfriends will accompany the anglers but have no real interest in catching fish for themselves.
If that's the case, it often makes it more fun to stop for an hour or so and take advantage of our wonderful reefs ! An hour out of the middle of a day can break up the monotory for children and non-anglers.
The captain can take you to some beautiful reefs where you can see turtles and all the usual suspects!
You Recommend Against Booking Fishing Trips Through The Hhotels. Why Is That ?
First of all, I am not attacking hotels. They are great. Problems arise when they want to control all of your activities. The usual tourist attractions pay the hotel staff to send them business.
When I charter a boat, I want to know something about it. Your hotel doesn't know one charter boat from another. It doesn't matter when you are buying tickets to go to Xcaret or any of our other tourist attractions but it does matter when you charter a fishing boat.
The same can be said for street vendors, vacation forums and the like. I actually got kicked off a Playa Forum for posting fishing reports. They felt it interfered with "their" fishing charters. They don't own any boats and they haven't a clue what's going on at the marina. They just want the referral fee.
We know what boats are what. We know the captains and the mates. Believe me. They are not all equal.
Chances are the person selling you your charter has never even been to the marina. These "resellers" don't know which boats need engine work and are spouting noxious diesel fumes or which ones have filthy heads (bathrooms). They don't know which crews take better care of their gear AND their boats?
I could go on but its endless. AND the hotels and street vendors, etc can't even access the private boats we have available.
So, you can pay $700.00 for a $550.00 boat or you can pay $700.00 for a boat that is worth twice as much. It's not hard to figure out.
We don't allow upcharging to add comissions. Never. Just don't believe in it.
Your hotel concierge will be disappointed he finds out you booked your own trip, but believe me, stepping away from the crowd pays off with fishing charters.
Why Do Private Owners Let You Do Occasional Charters On Their Boats?
Good question. You may or may not know this. Boats do MUCH better when they are used. 90% of issues arise when boats just sit in the water unused. Hard to believe but true. It's not like just leaving a car in the garage.
Engines have to be operated and brought up to operating temperatures. Equipment needs to be operated.
A lot of these private owners are rich Americans who own property and keep a high dollar boat down here as well. They visit when they can.
Owning a boat means having to have someone you trust to take care of it By giving us exclusive access to do occasional charters the private owners accomplish two things. They keep their boat working and maintained and they also offset their marina expenses.
It's awin/win for everybody!
We Will Be Staying In Puerto Morelos (or Cozumel, or Cancun). Why Should We Drive 30 Minutes to Puerto Aventuras Marina When There Are Boats Right Here.
We are located exactly where the best fishing is. This isn't our opinion but facts published in several major Fishing Magazines (Marlin Mag, Sportfishing Mag, etc)
Cozumel Fishing Charters, for example, generally motor over to the mainland side where we are in order to take advantage of the best fishing. This can take up to two hours off of a full day trip or make it unviable on a four hour trip. You never even get to the best fishing grounds! It is a lot more expensive to move a 30+ foot, twin diesel fishing yacht than it is to take a cab or ferry. Taking that thirty minute trip puts you right in the middle of the best fishing.
Cancun fishing charters have to travel much further as well. They generally fish in the gulf which means a much longer trip to the sailfish. We fish in the Caribbean literally right outside our marina. Would you belive it is 600 feet deep just a few hundred yards off shore?
A personal thing with me (and like minded conservationists) is the fact that down here in Puerto Aventuras we don't kill the marlin and the sailfish. We are strictly catch and release. Most places in Mexico kill their fish. This includes Cancun. I won't belabor this point but most sportsmen today are working to change these other areas. Baja has changed a lot over the last few years but Cancun and Puerto Morelos are still a challenge.
Lastly we have the best marina with the greatest selection of boats.
