Cigar Tours

Go to search, select advanced search, and type Hillbilly in the box. All his posts will come up. Select any post, click on his name on the top left hand corner of the post and select the 'send a private message' option.

Not sure if there are tobacco growing areas and cigar factories in the eastern part of the country, but the main area is definitely the north/north western region which is a long journey from Punta Cana (4 hours to the capital, 2 hours to Santiago and beyond).

Cigarnut:

Under the welcome screen where it shows your name, there is a link titled "private messages." Click that link and on the left of the screen you will see "send private message." Type in Hillbilly for the recipient and ask away.

HB lives about 5-6 hours away from Punta Cana, but I am guessing he will be able to provide you with the information you request.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

CigarNut said:

My wife and I will be in Punta Cana October 18th through 24th (Saturday to Saturday).

We want to tour some cigar factories.

I was referred to this website by the Cigar Aficionado forums and told to look for someone named "Hillbilly," to set up tours for me... but I haven't figured out how to look for another user.

Anyone help?

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Actually there is something that looks like a cigar factory in the B?varo area - laid on for tourists no doubt - near the Coco Loco crossing on the Ver?n-B?varo highway - Don Lucas.

would not agree on "Don".
there is no real "factory" in Punta Cana,
the tobacco comes from the other side of the Isle,
Hillbilly's 'hood.
but we have good shops here,
some offer very good quality for very reasonable rates,
own productions you can i.e. find at the place of the Swiss Lady named "Elizabeth", her homemade brand is named "El Torpedo".
shop is located at Los Corales, right aside the well signed Pizzeria,
they even pick you up at your hotel for a visit,
doesn't matter you finally buy or not.
they show you of course around throu the whole process of their manufacturing, if you want you can roll your 'own' one.
be careful with your vredit cards in case you bring the wifeys with ya, they run also a very good jewlery store for Larimar and Ambar, all selfmade, so you will not find that piece again at a store at home, lol.
the 2 Gals speak a dozen languages,
just drop 'em a call on
1-809-853-6027

been there yesterday for my Mrs's birthday present,
heck,
the answer felt good, lol.
Mike

Hi Mike,
I'll be at the Bavaro Princess All Suites Dec 01 for 2 weeks. Is the Swiss Lady close to the Bavaro Plaza?

CigarNut,
If you want to go to Cigar Disneyland you will have to visit Villa Gonzalez which is on the other side of Santiago on the way to Naverette. I am Cuban by birth and they say that Cubans Cigars are the best, but I have to say that the Dominican Cigars are secound to none. There are probably 10 to 20 cigar factories that you can visit and see them being hand rolled. You will also see all the tabacco plantations all around. Hope this helps you.

El Profe

chambersd said:

Hi Mike,
I'll be at the Bavaro Princess All Suites Dec 01 for 2 weeks. Is the Swiss Lady close to the Bavaro Plaza?

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yeap,
just 5-6 driving minutes. they pick you up for free, even if you finally would not purchase a thing.
enjoy the weekend
Mike

El-Profe said:

CigarNut,
If you want to go to Cigar Disneyland you will have to visit Villa Gonzalez which is on the other side of Santiago on the way to Naverette. I am Cuban by birth and they say that Cubans Cigars are the best, but I have to say that the Dominican Cigars are secound to none. There are probably 10 to 20 cigar factories that you can visit and see them being hand rolled. You will also see all the tabacco plantations all around. Hope this helps you.

El Profe

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right Profe,
the plantations and big factories are all around Santiago,
Hillbilly is the Man for that area.
but Cigarnuts will stay in Punta Cana,
and i guess he has no idea of a "lil travel around b/c he has a car".
from the PC hotel strip up to Santiago where my wifey is from you will face at least a 7-8 hrs one way drive, IF you know your where where you wanna drive to, of course such excursion has to be a overnighter.
so please,
if you give info do such correctly and give the full info.
between PC and Santiago we are talking 2 different sides of the 2nd largest Island of the whole caribbean.
Mike

Mike: Thanks for clearing that up.

the idea of the Swiss lady might be a solution. She probablyhas a roller on site, so the OP can see how it is done.

I agree that the long drive is a little much.

As an alternative, they should ask the concierge at the hotel if there is a tour to the La Romana factory of Altadis (Tabacalera Garc?a). If there is, then that is a great solution....

And the next time, please plan your vacation to a more "cigar friendly" area such as the North Coast (Puerto Plata, Sos?a and Cabarete). Then I can spend a day showing what it is really like.

As for Villa Gonzalez?? Well, let's say that yes, there are factories there, but no, they are not normally open for tours by individuals.

You would find more factories in Tamboril. And Navarrete is in the heartland of tobacco processing (as well as Santiago)..

It is amazing that the OP mentioned that I am still talked about at Cigar Aficionado...haven't been to that site in years....Say Hi to them for me!!

Cordially,

HB

that's correct.
the swiss lady has 2 rollers on site, they produce their products right there, and they have neither a prob if a visitor wanna try to roll his own one, they introduce to that.
and yeap,
la romana is a good alternative from the east, there are many rides/excursions offered which include a stop there.
for a cigar friend i would recommend to skip that tourist tour shopping kinda trip and drive his rental car down there on his own to get his sniff.
hey,
you are the Santiago Cigar Icon on the Bord,
don't deny that, lol.
Mike