Taboga or the Pearl Islands: which to choose for your day out

When someone messages us asking for an island day, they are almost always choosing between two options without knowing it: Taboga or the Pearl Islands. They are not the same experience, and choosing wrong is the difference between a great day and a long one.

The real difference: distance and sea

Taboga is about 20 kilometres from the capital, roughly 45 minutes of running. It is relatively protected water almost the whole way. You leave late, you come back early, and the day does not feel like an expedition.

The Pearl Islands are about 50 kilometres out, ninety minutes to two hours depending on the sea. Past a certain point there is no coast in sight and the water is genuinely open. It is a full day and it feels like one.

Which group each one suits

Choose Taboga if:

• You are bringing small children or anyone prone to seasickness.
• You only have half a day free.
• You want beach, a swim and lunch by the water more than fishing.
• It is your group's first time on a boat.

Choose the Pearl Islands if:

• The real goal is fishing, and fishing big species.
• You have the full day and do not mind an early start.
• You want water and scenery you cannot see from the coast.
• You are visiting July to October and want a shot at whales.

What you catch on each

On the run to Taboga and around the island you work Spanish mackerel, jack, snapper and bonito. It is real inshore fishing, with good catches, but mid sized.

The Pearl Islands open the range: mahi mahi, tuna, roosterfish and heavier snapper. If your mental picture of the trip is a fish that takes effort to lift, that photo gets taken in the Pearl Islands, not in Taboga.

The part nobody tells you

Taboga charges a municipal entry fee for visitors, and in high season the town beach fills up. The advantage of arriving on your own boat is that you can anchor away from the crowd, drop the ladder and stay in the water without setting foot on the pier if you would rather not.

The Pearl Islands, on the other hand, have no crowd, but also no infrastructure nearby. Everything you need that day has to be on board from the morning.

If you would rather not choose

There is a third way: a custom day that mixes fishing on the way out, an anchorage to swim and a relaxed run home. It is what mixed groups ask for most, half the boat wants a rod and the other half wants a float.

Tell us how many you are, your date and what each person wants to do, and we will tell you which of the three fits best. If the honest answer is the cheapest route, that is the one we will recommend.