When heading in from the day of fishing, the question always comes up... how much should I tip the captain and the mate? Does it depend on how many fish we caught? Or how hard the guys worked? Or is there a general flat rate?
The answer to this is a complete judgement call, based on some of the previous mentioned factors.
The guys on the boat are generally going to work their butts off on the boat, whether you are catching a ton of fish or not. Whether it be a day of boating 10 Sailfish or a day of boatng 2, there is still a TON of work to do on a day of fishing. The boys (and I have seen some girls out there too lately) are typically at the boats at around 5am and don't leave the boats until about 6pm. You do the math, that's a long day.
Also consider that a typical salary for a boat Captain out of Quepos is between $500USD and $800USD per month, depending on the size of the boat, the length of time working the boat and a few other factors. A mate's salary is about 25% less than that. Captains and mates rely on tips during the high season to keep them going for the rest of the year, as $500/month is a little hard to live off of.
As a general rule of thumb, you can plan on your total tip (to be split between the captain and mate) to be a little over 10% of the charter price. If for whatever reason there is another helper on the boat, you may want to tip them a little too.
If this sounds a little too expensive for you, don't worry... they will appreciate anything you give them. A good captain and mate will never be unworthy of any tip... after all, it is gratuity.
