I have a friend who goes to Nicaragua 3 or 4 times a year. He brought me some cigars back a few years ago and they were good. The brand was Joya De Esteli. I posted a thread about it way back. Evidently they are pretty much only available there which brings me to the question:

Is it possible to get good deals in Esteli on brands such as Joya De Nicaragua or are they about the same as here in the states? I wanted to get him to pickup some if I can get a deal. Don't have a lot of money to spend at the moment so I was wondering. What about bundles there? Really any info would be appreciated cause he is going for Thanksgiving and again on New Years.

Thanks.
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Wish I could help, no idea. One thing I am pissed about though is my BIL and SIL spent two years in Nicaragua in 2010 just before I took up cigars :-) Could have had them send me smokes!!
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I messaged Ferdi and says there aren't any deals to be had. It seems that if you buy at the airport the prices are more. Ferdi says the factories aren't allowed to sell any cigars. My friend picked me up a ten pack of corona sized Joya De Esteli's quite a few years ago, but I will have to ask him where he got them and how much there were.
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As far as I know Greg, the main cigars availiable there are the ones that they produce in tat village. I have a friend that goes down there regularly on missions, and he ususlly brings me a "care" package back. Pretty nice bundle of smokes all things considered.
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Thanks Steve. Just chatted with my friend and he says that he can usually get some from the factory even though they don't "sell" them. He usually has a guy that is from there with him and he knows some of the women that work there.
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Generally speaking - if you live in the U.S. it's better to buy cigars in the U.S. than it is buy them abroad.
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The Nicaraguan cigar brands we know and love are made for export. To buy them in Nicaragua they would have to be "imported" back and are subject to huge taxes. I smoked a few brands (Liga Privada, Padron) at a local shop in Managua and they were more expensive than in the states.
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