jabba
i posted this elsewhere a few years ago...it is basically a cut and paste with a few revisions...enjoy your trip
smoke shops in varadero
1ave & calle 27...this is the seediest lcdh in vara . i have gotten singles
but have never gotten boxes here.cohiba monty and ryj smokes are marked up from government prices about 10%...the other brands are at government prices,selection is small and limited.
1ave & calle 31...this is were ave 1 splits and becomes ave 1 and ave playa...a small selection but some interesting non-mainstream stuff...have only been a few times but i like it more every time i go.
1 ave & calle 39...this is the one that has a coffee/rum store down stairs and upstairs a cigar shop.monty cohiba and ryj are at government prices.knowledgable friendly staff...and the best looking staff in any smokeshop in vara.selection is limited but some good finds...have seen ryj celestail finos(in 00) ...q'd'orsay(in 02)...got a box of punch royal selection#12's last nov.(have been many times since this post...one of my favorite stores in vara)(they have '98 diplomaticos#4's...i get a box every time i go there)
1 ave and ???...cant remember the address but it is just a few blocks down from 39th next to an ice cream shop...if anyone knows the street address???this is the smallest lcdh in vara...about 8 feet wide and just enough room for 2 people.very limited selection...tourist smokes...monty ryj and cohiba. dont know about prices never bought anything here
1 ave & calle 63...the best selection in vara and better than a lot of lcdh's in havana.cohiba ryj and monty's are at government prices .by the time i have been in varadero for a week i just about have stalker status at this store.they know me and treat me well ...girls are friendly but busy...wait til the store clears out a bit.better selection(i thought)than the partagas factory store and on a par with the la corona factory store(maybe).
plaza america...no address just ask a cab driver or the double decker bus driver...you will get there.second best selection in vara.prices are government prices including ryj cohiba and monty's.the sales staff is surly and would just as soon you left and didnt buy anything but the choices are there...saw a cab of bolivar coronas gigantes and a cab of trinidads(two not very easy cabs of 50 to find) last nov.
if you happen to get to havana
ave 5 & calle 16 miramar...in la 'abana...if you go to habana you must go to this lcdh...nice staff(the manager took care of me).government prices.the best selection of cuban cigars i have ever seen(though i suppose there are stores in london and geneva that are bigger).
if you take the tour to 'abana there will be a few hours alloted for shopping at the big arts and crafts mercado in downtown(dockside)habana...leave the wife with the tour and take a cab to 5th & 16th...it is about a 10 min drive and the cab driver will wait(mine waited with his meter off...cost me 6$ to go, wait an hour and return).(went in dec'05 cab was 18$cuc...same thing go wait an hour return)
most of the resorts have there own cigar stores with limited selection and higher prices on cohiba ryj and monty's...some stores i have been in with a good selection are the sol sirenas coral and melia varadero.these are actually good places to find smokes with a few years on em as some of the lesser known brands just sit on the shelves for years.('98 bolivar coronas at sirenas coral when there in '02).
this is all i can think of anybody else with something to add??????
derrek
