www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I've been reading posts in this forum for a couple of months now, but this is my first post. My buddy (wingman) and I will be traveling to CR in 3 weeks and staying at the HDR. I haven't registered for a CRT VIP membership yet - I know, shame on me.

I have 3 questions that may have been answered somewhere in the forum, but I haven't been able to find the information:

1. Where's a good place in San Jose to buy decent Cuban cigars at a good price? Do they sell them at the duty-free stores at the airport?

2. Same question for decent single malt Scotch Whiskey.

3. Are the prices at Zona Blue (and, for that matter, the other higher-end MPs) negotiable?

Thanks to all of you public service minded individuals for making this forum as excellent as it is.

(1)yes....(2)bring it with you,whiskey is expensive in c.r.(3)set-price

1. The best place to buy Cuban Cigars is at the only Licensed (LCDH) Cuban Retailer in San Jose - http://www.habanoscr.net/. You can find some at the Duty Free, but they are not cheap. There are tons of counterfeit Cuban cigars in San Jose. And I am not referring only to the guys on the streets selling glass top box habanos.
2. Buy your booze at the duty free. They have some single malts. Not a huge selection, but they have a few good single malts.
3. Buy a VIP membership now. It will pay off quickly and it supports this board.

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Cigar smoking doesn’t reduce us, it elevates us; It makes us more content to be alone, or it helps us to enjoy our companions. It encourages us to dwell on the simple moments and celebrate the sublime.
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Hung like Einstein and smart as a mule.
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You're not drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on.

1. Cubanos are available at many stores in San Jose, including the duty free, which has a limited selection. The cigar store on calle 7 (exit Hotel Presidente, turn left, walk to corner, turn right across Avenida Central and walk most of a block uphill. On your right will be a tobacco shop. It's right next to Banco de Costa Rica). Cohiba torpedoes were around $200.00/box, the real deal. Zona Blue also sells puros cubanos at their cigar bar. Nice selection, okay prices.

Point: Most tobacco growers in Latin America are growing from Cuban seed anyway, and many of the cigar makers learned their trade in Cuba. An excellent Costa Rican cigar rolled from Cuban-grown tobacco and wrappers is Don Begnigno. His cigar factory isn't too far from the U.S. Embassy. Tours are offered with pleasure but by appointment. Another cigar tip. The street vendors are either selling fake cubanos (lousy smokes) or stale real cubanos (lousy smokes).

2. Single malt? You've got to be phucking kidding me. How about a nice local 12 year-old rum?

3. Negotiate at ZB (and for that matter other high-end MPs). Sure, and monkeys will fly from my ass. No pilgrim, no price negotiation, but if you get that long-overdue CRT V.I.P. card, you'll save $$$ at Zona Blue.

Hope this helps! Welcome to CRT. Have fun, play safer, avoid drugs and don't track mud across my nice clean kitchen floor!

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Thanks, and I'll get the VIP card before my trip.

Is $42 out of your price range?

Just kidding, all MP's (high-end or low) are fixed price. Some quote by the hour, some by the half hour (usually the cheap Tico places), and most by both.

You have the right attitude to have fun.
Hope your trip goes well.

Read my guide in this section of what to bring and my general guide with top tips, also in this section.

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PacoLoco: "You pay for it one way or another."
Ace: "Rent everything, do not buy in Costa Rica"

Thanks, Ace. I've already committed your work product to memory.

Pretty much stuck with the set prices at the MP's (still the best deal in town). Can negotiate a deal with the many of the MP girls to go outside though.

Some good cigar info above... the prices at Duty Free coming in are not as bad as the prices at the stores in SJ, but make sure that at the airport you shop in DUTY FREE not the souvenir shop, those prices are very high... I made that mistake my first trip. I always stop on the way in and buy a box of H. Upman (Habana) tubos (25) for about $200, smoke most of them then de-tube and de-band the last few and bring them back with the Costa Ricans I bring back…never been questioned. They do also sell single cigars of a few brands.

If you are lucky enough to be flying TACA you will be doing a quick plane change in San Salvador or Guatemala, the cigar shops in those airports are the absolute cheapest for real Cubans anyplace I’ve ever seen…A Montecristo #2 is about $20 in the cigar shop near the Presidente, it is $12 in San Salvador.

Don Begnigno’s are EXCLENT cigars, medium bodied, extremely well rolled in an Ecuadorian wrapper with Cuban and Cuban seed tobacco blends. Very comparable to H. Upman. I highly recommend that you stop by the “Factory” by the embassy and get a box to take home, 10% discount for cash. They have about 25-30 US congressmen who they do private label boxes for…

And finally… take El C’s advice…if you like single malt scotches, you will like a good 12 year old rum!

Mendo

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"It takes a lot of good beer to make a great wine"