First trip to Cuba in September!

[swmillar]

Hi guys

Finally, I've gotten round to booking a trip to Cuba in September for 12 days. Really looking forward to it, planning on;

Havana
Trinada
Vinales

and whatever else I discover along the way. Many warnings on here about fake cigars so will be trying to navigage through that minefield and haven't decided as yet what to buy - gut feel is go with what I like and hopefully save a bit of money, e.g. Siglo VI, MC Edmundo's, PSDN4 etc.

I've read a lot of the threads on here and the info on Cigar Aficionado etc, but as always, you can read as much as you like, the reality isn't always as simple!

Look forward to posting up details of the trip and little tips that I come up with.

Any pearls of wisedom greatfully received!

Thanks

Steven

[Deano]

You'll have a great time. Simply stick to Habanos stores and you'll be fine. No 'my friend works at the factory...' etc etc!

[PUFF'n'BLOW]

Hello there, I returned in june from Cuba. My god is was getting hotter and hotter as we where there.
We stayed in Guadalavaca, best holiday of my life! Speed boating while on a big fat cigar is something I would of never done anywhere else!
Avoid the 'pool cleaner'. They normally come to you asking if you want to buy them. I made friends with some people over there and they bought montecrist, cohiba etc. They looked legit and smoked well, tasted ok. But could tell they where fake due to no stamp date on the box, no hologram etc.
I ended buying cohiba and Partagas cigars from the shop inside the complex 'sol rio de luna&mares'.
From july to november they normally say stay away from Caribbean due to the climate and tropical weather.

I would go again in a SHOT!

Problem being with the country outside the EU, you can only bring back 50 cigars! Are you traveling alone?
You will see how much we get ripped off over here in the UK for cigar etc. Sooo cheap over there. Fags cost 60p a pack, over here its like ?7.00
Hope you enjoy it, any questions dont hesitate to ask.
Ps you can only buy there currency over there as there money is not available in any parts of the world. 1.5 peso to the english ?.

[Wardjrz]

Hey Puff n Blow. I went to Luna&Mares in 2010 and loved it and Cuba too, so much so that we went back in 2011 and stayed in Cayo Coco. Good times.

[Simon Bolivar]

Steve, if you look back to Travel Feb/ Mar 2011 , you'll see a series of posts I made about my first visit, plently of pics too. Enjoy your 'trip of a life time' & if your lucky perhaps you'll get to go again.

[RickMG]

You'll have a great time. Simply stick to Habanos stores and you'll be fine. No 'my friend works at the factory...' etc etc!

Deano is giving you the best advise here. Since the Habanos stores are all state owned the prices are the same at all of them, and like someone else said, you won't believe how cheap they are. By the way, don't think it's just a rip off in the UK, I was just at a LCDH store in Cozumel last week and the prices were ridiculous. Same thing at Atlantis in the Bahamas last Friday (was on a cruise). Anyway, shows you how the governments taxes the heck out of cigars. Heck, our government over here taxed them so high we don't even have them here anymore.

There are three places that I was at, thanks to a lot of members on this board. The Partigas factory store right behind the capitol building in old town Havana has a great store and a bar you can buy a Mojito while you shop around. Then another just a short walk away is the Conde de Villaneva, Hostal Del Habano. Walk inside and up a narrow stairway to the store. You'll love it. Tobacco leaves everywhere and a cigar roller right there in the store. But, fair warning, it's hot in that place as the entire store is a humidor.

The Hotel Nacional has a wonderful store. I stayed there most of the week and didn't even see it until the end of my stay. Have fun in Cuba, you've probably never seen any place like it.

DSC00261.JPG

DSC00281.JPGDSC00283.JPGDSC00286.JPGDSC00284.JPG

Then go smoke smoke some at the greatest smoking area in the world, the back patio of the Hotel Nacional.
DSC00047.JPG

[PoohBore]

Another vote for the Villanueva but ask for the custom rolled behind the picture in the lounge to the right.

Also the Mille Havana has a superb shop downstairs, again custom rolled available.

Lastly go to Miramar on the west side of Havana and find Enrique Mons's shop. His Lonsdales are superb

[spirit_of_will]

Such good memories of smoking on the terrace at the Nacional! Keep scheming to get back out to Cuba...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Simon Bolivar]

CUBA PAT 038.jpgCUBA PAT 037.jpgOk, there's an excuse to show again a couple of snaps from our visit to the el Nacional, the only thing we regrest was not going to the show afterwards.

[Petedam]

Don't be scared to walk on the west side of old Havana, eat at the La Guarrida, avoid the tourist traps of the east side (Floridita and the like). Buy legit cigars and KEEP THE RECEIPS. If Customs notice them on the way out, they will check if each box appears on your receipts. The Pardagas factory shop does all the brands (ask to go to the walk-in humidor through the VIP lounge). The rest discover by yourself! ENJOY

[RickMG]

Simon, you need to re-post all your photos. I forgot how much fun it was reading your trip journals and that you were there at the same time as the festival. It really helped me when I re-read them before I went.

Here behind us is the walk-in humidor at the Partigas VIP lounge. I'm pictured with Abel, the manager of Partigas.
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And PoohBore, thanks for mentioning the custom rolled at Villanueva. I forgot that those are what we made the stop for. Here's a few they put out for us to pick from.
DSC00288.JPG

Anyone wanting to see all my photos having to with the festival and cigars from the Cuba trip, here's the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110244124349788805908/CubaFriendsThereForTheHavanaFestival2012

[PoohBore]

Monsdales




Reynaldo's



Yolanda's

[Simon Bolivar]

SAM_2636.jpgMy little haul, just 9 stix over my limit, (declared & waved through Brussells airport), SAM_2639.jpgThose wrapped in cellophane are customs form the Hotel CondeSAM_2658.jpgSo anyone recognise who might have rolled them? Never thought to ask.

[smokin_e2011]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10305[/ATTACH]My little haul, just 9 stix over my limit, (declared & waved through Brussells airport), [ATTACH=CONFIG]10306[/ATTACH]Those wrapped in cellophane are customs form the Hotel Conde[ATTACH=CONFIG]10307[/ATTACH]So anyone recognise who might have rolled them? Never thought to ask.

Nice selection of sticks, you even got a hold of 2 boxes of the serie d no3 grand corona's ...which release the 2001 or 2006??

[Stevieboy]

Nice selection of sticks, you even got a hold of 2 boxes of the serie d no3 grand corona's ...which release the 2001 or 2006??

The cigars in the pic are a now discontinued regular line mate, not LEs. Like a lot of slim sticks, they're not so popular these days so HSA kicked them.....