Proper Decent Cigars - SD or Boca

I know the only real Havana's are from some shop in Sto. Domingo and in the 8500 pesos/box range for Cohibas- does anyone know the cost of the DR made, non-forged, and DR boxed/labelled Cohibas or other Cuban brands.

E.g. legit ( not the $40 /2boxes fakes on the beach) but not Cuban.

Othwerwise what are the better ( not best, necessarily) DR cigars - I bought Leon Jimines #3's for $85 US a box and they were quite good. What's better for the same $$ or a little bit less great for a lot less$$$? Any ideas?

And where??? I am not sure if Portofino's Outlet in Boca is the best choice, Cuban or DR.

that you said Santo Domingo.
Just go to the Supermercado Nacional! They have a very good selection of the products from Consolidated Cigar/Tabacalera Garcia/Altadis (Montecristo, Santa Damiana, Dunhill,Upmann, Onyx Romeo & Julieta and so forth) and La Aurora (Leon Jimenes and La Aurora cigars)
As far as I know, General Cigar (now Swedish Match) does not sell their products in the country-so Partagas, Macanudo and the red-dot Cohibas are not seen.
There is also a small cigar store over next to the Metro station, just off Winston Churchill, that has a wide selection of cigars and I think they have La Flor Dominicana.
At the Paté Palo restaurant in the Colonial Zone, you will find some good cigars-Los Maestros. They are also available in Juan Dolio at the Casino, and at two places in the colonial area: Isabel La Catolica and El Conde.
Stay Away from the Montecristo "Factory" in front of the park. These are rip-off artists of the crudest kind. What they make are fake Cohibas and Montecristos but they are not well made, even. Avoid them....
And finally, I think you will be surprised to see that there are some decent Cuban cigars available at the Casa de los Habanos, located in Plaza Andalucia I, at the corner of Lincoln and Gustavo Mejia Ricart. (On the side of the Gustavo Mejia Ricart street.) They have some R&J #3s in tubes are very reasonable prices.

HB

Thanks for the advice, Mr. Hillbilly - could you give me a guess of the prices - the LJ #3 at duty free were $85 a box US and they were nice - can I do better? What brand/size would you say?

Thanks for the advice, Mr. Hillbilly - could you give me a guess of the prices - the LJ #3 at duty free were $85 a box US and they were nice - can I do better? What brand/size would you say?

Also we wre planning to take a bus trip to the north shore via Santiago - to Sosua and back to Santo Domingo- anything en route that might be worth the stop?

Where can a person find decend cigars in Puerto Plata..
What should I/We be aware of....

place up there. That is not to say that there aren't any, it's just that I haven't found them.
You can do so much better with a short bus ride to Santiago. There are two pretty fair factories in Navarette and there are at least a dozen places in Santiago.
Again, I would suggest the bus trip, go to the Nacional Supermarket and choose away! Or the Central Supermarket for the los Maestros or Puros Clasicos as well as the Leon Jimenes product line.

HB

Check out the Leon Jimenez factory in Santiago, also the Tabacolera Nacional which produces a great cigar but mediocre wrapper. Price around $750.00RD per box. They even have torpedoes. They are also in Santiago.

anu idea how far a ride it is from Puerto Plata to Santiago.
Is it a good ride on the bus (scenice , safe) .

Probably not more that an hour. It is generally safe and if youre not used to the scenery I would say somewhat scenic.