The local boat cooperative Sociedad Servicios Turísticos Bahía Tangolunda takes visitors out for fishing excursions from the Santa Cruz boat quay. Contact them at their ticket office (for catamaran Tequila, tel. 958/587-2303) at the Santa Cruz boat dock.

For a launch with two lines and bait, figure on paying about $25/hour, for a minimum five-hour excursion. For big-game fishing, rent a big 40-foot boat, with lines for several persons, for about $250. More reasonable prices might be obtained by asking around among the individual fishermen at the Santa Cruz boat harbor or the village at San Agustín.

For example, you can go fishing deluxe in the 33-foot motor yacht Fortuna (tel. 958/581-0491 or 958/587-1381, toll-free Mex. tel. 800/624-6161, fortunahuatulco [at] msn [dot] com), with about four lines and room for about six. Organize a party and rent the whole boat for about $450 per day. Individuals can book for about $80 a day during high season, depending on the number of customers they have.

On the other hand, you can leave the negotiations up to a travel agent, who will arrange a fishing trip for you and your friends. You can stop afterward at a beachside palapa, which will cook up a feast with your catch. Save money by bringing your own tackle. Rates for an approximately three-hour trip for three run about $60 if you supply your own tackle, $120 if you don’t. Contact the agent at your hotel travel desk, or an outside agent such as Paraíso Huatulco (in the Hotel Flamboyan on the Crucecita plaza, tel. 958/587-0181, fax 958/587-0190) or Aventuras Huatulco (in Plaza Conejo, on Guamuchil, half a block east of the Crucecita plaza, tel. 958/587-0054 or 958/587-1695).

Huatulco’s best boat-launching site is at easily reachable Bahía Chahue marina, with about 40 slips and an excellent heavy-duty boat ramp. Go to the marina office (tel. 958/587-2652, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri.) for permission to launch ($15) and slip rental information. Slip rates run about $0.55 per foot per day (between 35 and 80 feet) at the dock. Electricity and water cost extra. Find it from the east–west Chahue beachfront boulevard, follow the sign for remolques (trailers) to the big parking lot and ramp.