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Cuba
Continued
buildings, classic American cars and billboards dis-
seminating communist propaganda about the very
regime that has preserved the country like a living
history museum.
“It’s like the 1950s there,” says Craig Cass, owner
of Tinder Box of Charlotte, who traveled to Cuba
in December 2016. “And there are cigars every-
where you go—walking to get ice cream one day I
was approached 50 times by people who wanted to
sell me cigars.”
Monthly salaries average around $30 so Cubans
are accustomed to looking for ways to supplement
their incomes—and for anyone working in cigar-
making, selling cigars on the side is the natural path.
“A guy working in a factory takes a little home every
day and spends a month making a box of cigars
that he’ll sell for a few months' pay,” explains Garo-
falo, who says that buying on the street might not
get you the best cigars, but it will warm your heart.
“My friends ribbed me about paying $100 for a box
of cigars I probably could have gotten for $80, but
these people really need the money. Another time, I
told someone who couldn’t change a $20 to keep the
change, and he gave me a smile like it was Christmas.”
Most discerning visitors, however, report that
buying cigars on the street is a chancy affair. “You
will see a lot of street merchants, some of whom will
try to get you to buy the worst-quality cigars, made
of shavings off of the floor,” warns Nicholas Syris,
founder of LH Cigars, who has traveled to Cuba
more than 50 times and has led group tours there.
Syris says travelers need to vet their street purchases
carefully. “Cigar factory workers are allowed to take
two cigars home a day, so they can choose to pack
and sell those authentic cigars. But if you want to
be sure of what you’re getting, buy directly from
the factories.”
Even then, those who view Cuba as a mecca for
cigar lovers may be surprised by what they find. Per-
haps not surprisingly, reports suggest that the equip-
ment in Cuba’s cigar factories is just as charmingly
antiquated as the streets and buildings in Old Havana.
Mystique or Myth
“Visiting the factories in Cuba, if you’ve been to
Nicaragua or [the] Dominican Republic, will be an
eye-opener,” says Syris. “They don’t use a
bunchero
rolero
[bunch roller] or any machinery whatsoever;
they have one guy working by hand, start to fin-
ish. Having said that, the quality control is the worst
I’ve seen in the world.”
Cass, whose trip included visits to factories,
agreed, noting, “If I had to give an analogy, com-
paring the factories in Cuba to those in Nicaragua
is like comparing high school football to the NFL.
It was like the Old West in terms of quality control
and the way things were run. People were selling
cigars right off the table. When we go through sort-
ing rooms in Nicaragua or [the] Dominican Repub-
lic, the cigars being put in boxes all look the same.
In Cuba, the variance is as wide as one to 10. I think
we’re all spoiled in the sense that we take fabulous
construction for granted—we’re shocked when we
find a cigar that doesn’t burn properly.”
Know
Before
You
Go
Bring Cash.
Credit and ATM cards
are usually convenient—but not in
Cuba, where American cards and
cash are virtually useless. “The
good news is that you’ll pay for
your hotel upfront, so you’ll unload
a lot of cash right away,” notes
Garofalo, who advises bringing
enough cash to fund your entire
stay. “Also, there’s no crime.”
Consider Alternate Accommo-
dations.
Cuba has a shortage of
hotel rooms, and the “foreigner”
room rates at top hotels like the
Saratoga Havana and the Hotel
Nacional are pricey ($450-$600).
“Casa particulars”—private home
rentals—are an economical and
comfortable alternative that can be
booked on Airbnb.
Save on the Exchange.
As with
most foreign countries, you’ll need
to exchange your cash for the local
currency. Since there’s a 10 per-
cent surcharge on exchanging U.S.
dollars, Mark Ryan of D&R Tobacco
suggests converting your cash to
Canadian dollars or euros at home
so you won’t have U.S. bills to
exchange in Cuba.
LowerYour Luxury Expectations.
“Enjoy Cuba and the cultural
immersion it offers, and don’t get
hung up on Western luxuries,”
advises Ryan, who attended the
annual Festival Del Habano in
Cuba last year. “It’s easy to forget
that it is essentially a third-world
country—it’s not uncommon for
there to be no seat on the toilet.
You just have to roll with it.”
Watch Out for “The Hustle.”
Taxi
drivers, cigar rollers, bartenders—
pretty much everyone you run into
in Cuba is on the make, says Syris,
who recounts bringing a tour group
into a hotel bar and being asked
for a per-person admission fee.
“You have to recognize that these
people work for $1 a day; they
can’t live on that,” he explains, not-
ing that taxi drivers will routinely
“forget” to turn on meters. “They
work to be able to steal because
if they don’t steal, they don’t eat.
That’s a mindset and mentality that
you need to understand.”
Don’t ForgetYour Souvenir
Money.
Thanks to a loosening on
restrictions, Americans can bring
unlimited amounts of goods back
from Cuba, although you’ll pay
taxes on anything over 100 cigars
or $800 in value. Keep in mind, you
are prohibited from reselling any
cigars you carry home.
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