Best City to Buy Habanos?

[Louribal]

On 2/22/2017 at 7:11 PM, TheMonk said:

I quite like Havana and Andorra for my cigar purchases, but France, Spain and Germany have also been pretty good options IMO.

You being from Portugal, is there any affordable places to get cigars there?

Obrigado

[TheMonk]

11 minutes ago, Louribal said:

You being from Portugal, is there any affordable places to get cigars there?

Obrigado

Unfortunately no, prices are the same everywhere, and generally quite high. I'm sometimes able to score an older box (you can tell by the seal color), which in Portugal always maintain their original price at the time of release, like I did for a box of SW a few months back... but that's very rare, specially in the busiest shops.

[Coloniales]

OK, the UAE and Dubai specifically is a great place to buy and smoke. When you arrive, hit the duty Free shop, 2 in he Emirates arrivals hall for starters. Prices are more favourable that B&M stores, say $200/25 PL Picadores. The stores are supplied via the official importers here. in town there are a number of La Casa Del Habanos, no booze in them, but good cigar selection, prices Ok for lesser brands in particular. Abu Dhabi has a La Casa as well, and the airport i am not familiar with.

Smoking laws here are OK, and for 7 months of the year you can smoke outside anyhow, May-October its frying time temperature wise. 

Kuwait has some nice new cigar lounges, and is improving. Bahrain, hit n miss. Qatar, no idea. Tehran has a La Casa Del Habanos :-) not many people visit ;-) Oman, has some shops, from friends who live there, quality and selection can be patchy.

Keith.

 

[DrPartagas]

Best cigar store in Andorra?

[DBNInc]

On 2/22/2017 at 9:37 PM, kuma said:

A  couple of places I've been where cigar smoking is part of the culture and you won't lose your shirt.

Ok Monaco can be a little more coin, but great array of LE's / RE's.

  1.  Barcelona

  2.  Milano, Roma

  3.  Monaco

  4.  France no not rat infested Paris but Aix-en-Provence great cigar shop in the Old Town area

      off the "Course Mirabeau" near Book In Bar Bookshop!

  5.  Tokyo a couple of great shops w/vintage smokes up the Wa Zoo.

  Will re-visit topic of "Cigars of Tokyo" on another post.

 

Cao

 

Quoting this so I can find it again later haha.  Thanks for the suggestions

[DBNInc]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:38 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

No one has mentioned any Asian cities, wonder why?  

I thought for sure many would say Singapore as the best selection  and "decent" prices.  I know one cigar store that has every Habanos ever made since Castro including all the humidors, books, special editions, etc...  Can't find much of that in Cuba.  Seen a few other stores that had as many or even more extensive selections than any LCDH I've been to....

Hong Kong has been known as great place to find rare Habanos and Beirut is known as an epicenter of Habanos for the Middle East...  Not one mention on two pages of any three of these locations...  

Are the prices in these locations good?

[madandana]

On February 25, 2017 at 10:16 PM, canadianbeaver said:

I vote Madrid and Barcelona. No LCDH, red signed various "Tabac".

Do we know if these are generally legit places to buy?

[canadianbeaver]

1 hour ago, madandana said:

Do we know if these are generally legit places to buy?

Absolutely. Spain is where Habanos is located. Best cigar buying in the world for us.

[Akela3rd]

Do we know if these are generally legit places to buy?

And the prices are set by the Spanish govt so you shouldn't get ripped.

Thunder & Lightening '75-'15

[gweilgi]

2 hours ago, Akela3rd said:

And the prices are set by the Spanish govt so you shouldn't get ripped.

Thunder & Lightening '75-'15
 

How helpful are they in taking VAT/GST/sales tax off the price for tourists?  

[Akela3rd]

How helpful are they in taking VAT/GST/sales tax off the price for tourists?  

Dunno. The price listed is what you pay as far as I know.

Thunder & Lightening '75-'15

[ebhead]

6 hours ago, gweilgi said:

How helpful are they in taking VAT/GST/sales tax off the price for tourists?  

You would pay the list price at the store. If the establishment offers a refund on the portion of the tax paid the store would fill out a form (need to have your passport on hand) and then you would claim it at the airport once leaving the country. I don't know if there are refunds offered on taxes for tobacco products though. For most purchases there is a minimum spend required at the store to take advantage of the potential refund.

Rules on the EU to on VAT refund:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/travellers-leaving-eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en

 

Edited April 9, 2017 by ebhead
(edited to add link)

[Smallclub]

On 03/16/2017 at 1:40 AM, DrPartagas said:

Best cigar store in Andorra?

the two CigarShops (one in Andorra-la-Vela, the other in the border town Pas de la Casa), and the LCDH at Plaça Co-Princeps.

[CaptainQuintero]

On 15/03/2017 at 1:27 PM, Coloniales said:

OK, the UAE and Dubai specifically is a great place to buy and smoke. When you arrive, hit the duty Free shop, 2 in he Emirates arrivals hall for starters. Prices are more favourable that B&M stores, say $200/25 PL Picadores. The stores are supplied via the official importers here. in town there are a number of La Casa Del Habanos, no booze in them, but good cigar selection, prices Ok for lesser brands in particular. Abu Dhabi has a La Casa as well, and the airport i am not familiar with.

Smoking laws here are OK, and for 7 months of the year you can smoke outside anyhow, May-October its frying time temperature wise. 

Kuwait has some nice new cigar lounges, and is improving. Bahrain, hit n miss. Qatar, no idea. Tehran has a La Casa Del Habanos :-) not many people visit ;-) Oman, has some shops, from friends who live there, quality and selection can be patchy.

Keith.

 

I wonder what sort of long aged goodies are in the Teheran store!

[gweilgi]

17 hours ago, ebhead said:

You would pay the list price at the store. If the establishment offers a refund on the portion of the tax paid the store would fill out a form (need to have your passport on hand) and then you would claim it at the airport once leaving the country. I don't know if there are refunds offered on taxes for tobacco products though. For most purchases there is a minimum spend required at the store to take advantage of the potential refund.

Rules on the EU to on VAT refund:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/travellers-leaving-eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en

 

Thanks for that!  I know that some shops do offer such a service in parts of Europe, and it does reduce the pain of the retail prices somewhat ...

[Coloniales]

On 4/10/2017 at 2:42 AM, CaptainQuintero said:

I wonder what sort of long aged goodies are in the Teheran store!

The local reps from Dubai head up there once in a while. Nothing very WOW, but some older Els and such like they have brought back.

 

Keith.