skateycat

thanks for the info, solar.  either retired or.....

i have used these guides in the past, so helpful.  now, i get an error message when attempting to find them.  has tom stopped doing his website?

hoping to do the same in december, so keep us posted on how it went!  i was also wondering if there were other distilleries on the island to visit. i am with you, i don't mind paying the extra for convenience, but if it is close enough by taxi i am pretty sure it would be more cost effective.

am looking to book a private tour that would not include the "touristy" things and jungles, beaches, and etc.  more interested in history of the city and culture. we would like to just design our own tour, i guess, with the help of a guide.  suggestions from those of you who have used a guide in limon? tia

i would really like to book rony for our upcoming cruise in march.  we are not beach people as we live in sw fla and can go any time.  we are very interested in the cacao factory for sure and perhaps daniel johnson's sanctuary.  i am getting a bit more environmentally conscious and wondering if the places they take you to see the animals are truly sanctuary places or tourist traps. i have seen videos of the monkeys in cages...small cages...and also know that neither monkeys nor sloths are native to roatan.  that is not to say i would not want to go to support an actual sanctuary that has saved these creatures from being tossed aside as unwanted pets or tourist attractions.  anyway...i guess i am asking others opinions on that.  also, what is the restaurant like that rony takes you to?  we are very excited for this trip and appreciate the opinions of others who have been.

good point, cold cruiser.  i just assumed they are native to roatan, but yep...how they are treated is weighing heavy on my mind.  any thoughts out there?  off to research this topic....we WERE thinking of visiting the sloths, but now that i am thinking about it i wonder how humane this really is.

i LOVED this video, Misguy...omg.  cannot wait to visit the chocolate factory!  hubby and i are growing some cacao trees from seed right now, so high interest in this topic. thanks again!

i highly and personally recommend using dyea dave.  one of the best...if not THE best...excursions i have ever taken on a cruise.  http://www.*****/contact.htm. not sure why the link is not printing here properly, but contact him at his name with .com after it.  lol.  small group comfy mini bus and he will stop whenever and wherever you ask.  he is the expert and knows where all the great photo ops are.  he knows the history.  takes you to a great place for lunch.  give it a look. we will be in skagway again this august and i am seriously considering booking him again as are the members of my group who went with me before. that should say something....

just as an update>>> we DID get a taxi and paid 40 CUC for 4 of us. found him after walking out of the terminal and heading to the left up the street, past all the horse and buggy drivers. air conditioning.  he did not speak english, but it did not matter as i speak spanish (well enough to serve as translator for my group. lol)  He took us to Fusterlandia, waited, then drove us around the city and finally we ended up at the Mercado.  Over 3 hrs of fun.  a 1950 chevy with a toyota engine. and the AC was lovely.  pretty hot during our visit.  thanks again to everyone for their advice.

thanks for the advice, riff. i have my "route" pretty much mapped out to do on our own, but i appreciate the advice.  i did see originally that they would also book private tours.  not sure i need one, but i will mull it over. thanks again...

ooops, i meant san jose.  i did not say this was all we were going to do. lol.  this is the morning.  then hubby will need a nap (due to medical reasons/ medications). i will wander around the mercadero at certain stops on my list.  then the night time will be pub crawling most likely.  i do not feel i need a guided tour as we did this in may.  i might be looking for someone to do a pub crawl as a guide (though i already have mapped out the places we wish to "crawl" to).  i already looked at strawberry tours which do not operate on the day we will be in port. i have done lots of research and i also speak spanish.  i felt very comfortable touring around habana vieja solo in may.  i have seen the "sights" all the tours want to take you to and done the classic car thing. my experience using blexie was just ok and i felt pricey for what we got. to each his own, though.  much appreciative of your advice.  am really just interested in finding out about getting to and from fusterlandia. the rest i know how to do...not wanting to waste a guide's time, really.

so Eaton and Fred...did you both take taxi there and then back to port? and thanks for the heads up on the time.  we plan to do this first thing in the morning then hit the market at san pedro.

great information.  so i assume i should expect to pay about 22 to maybe 30 cuc for a cab from the port to fusterlandia with them waiting for us. is that correct? and how long is the touring around fusterlandia in general....wondering how much time to allot...an hour? 90 minutes? thanks...

my gosh. forgot to check in. we never made it to the factory, but we did walk past the old partegas factory on our walking tour of old havana the first evening. we clearly ran out of time. i was able to find a legit cigar store recommended by cigar afficionado and got some great buys.

thanks for the info. people who have recently cruised are saying it is closed or was closed over the june 6-8 period anyway. thanks again!

i am reading online on another social media site ;););)that there was a fire at the san jose marketplace and that it is now closed. i do not think it is so, but wondering what others have actually seen or experienced in havana recently.

used fertours on the inaugural majesty sailing for just 4 hrs and our guide crammed in as much as he could getting all the highlights in that i asked for. i highly recommend them. fernando will tailor your tour to whatever you want it to be.

wow. i just checked hubby's as i got him all singles. i have them stored in some "portable" humidors. all clean. i am looking forward to returning to havana soon and this shop. thanks again for all your great advice. i am assuming the shop you visited at the fort is the one "at the lighthouse" that my guide was talking about.

went to the store at hotel villanueva and got some great deals! actually, i found it on my own after some searching and questioning of locals. lmao. ok then. antonio was fabulous in helping me pick out what my friend and hubby would like given their palate. got a small box of the elusive montecristo no. 2's. he was impressed with my knowledge of cigars and also my command of spanish. they do NOT take credit cards...i asked. however, i paid for some with usd which he took adding in the 13% exchange rate he would have to pay to convert it at his bank. i was glad to do so. will visit here again next time i am in havana. now that i am home and re-reading this post, i am glad to find out it was the store you found! our guide was trying to take us to "the lighthouse" but i politely refused his offer and went out on my own. i could not remember where you said the fakes were, but the lighthouse is near the fort so i am assuming perhaps this is the same place.

yes, i realize the articles were written in 2011, but the information is still pertinent. the list of cigars is still valid and one you should look at to decide what is what especially if you do not really know cigars and their ratings, etc. however, smoking a cigar is an individual taste thing and what one "aficionado" calls a 98, i might say is 88. lol. they have moved the main factory now and as i said, we will check in when we get back. we leave wednesday. hoping to find lots of info for you all.

thanks for this great review. leave a week from tomorrow out of tampa for an overnight on the rcci majesty of the seas.

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/havana-cigar-shops-16208

this is another article i will be using, dedosr, in order to figure out where to focus our cigar buying. will be there next week taking a cab or walking to one of them if it is close enough to the dock. i will report back. and steve, i am not going to the dominican, but thanks for the tip. if a future cruise ever includes that as a port, i will keep it in mind.

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/havanas-cigar-factories-16209

read the above article...full of great information. the modern partagas factory has indeed moved. i have asked this same question myself just yesterday and have gotten zero responses. i am using this article as a guide when we go next week...will be there may 10 and 11. we have decided we will just take a cab. i have read elsewhere from a nytimes article that you need to buy tickets ahead of time at a hotel. not sure if this is true or not. when is your trip? i will report back any info i find out if you would like.

thanks for all the links to the articles and for the lively discussion on discovering fakes. will be there next week. do you know if they sell portable humidor packs? i am taking plastic bags, but am thinking i need packs also. any recommendations on this?

looking for info from anyone who has done this. apparently they have moved the factory. sounds like you have to go to a hotel to buy a ticket for the tour for $10CUC? any advice is appreciated. hubby is a cigar aficionado and likes the gloria cubana brand which is made at partagas. thanks in advance...oh. we will be in havana may 10 and 11.