Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tropic Star Lodge: World Class Fishing Adventures TROPIC STAR LODGE has been Rated the #1 Saltwater Fishing Resort in the world by the Robb Report. Fishing the legendary waters off Piñas Bay, Panama is an adventure of a lifetime for all anglers. Fulfill your fishing fantasy! Tropic Star Lodge has provided the ultimate in offshore and inshore fishing adventures for our guests for the past 59+ years. We invite you to discover why we’ve been named “the Best Fishing Resort in the world.” Tropic Star Lodge is a veritable paradise cut out of the side of a mountain at the edge of the Darien Jungle on the Pacific coast of Panama. The Lodge is situated 150 miles south of Panama City. It can only be reached by boat or plane, since there are no roads within a hundred miles. A charter plane lands on an airstrip in Piñas Bay. You then take a ten minute boat ride to Legendary Tropic Star Lodge.
If you like fishing in comfort for both pelagic and a variety of inshore species, with top notch equipment provided by the lodge, followed by sashimi and sushi served to you in the pool while surrounded by thick jungle, all while the staff makes you feel like royalty, give this place a good look.
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 13 Mar 2024
Dear Fish-surfrelax, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We're so happy that you enjoyed your fishing vacation with us and that our staff made you feel like the royalty that you are. Sashimi by the pool after a great day on the water -count us in! We hope to see you back at Tropic Star Lodge soon for your next fishing adventure. Best wishes, Mallory and Richard White
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Travel to a foreign country is a bit daunting right now but Tropic Star has found the greatest ways to make sure their guests feel safe from the second you land in Panama City. The adventures to get to the lodge, small plane, bus, boat make you feel like your going to a secret hideaway, well you are. The service is top notch the rooms are beautiful the food is delicious and the fishing is over the top we have fish all over the world and there is not one single thing I would change about what tropic star brings. If you were a fisherman you must go not should that must!
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Pack light, bring rain gear
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 05 Oct 2021
Dear katie g, Thank you for your kind words about your adventures at Tropic Star Lodge! We are so happy to know that our extra steps have gone noticed to make sure you feel comfortable from the time you step off the airplane in Panama City. Tropic Star Lodge’s unique location is what we love most aside from the FISHING, food, and our rooms –we’re so glad you enjoyed them all. We look forward to seeing you and your fun group back down here soon. Best wishes, Mallory and Richard White
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Tropic Star is a magical place. From the sweeping vistas to the stunning fishing, the experience of Tropic Star is THE best on the planet for any adventure seeker or angler. The fishing is a spectacle combination of on and off shore fishing Fishing depending on the season and the crew are experts in their respective fields. Not only is the fishing good, you’re also well taken care of whilst on the water for the day. With daily lunches and snacks packed with fresh homemade bread, fruits, empanadas (you MUST have these) you never return to the dock hungry, or with an empty boat. If travelling with a larger family who may not be so keen on fishing there is a stunning spa and multiple day trip activities including kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and swimming.
Above everything, and it’s seriously hard to beat the fishing, the staff is incredible. I have been 4 times and after the first I already felt part of the family. I can safely say Tropic Star has the best staff and service of all places I’ve ever visited. To be clear, it’s not the best just because it’s the most luxurious (you’re in the jungle but even then it exceeds most 5 star resorts) it’s the best because the level of service and commitment to greatness far exceeds anything I’ve seen worldwide. The staff truly care for your wellbeing, day in day out.
Most importantly, don’t let the journey down there put you off - the flight into the jungle and the stopover in Panama City is all part of the adventure - no need to be in a rush, enjoy every minute of it.
- Sam
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 29 Apr 2020
Dear samuellY6616NV, Thank you for your kind words and review of Tropic Star Lodge. We’re happy to know that you feel the same way as us! This lodge is a very special place with a magical quality with its unique location in the Darien Jungle with no roads for over 100 miles. We are so proud of our fishing crews and staff so thank you for taking note of their abilities and highlighting the service you received. We agree, empanadas are a must out on the water! All the best, Mallory and Richard White
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This our third time to TSL. The fishing was fantastic. The crew on the boat was excellent; very professional and extremely polite. The staff on shore again excellent. This shall be the last time I visit the place. It's transitioning from a fishing lodge to a fishing resort. Small children and small pet dogs now visit the location. At Presentation Night, an award was given to a 10 year girl for catching a 400 lb blue Marlin. "Right". If this is the sort of fantasy you enjoy, by all means, TSL is waiting for you. The Fishing Manager was a bit condescending and enjoyed being tipsy at dinner on a few occasions. I never got the certificate for bringing Blue Marlin to the boat; it seemed the fishing manager was too busy smoozing a more affluent client.
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Date of stay: December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ursula Marais, General Manager at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 06 May 2022
Dear matulevich, Thank you for joining us for your third trip to Tropic Star Lodge this past December during the Christmas holiday. We appreciate you taking the time to leave your comments regarding your stay. We apologize that you feel that your trip was not up to the standard that you have come to know during your past visits to Tropic Star Lodge which has been under the same management team and fishing director. We do feel that it’s important to mention that Tropic Star Lodge has and will continue to be a fishing lodge that welcomes families. In fact, we encourage junior anglers as we run our Kids Club Special during the December and summer months where kids 16 and under fish for free. Junior anglers are the future of sport fishing and conservation and we’re proud to support that. Also, many billfish records are held by girls and boys in the junior and small fry categories. For example, the current female Small Fry IGFA World Record for Black Marlin is 335 lb. Certificates given at Tropic Star Lodge, do not follow IGFA rules as the previous mentioned world record, as many of our anglers do not hook their own fish, we celebrate the accomplishment on our final night. We can assure our guests that the “10 year old girl” did catch that fish with the same help from our crews as many of our adult guests receive. Our fishing director does have a gregarious manner and sense of humor and we’re truly sorry that this came across as condescending as all of us here are so very passionate about what we do and ensuring our guests have the best experience possible. Best regards, Ursula Marais CEO/General Manager
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After multiple trips years ago with great memories, I decided to go back this past February 14-23 with a friend who fishes in Costa Rica but had never gone to Panama. We went supposedly in the very “best time of the year for Black Marlin”. We fished for 7 days straight and never got anything, but just one. My friend got nothing and was upset beyond belief as I had “talked the place up”....my bad. It has apparently been “overfished”over the years and it shows.
Night after night the staff kept highlighting how great the food and service is.... and it is really good but we did not go there to eat and sleep. You lose two days just trying to get there and also on the back end since airlines have greatly cut back on service. Four days of travel for 7 days of fishing is just too much time wasted. Bottom line, outrageously expensive and a long way to go for no fish.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 23 Apr 2020
Dear Cpate, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. All reviews are taken seriously and we appreciate your comments and are happy to know that everything we can control you were pleased with. We try to address everybody's concerns as soon as they are brought to our attention. In your case, the management team spoke to you during your stay. We understand that you were disappointed with your fishing and we’re very sorry that your number of Marlin releases fell below expectations. We track Marlin and other species very closely and we are very happy to report that the numbers haven’t diminished over the last 20 years since we've started recording the data. We are very proud of our 20 mile no commercial fishing zone around the lodge and with the help of the Panamanian government the fisheries throughout Panama are thriving. Our distinctive location in the Darien Jungle with no roads for over 100 miles provides a truly unique experience for our anglers. To get to the lodge guests arrive to Tocumen International Airport and are met with VIP Royal Saloon service that see our guests through security and customs. Guests are then met by a Tropic Star English speaking driver that ensures our guests get to and from the airport on both ends of their stay. On the return Copa Airlines offers direct flights to 13 different US cities with options to return home the same day. Other airlines offer this option as well. Many of our guests, however, enjoy the opportunity to explore Panama City. Thank you again for your comments. Kind regards, Richard and Mallory White
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My first time to TSL. From the pre-trip organization to our return to Panama City everything about the experience was first rate. The location is beautiful, our accommodations (Suite 1A & 1B) were great, the food superb, plentiful, and of a wide variety, the staff and service fun, skilled, and incredibly attentive, and our fellow guests became friends by the time we left. Though the bite was down a bit, our group of 3 all caught marlins (2 blacks and a blue) as well as sailfish and mahi mahi. We fished primarily offshore but people were getting decent results on cubera snapper and a few roosters inshore, Tuna were just coming in. They post fishing reports regularly on the website so check that out. Our captain and mate were excellent. Tackle was in great shape and boat was fine but is in line for a refurb (they are cycling them all through over time). Ours didn't have A/C as some do. You might want to ask about availability for that as it can get pretty hot out there. Highly recommend one of the visits to the village. Massage at the spa was welcome relief for sore muscles. We did the hike to White Beach on Saturday afternoon - beautiful and well worth it but though not terribly long it is a strenuous hike. I can't imagine there is another place like TSL. It is that special. (Note: I stopped with the responses below re: style and amenities. They really don't apply or are irrelevant to the TSL experience. You can be confident that you are taken care of at TSL)
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Date of stay: February 2022
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Â 1A/1B were great and centrally located with a great view of the bay from the deck.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 23 Feb 2022
Dear Flatlander2018, We are so happy to have been part of an experience of a lifetime! Thank you for your compliments on our staff as well as the lodge itself. We agree a massage during your stay is a must. Tropic Star Lodge is a very special place not only for our unique location but where you arrive with a handshake and you leave as family. A special congratulations on your Black and Blue Marlin! Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a nice review of your stay. We hope to see you back at Tropic Star Lodge soon. Best wishes, Mallory and Richard White
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Tropic Star Lodge has been on my list for years. Took my son on the hunt for adventure. The staff is incredible at every turn. Richie White runs a perfectly timed symphonic blend of precision and accommodating requests. Patterson, Richard and Marvin all made everlasting impressions. Food service, accommodations and the Fishing! Whoa do these captains and mates know their business! Captain Mario and mate Ermel helped us land every fish we had hoped for...and then some! This is one place we will be returning to and bringing others to experience. Thank you for creating amazing memories.
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 05 Dec 2020
Dear DoradoMark, Thank you for your review of your recent trip to Tropic Star Lodge. We appreciate you recognizing our fantastic service staff and boat crew. Congratulations again on all those fantastic catches during your stay! It was so much fun for us to be part of the excitement each afternoon. We look forward to welcoming you back soon to create more memories! Best regards, Mallory and Richard
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Tropic Star is my # 1 fishing destination in the world!!! From the time you land in Panama City until the time you board the plane to leave the staff at TSL is hands down the BEST !! Yes, it's very laid back but the staff treat you like a King or Queen! The accommodations are first class! I loved the outdoor shower, the AC is cold, the lodge is beautiful, the grounds are lush & tropical, it’s all amazing!! The food is delicious, the beer is cold, & the craft cocktails are perfect. The days are filled with the best fishing in the world, Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna, Rooster Fish, Snapper …. And more!! When you come in from 9 hours of fishing, head to the Blue Marlin Bar for tasty snacks, drinks, share new fishing stories of the day, and make new friends. If you bring your wife or girlfriend they can fish with you or they can enjoy the 1st class spa and pool while you're fishing. TSL has it ALL!! I just got home and I'm trying to book another trip, I can't wait to get back down there!! Let the great staff at Tropic Star Lodge take care of you !!! Billy & Dee Howell, Dallas, Texas 2022
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Date of stay: January 2022
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Â Everything was perfect !!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 10 Feb 2022
Dear johnhS2751JX, Thank you for leaving such a kind personal review of your recent trip down to visit us at Tropic Star Lodge! Marlin Bar is our favorite place too! Best part of fishing apart from the catching is swapping fishing stories with friends. We’re happy to know that our staff treated you just as you should -a King and Queen. We very much look forward to seeing you both back soon to enjoy the lodge and the fishing! All the best wishes, Mallory and Richard White
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This was once again a fantastic trip! Attended the 2022 billfish tournament as an annual ritual. From the time you arrive at the Panama international Airport till you leave it again, you are greeted with professionalism from the Tropic Star Team. It's like clockwork every single time I come for this event. Arrival at the Tropic Star lodge always feels like the first time you have ever been there - besides all the familiar faces of the amazing staff. As always, accommodations, food, drinks and service was perfect! The fishing experience gave us plenty of action. With a couple of sailfish landed, raised a blue Marlin and lost a blue marlin (can't get them all). Besides billfish we had a really good size yellowfin tuna, and more Mahi than you can ask for... impossible to keep them off the hooks. Never seen anything like it before. Every time you come to Tropic Star the experience is different year after year, but it is always positive and you leave with a feeling of wanting more!!
Thanks again Tropic Star and see you next year!!
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Date of stay: November 2022
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mallory White, Guest Services / Front Office at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 28 Nov 2022
Dear Torben2020, It was great having you return to Tropic Star Lodge for the annual billfish tournament! As always, it was such fun. Especially having so many familiar faces coming back to battle for a bid to the OWC. That Mahi bite was insane in between the billfish action. We appreciate your positive feedback and happy to know that we continue to deliver an experience that keeps you coming back to visit us. We can’t wait to see you back down to Tropic Star next year for the annual billfish tournament! All the best wishes, Mallory and Richard White
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This lodge is truly incredible, but they had a few major service failures during our trip. Firstly, they never gave us information regarding the pick-up from our hotel to be taken to Albrook to catch our charter flight down to Pinas. We were left scrambling and had to pay for a taxi from our hotel to the Albrook airport, which generated extra cost and anxiety, especially after spending over $20,000 USD on this trip. Then, on the 2nd day of fishing, they completely forgot to refill our beverages on the boat, so we ran out of pop, beer, and water half-way through the day. One day, we caught a Yellowfin tuna and we were given filets to take up to the dining lodge for sashimi for dinner that evening, but they lost it with the kitchen staff and didn't give us our sashimi with dinner that evening. Finally, after we were taken back to Panama City for the trip home, they completely forgot to come pick us up for the ride out to Tocumen and we nearly missed our flight back home to the USA. For a lodge that advertises itself as one of the best in the World, these were completely unacceptable service failures, especially considering the high price tag. I have had far better service with multiple different hunting and fishing lodges, both in Central and North America, all at a better price point. While this lodge is incredibly beautiful, the service and the fishing are not as good as advertised and certainly not worth the high price tag.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jesse-Lee Collins, Marketing at Tropic Star Lodge
Responded 08 Aug 2023
Hi 6nielb, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review of your recent trip to Tropic Star Lodge. We appreciate your honesty, and please know that we take these reviews seriously - the good and the bad. We would like to extend our sincere apologies, as we always strive to exceed expectations and we’re truly sorry that we fell short of that. In the name of transparency, I would like to share how some of the things that you experienced came about. We’ve thoroughly investigated the matter of your transportation, and have adjusted internal operations to make sure this kind of issue is avoided. The matter of your pick up was an honest mistake - the hotel that you stayed in was not one of our partner hotels, and not a hotel our guests usually stay in. There is another hotel that we do work with that is in the canal zone, so your hotel having “Panama Canal Hotel” in the name resulted in our driver going to what we refer to internally as the “Canal Hotel”. He unfortunately arrived at your hotel 10 minutes after you left. The transportation error on the way out was the result of a cross-over of staff on the day of your departure, and this has been addressed internally. This is certainly not up to our standard, and we are truly sorry for the inconvenience and anxiety. I know that you were refunded the full amount for your land transfers at the lodge, but we would like to extend further compensation for the inconvenience, so our team will be in touch with you directly about that. When it comes to boat drinks, our normal process is to review consumption, replenishing “empties” each day after fishing. Unfortunately, our staff were not aware that there was additional consumption with drinks being taken off the boat back to your room in the afternoons, and continued to replenish only what was consumed on the boat. Once it was brought to our attention, we adjusted this process for the remainder of your stay, in order to ensure you had more than requested at all times. All boats have water dispensers meant to be enjoyed with the Tropic Star Lodge tumblers you receive on arrival. It seems this wasn’t communicated clearly to you, and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention so we can be sure to address this with future guests. The sashimi was a miscommunication on our part. Thank you for flagging this with us when you did, so that we were able to rectify the matter in real time. Because of this, our Restaurant Manager and Chef were able to ensure that you received sashimi that same evening, and every afternoon after that. We’ve added some new people to the team, and with an operation as intricate as ours, learning the ropes can take a little time. Feedback from our guests is essential to ensure that we are able to keep service at the standard our guests have come to recognize, so we truly appreciate it. Fishing is an unpredictable sport, with the conditions heavily influenced by the weather. It is always tough for us to have a group whose fishing expectations were not met - but we are happy to know that you still rated our boats, crews, accommodation, staff and dining very favorably as per your internal post-trip survey. On behalf of the team, I would like to apologize for the matters that took away from this. Every member of the Tropic Star team is committed to providing an exceptional experience for our guests, and receiving a review such as this is very difficult for us, however, we appreciate the opportunity to keep improving, and to keep striving for excellence. Thank you, Jess Collins
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We have a variety of onshore activities for non-fishing guests including massage treatments, trips to the beach, a freshwater pool, excursions to a jungle waterfall as well as adventure activities like kayaking and paddleboarding. We also provide tours in the local village.
Hi there from Tropic Star Lodge!
Sorry for the delay as I just saw your message. This Lodge is appropriate for a 10 year old or small fry angler. Sailfish, Roosterfish, Dorado, small Yellowfin, and various species of Snapper and inshore species are a thrill for any 10 year old to catch. He'll learn patience out on the water and also the thrill of hearing the sound of a reel screaming. Our expertly trained crews will guide him safely through reeling in a fish and navigating the boat. In the summer months kids under 16 years old fish for free. We've turned many children into avid anglers here at the Lodge. In addition to fishing, we have a beautiful hike or boat ride to a secluded pristine white beach great for swimming and snorkeling, we also organize kayak trips through the mangroves as well as a hike or bike ride to a gorgeous waterfall we have on property. And as our guest mentioned above, we also have a nearby village for guests to visit. After fishing kids also love to chase our resident lizards and crabs. During the summer months we also host hermit crab races, ping pong and pool tournaments if groups are interested.
Thank you very much for your interest in Tropic Star Lodge and we hope to see you soon.
Kind regards,
Mallory and Richard White
There are more places to choose from in the Pinas Bay area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
tropic star hotel pinas bay
LOCATION
PanamaDarien ProvincePinas Bay
NUMBER OF ROOMS
18
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect average nightly room rates, including taxes and fees that are fixed, known to our partners, and due at time of booking. Please see our partners for more details.
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