where to buy cuban cigars in Puerto plata

[raphster]

staying at the iberostar costa dorada, where's a good place to pick up some cuban smokes for a good price?

[jerryme]

Do a search according to one person here who is in the cigar business they are all fake. If you are a US citizen, it is now a $250,000 USD fine for taking back any to the US (Source: State Dept. website)

[xamaicano]

I not a cigar smoker, but outside of the novelty of them been illegal in States, what is the big deal about Cubans? Are they significantly better than Dominican cigars? Or are they the Coors Light of cigars?

[raphster]

Like most things, not all cuban cigars are "good", although the better ones are very good. The DR cigars are typically made/rolled better, but lack the punch of the cubans. Why? I really don't know, must be the soil or the water. Using the comparison to beers the previous poster used, some beer drinkers like guinness beer, some like hieniken, some prefer coors light... is a paricular beer better than the other? It's the individuals preference.

I realize bringing cuban cigars back to the states is illegal, which I don't plan on doing, but I figure since it is LEGAL in DR why not smoke a few legally. of course that's if I can find any real cuban cigars... that's why I posted here, I was hoping to get some local knowledge of where to get the real deal.

[shorty002]

Where is a good place just to buy DR cigars.. real good ones in PP.

[msa319]

There used to be a La Casa Del Habano in the Playa Dorado complex. I don't know if it is still there, but it was on the ground level across from I think it was pizza hut. This was the only place in the complex that had real cuban smokes, all the others will try to sell you cubans but they were fakes. I also stayed at the Iberostar and we had a blast.

[POP Bad Boy]

(on the main road......(when leaving Playa Dorado towards Puerto Plata it is on the left side BEFORE you get to the stadium)............there is a cigar store who sells cubans and dominican cigars and says they are REAL. The owner is a foreigner....not Dominican. It is located more or less across the hall plaza from the "Business Mail Office".

[raphster]

how much do the cubans sell for in DR?
More or less than other caribbean islands?
I was shocked to hear that the home grown DR cigars cost just
as much as in the US.

[Snowbird]

Shorty,
If you want great cigars while in POP, go to Cafe Cito. Mr. Tim Hall has an outstanding variety of stogies to choose from. Trust me on this one.

If you want info, go to: http://popreport.com Once there, click on the Cafe Cito link, and read about Tim's offerings. You can also click on the Cuevos y Hermanos link.

SB

[Hillbilly]

I would not try and buy Cuban cigars in the area around Puerto Plata.

I have found a few places in the East that are truly authentic, but my files on fakes are three inches thick.

YOu can, however, pick up some good cigars there at Tim Hall's place and in the Commercial Center at Playa Dorada you can get a fair collection of Dominican cigars. If you come to Santiago for a cigar tour you can get some of the Aurora Preferidos, currently one of the more difficult cigars to find in the states.

To the poster that asked Why Cubans?

Mostly because they taste different. Just as cigars made in Central America taste different. We know that California wines are excellent, but we like French or Italian or German or Spanish wine. Just a question of taste--unless you are an out and out snob and want to flaunt the fact that you have some of the "forbidden fruit" but that is a waste of tiem.

BAck to Dominican cigars. If you want, get in touch via PM or email and we can set up a little tour in Santiago...

HB