"Cigar Vacations"?
 

Where in the US would be a good (and preferably cheap) place to take a "cigar vacation"? In other words, visit rolling factories huge shops, relatively low taxes on cigars, etc etc?

Ive been thinking of going on one of these trips during my christmas vacation, if the price is right.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Good question!

Just south of Florida, west of the DR and east of Mexico would be an ideal low cost cigar vacation IMO :ss

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Probably Florida, the Cuban section of Miami in particular. I've seen a rolling factory in the Bronx, NY, but I don't think there's enough in that section of the Bronx to warrant more than one day's time.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Maybe one day in the future...:tt

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Florida…where they roll Tatuajes and other cigars.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I'd suggest Key West. Not sure how inexpensive that would be, but it would make a great (yes, "fabulous" :D) vacation and there are many boutique cigar shops (see link.)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Tampa,,,more cigar places than you can shake a stick at. If you want to progress further into South Florida it's the same thing. I love Key West as I took my touring motorcycle down there when I lived in Palm Beach Gardens and stayed for a few nights at a nice hotel ( 3 star ) for under $100 and just watched the sky, drink some beer and vino, smoked a ton of cigars and I still remember those 3 days.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Little Havana was flat out AWESOME. Cigar smoke in the air when you step out of the car, walk up cafe cubanos, El Rey De Los Habanos, LGC, El Titan De bronze, and now Padilla's new lounge/factory........ can't wait to go back.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Aside from Little Havana, which would be freaking awesome, let us not forget the Cigar Factory New Orleans.

I've never been, nor had one of their cigars, but I've been dying to for a while now. I only live a couple of hours from it.

There's also the Davidoff Shop on Madison Ave in New York.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I've been meaning to take a road trip with the wife to Miami. Maybe I will be able to get there this summer(Fingers Crossed) I may not want to leave though!:D

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

i definitely want to go to Cancun or Miami ... one day ... one day!

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

That shop was really cool, but not worth doing as destination IMO. I did all the bigtime cigar shops in the city in an afternoon, Davidoff, JR, Nat Shermon, etc. Cool to do if you are in NYC but not worth going to NYC just to do if that makes sense. Your results may vary though. :)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Yeah, I figured not, just wanted to toss that out there.

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:tu

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

So Florida around little Havana eh? Any BOTL's from around the area that would

1. Know the area and cheap places to rent a car and stay?

2. Know the area and wouldn't mind being compensated for showing a brother around?

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Little Havana is a great idea. If you'll have a rental car you could make the trip up to Ybor in Tampa and hit two cigar hotspots in one trip.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I've traveled to most of the places listed in the thread & here's my opinion.
Ybor City is a nice place to visit-great restaurants,good atmosphere. There are a few cigar shops there, some even roll their own right there. The prices are all retail, so don't go looking for a bargain. There's alot to do in the Tampa area-beach, Tarpon Springs. I would rate it as maybe a 6 or so.

Little Havana- Authentic Cuban. 4-5 cigar shops, La Gloria Cubana has a nice shop there with a rolling shop next door. Again this is mostly retail so no real bargains here. Little Havana is also a little sketchy. I would not recommend staying the night here. If you wantto stay in the Miami are I would recommend you stay on South Beach. There are some very nice hotels right on the beach at a very reasonable price. I think we paid $60/night. Nice dining. Good bars. Fun shopping. You can walk right across the street to the beach. And don't forget South Beach is topless! I would rate this as an 8.

I was in New Orleans before the hurricane. At that time there was a nice place near jackson Square that made their own. Good cigar,great atmosphere near Bourbon Street.

I just got back from Cancun. I stayed at the Riu Palace Las Americas. This place is all inclusive, so its a little more spendy but well worth it. All you can eat & drink. The hotel was awesome! You can walk down the street & but all the cigars you want, even the real Cubans. Just beware many of these are Mexican knockoffs. Mexican cigars with some very good Cuban labels. Do your homework before you buy any Cubans here, they are out there. Cuba is only 200 miles away from Cancun, so if your willingt o take to trip..........
I would rate tis as a 9-10.

Next I think I'll try the Dominican Republic. Most cigars come from here & the resorts are great.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Welcome to Cigar Asylum. Most of our new members post an introduction in the New Inmate forum. Feel free to do so. We're a friendly bunch.

Now, as to buying real Cubans on the streets of Cancun . . . . :r

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

How about going to a HERF that is out of state?

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Kentucky is NOT a vacation Dan! :r

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Dan, if I had to guess, the trip was planned for two Christmas breaks ago. ;)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

LOL. I didn't see that someone bumped an old thread.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Next time you consider Mexico, try Merida for your cigar vacation. It is the capitol of the Yucatan, 15 minutes from the beach, close to Chichen Itza, and a world apart from the Riviera Maya. We have everything Cancun has to offer and so much more.

Cheers
Drew P

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Nah, its an adventure!

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Many? Every cigar I saw in Cancun, outside of the LCdH, was fake....laughable, they were so bad.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Little Havana in Miami. Shop around and find a good hotel rate after the winter rush and have a great time. I have been several times and will take the trip many more I hope. There was a Thread a while back where several of us posted a lot of info on things to do there.:ss

I was not clear on this but as mentioned by another you don't want to get a hotel in the Little Havana area. Stay downtown or at the beach. I have gotten Enterprise Rental Cars there online very cheap but usually off site and not at the airport facility.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

The three or four cigar vacations I have taken have been for MOB Herfs and a non-herf.And no,"non-herf" was because that was the name of the gathering,not because it sucked :D
Louisville Ky.,Pompano Beach, Chicago and lastly Marblehead Ohio :)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

You can't go wrong in Key West. I spent sometime down there last year and loved every millisecond I was there. The cigar shops, bars & restaurants are top notch. A great cigar vacation IMO!


:ss


Chris.....

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

The Shack don't count?????

:tg

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I corrected it.
Strange because I had it in my mind ;s

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Much better. :)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Neat story about Key West and its cigar culture in the latest issue of Smoke magazine.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

We stayed at the Tropics Hotel which is the cheapest hotel on Ocean Drive I could find back then.

http://www.tropicshotel.com/rates.php

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I do believe I was at all 4 of those as well! :D

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:tpd:;s:r

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Good times Brother! :ss

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Fun place with many cigar interests but in my experience it is not at all on the inexpensive side. With Miami you can go pretty reasonable (usually low air fares available there) and some nice hotels at decent prices if you shop but if you want to let your hair down you can spend as much as you want to also.

From Miami with a rent car you can always do an overnighter down to Key West and have a double vacation.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Key west is definitely fun but far from cheap. I Guess you could make it cheap if you didn't drink and stayed in a scuzzy hotel! LOL

I saw lots of little cigar shop all making their own stuff. I never did see anyone rolling them. I only saw one actual cigar shop on duval. I guess I needed to venture a little further out.

Ybor is great, lots of little shops, a few places roll every day. Usually only one person in each shop rolling. Tampa mainly has the history. But there are a ton of great lounges in and around tampa to hang out at.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I really like Key West and always enjoy a short** visit, but I found most of the cigar stores to be below average. I found one cigar store that also sold wine and they had a well-maintained, if very small humidor and I did buy some sticks.

I found three or four other stores that I walked into, turned around, and walked out. Maybe things have changed in the year since I was last there...

I would go back again (and plan to) but I would bring my own sticks.

** I have only been there as a port-of-call on a cruise -- it seems too expensive to stay there for any length of time

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

We rented a house for 10 days for $1,300. The house was in walking distance to everything one could want or need while in Key West. And, there was a moped at the residence that the owner allowed us to use so we were able to explore a little bit.
I don't remember the name of the B&M just off of Duval St. but they had a older Cuban gentlemen rolling cigars from 9 to 11 Thursday & Fridays. Key West is my Shangri La for sure!


:tu


Chris.....

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Island Smoke Shop in Key Largo is a outstanding B&M managed by a member here(madurofan). :2

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I can't speak to Island Smoke Shop since I've never been there but Bill is a stand-up BOTL and personal friend.

(well, he's stand-up until he gets into the rum. :D)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

My dream Cigar Vacation is packing up 2 or 3 30 count caddy's and spending a week in bora bora. :banger:banger:banger :D

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1.../Bora-Bora.jpg

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

I apologize if my comments came over poorly... I was not trying put anyone or anything down. In all likelyhood I did not give these B&M's a fair chance and should have looked at them a little more.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

The trip I'm on right now is very comfortable and relaxing but I feel like I'm spending more than I should and I really miss the pampering of all inclusives.

DR has always been a favorite destination and the all inclusives are so cheap that I almost feel like I'm cheating the locals! Last time I went there I did some digging on this punta cana vacations page and trick was picking from all the great deals.

While I was there I didn't get out much, there was a bit of concern about the locals, so I relied on the concierge to find my smoke for me and they did a great job for the most part.

If I don't do DR next I'll probably hit Spain and to dig into some family history and sample the local product. ;)

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

spent 9 days here a couple of years back with my wife. Stayed in an over water bungalow at the then Bora Bora Nui. I took cigars and had a blast. It is very very pricey though at about 1600 a night back then.

Work in the travel industry and got the hotel for 450/night. So we saved a bundle but it was a great time!

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

If you're staying within the US, I'd have to say Miami. There are no fewer than 8 manufacturers here with corporate offices (with amenities) and some have rollers.

Some of them aren't normally open to the public, but if I was a travel agent here looking for a new idea, I'd get busy putting together packages and arranging visits.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Just don't do it in the summer.

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Just the info I was looking for. I'll be in Key West in April for a friend's wedding and I'll make sure to pack a few cigars just incase I don't have time to find a good shop

Re: "Cigar Vacations"?
 

Pete I think you ran him off!:r:r:r