Visiting Dominican Republic - Punta Cana

[FrankJerseyCigars]

Headed there on the 21st. Did as much searching as I could, general view is that there's a factory tour you can do and at the end there's a nice cigar shop with both non cuban and cuban cigars. Not really looking to do a full tour there - is there anywhere else anyone would recommend for cubans or opus x 20th? I'm planning to bring a lot with me (thanks to our host) but if it's worth a trip to find anything outside of the normal production run I thought it'd be worth taking a look. Separately, what is the general stance on smoking a cigar on your balcony in resorts down there if your room is non-smoking? Acceptable? While I will certainly partake on the beach, it would be nice to smoke something in private right outside my room. 

[oliverdst]

I could find real boxes just at the airport and one or another among several fakes inside resorts.

I didnt do the factory tour.

Smoked on balcony without a problem (Melia).

Duty free when leaving Punta has/had a very good store (after the "foodsquare" in your right, mostly NC's). 

[Capt. Brett]

We stayed at the Now Larimar and smoked on the patio ( ground floor room ) and around the pool without anyone saying a word. Was one of the best vacations we ever had. Fantastic people and great offshore fishing. Be sure to take plenty of 1 dollar bills for tips. A few bucks here and there gets you the royal treatment. 

[stevem]

Smoking on your balcony isn't a problem, I stayed at the Grand Palladium.

I booked a visit to Don Lucas via email, they picked me & my wife up at our resort and there were cigars, rhum & chocolate all in one spot. They were very quick to respond so you can book via email when you arrive, to be allowed onto the resort they need your room number, so don't bother trying to reserve in advance of your check-in.
Link: http://www.donlucascigars.com.do/

They have a large selection of cuban & non-cuban cigars in a rather large walk-in humidor and I picked up a Tatuaje Havana VI that had a ton of yellow on the cellophane & smoked like a dream, wish I had purchased the whole box.

The beaches were flooded with fakes, i.e. Glass top Cohibas......, and airport cigars, behikes included, were sweating from the heat & humidity so I would steer clear of a purchase from either.

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[El Hoze]

I have not spent a ton of time in Punta Cana but I know DR well as my fiancee is from Santiago, DR - arguably the center of the tobacco world in DR. Outside of Santo Domingo (the capital) cigar selection is fairly limited, even in Santiago. Finding an Opus 20th at a shop in DR anywhere (or anywhere anywhere) would be very hard I believe. Those suckers are fairly hard to come by. Beyond that, I have always had the best luck at airports. I fly out of POP frequently and have scored some nice boxes of CCs over the years at decent prices. I'd imagine PUJ is similar as Oliver points out. I buy only CCs really and am fairly clueless outside CCs and Fuente. I am lucky to be gifted a lot of nice Fuente stuff. In fact, I returned from a trip last week and opened one of my boxes to find my fiancee had quietly dropped a 10-pack of Opus 20th torpedos in there for me. She has her ways! 

So (a) bring a nice stash of cigars with you for sure...I always fly in armed to the gills and (b) also fantastic advice as stated to have a large stash of 50 peso bills. Dominicans expect a tip for everything. But with a couple of bucks you literally don't need to lift a finger, and the beer is ice cold. 

 

[FrankJerseyCigars]

You thinking tipping in 50 pesos is better than dollar bills, referring specifically to inside one of the mega resorts? 

Thanks for all the tips guys, appreciate stuff like this. 

[El Hoze]

Inside the mega resorts I don't know. I always travel like a local (and I'm from Jersey too). Outside it's always pesos. 

[Capt. Brett]

29 minutes ago, FrankJerseyCigars said:

You thinking tipping in 50 pesos is better than dollar bills, referring specifically to inside one of the mega resorts? 

Thanks for all the tips guys, appreciate stuff like this. 

They had no problem with dollars in the resort. What resort are you staying at?

[FrankJerseyCigars]

2 hours ago, Capt. Brett said:

They had no problem with dollars in the resort. What resort are you staying at?

Barcelo Bavaro Palace

[Capt. Brett]

Looks like a very nice resort. I see they offer a premium level upgrade like where we stayed. For us it was well worth it. 

[creamypies]

I stayed at grand bavaro. Smoking in the balcony is not an issue. Prices are outrageous so take plenty of your own. There are two places to visit. Matilde cigar is the better of the two although I'm not sure they offer tours. The fuente chateau is a 6 hour drive and I wouldn't recommend it.


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[FrankJerseyCigars]

I don't want tours at all, that was my point. Just places to browse Cubans and potentially find anything out of the ordinary. I like checking out cigar shops anywhere I travel. 

[bnasse9900]

I know you said you're anti-tour, but the Don Lucas "tour" isn't bad at all. 

- It's free.

- You don't have to worry about transportation or safety. Some areas outside of the hotel grounds are a little rough. 

- The tour is inside an enclosed compound, and is pretty loose. If you wanted to skip everything and go right to the gift shop (where the cigars are), I don't think anyone would stop you, though the coffee, rum, and chocolate huts are worth a quick look (in my opinion). They all give free samples too. 

- The entire round-trip took less than three hours for us. 

Anyone in the DR will happily take USD if you have them. A few dollars go a long ways. 

I smoked everywhere and nobody said a thing. Just be mindful of kids and you should be all set. 

[Pilsner14]

You want to browse cubans go to Cuba. In all seriousness. You are in Dom. Rep country.

[stunod]

The place is loaded with fakes. Not just Cuban fakes, Dominican too. Only buy from factory tour or airport. The airport had a shit load of Dominicans. I don't think they had any Cubans.

I brought my own stock to smoke. 

[oliverdst]

10 hours ago, Pilsner14 said:

You want to browse cubans go to Cuba. In all seriousness. You are in Dom. Rep country.

For some of us is not that easy to travel overseas without family. Everywhere I go I try to dig Cubans too.

[FrankJerseyCigars]

46 minutes ago, oliverdst said:

For some of us is not that easy to travel overseas without family. Everywhere I go I try to dig Cubans too.

Exactly. For one, I'm not going to Cuba, if Cubans are no where to be found in Dominican I don't care, but it was worth the ask. Second, given I'm the only going on the trip who smokes cigars I'm not going to leave and do a factory tour by myself for hours. Perfectly happy buying all my Cubans from our host and bringing them with me wherever I travel. Thanks for the help though everyone. 

[SCgarman]

There is no LCdH in Dom. Republic, as far as I can see. Certainly that country is not going to promote Cuban cigars, when they grow and roll their own product. Take your own stash with you to enjoy and you will be fine.

[rxavier1979]

I'm actually going to be in Punta Cana for my wedding in June. Is that factory tour that worthwhile?  I have more than enough cigars to take for me and my friends but like Frank said, I like exploring what's available when I travel to any city. I wouldn't mind doing the factory tour as it sounds interesting.  Has anyone tried those cigars? Are they decent?  If they aren't, will it be awkward if I just buy other brands in the store and not their own brand? 

 Like I said I have plenty of my own so I can stay my happy ass at the beach all week long with my own stash if I need to. It would just be nice to find something new and interesting to do.  Hell, if the rum and coffee is good enough at the tour, I can bring my own cigars to smoke with those.

[mrwhitt]

Like @bnasse9900 said, the Don Lucas tour is hardly a tour. I recommend going because you also get the chance to check out the coffee, chocolate and rum shops and all offer samples. I found several rums that I've added to my smoking experience.

[canadianbeaver]

Before I went totally Cuban, my fave cigars were La Aurora. The oldest cigar co in the DR. I came to tell you this because it has been years but I brought one home from California and I am actually smoking it now.

it is pretty dam great.

So don't be shy. Enjoy.

[canadianbeaver]

Well after about 5 minutes pitched the NC and went for this. What can I tell ya?

 

[FrankJerseyCigars]

Personally I can't stand la aurora. I've tried a couple from friends not to be rude, but they're awful to me.

[canadianbeaver]

I guess I agree now, too bad. At least with that one. However, I will not say on all, as I used to love them.

[FrankJerseyCigars]

Quick update for anyone interested. I'm back from the trip. While there was a tiny amount of Cubans available for sale, they had legit ones and fake ones in the hotel shop. The guy tried hard to convince me they were the same and I got sick of listening so I walked out. The ones that were legit were insane expensive. CoRo was $38/stick. BHK 56s were $129/stick. Fake CoRo (absurd the bands they tried to use here, should have taken pictures) were $10. Glad I brought plenty with me.