Shopping Tour In Don Lucas Cigar Factory, Rum tasting, Cocoa factory, Souvenirs

Nice day out

Excellent, knowledgeable staff at don Lucas. Sadly the hotel I am staying at doesn't allow external tour companies through security barrier and I had to pay the extra for taxi from reception to main gate for pickup and return cost afterwards, this is third tour I've booked which state hotel pickup and drop off included in the price and security will not allow companies through. Not the fault of tour providers, but maybe for future this can be highlighted to customers staying at Occidental Caribe that they don't allow external tour companies and hotel does not have golf buggies to transport guests to the main gate, they expect you to pay cost for taxi to and from reception around $10 each way,

via Tripadvisor

Short, Sweet & Worth the Stop

We booked this as an easy way to get off the resort for a bit and do some souvenir shopping, and it was exactly what we were looking for. We had read the reviews ahead of time, so we knew this wasn’t going to be an all-day shopping experience. The shopping center is pretty small and you can easily walk and shop everything in about 1–1.5 hours. You’re guided through different shops where you can sample and buy Dominican rum, chocolate, coffee, and cigars. The excursion is very inexpensive, and it’s pretty obvious the idea is that you’ll spend some money with the vendors while you’re there. We expected that, so it didn’t bother us at all. The highlight for us was definitely the cigars. They’re made in-house, and our guide greeted us with a complimentary cigar when we arrived, which was a really fun touch. Overall, this was a great little outing if you want to get off the resort, try some local products, and knock out your souvenir shopping without giving up half your vacation. Just go in knowing what it is, and it’s a really enjoyable stop.

via Viator

This place is excellent for all your souvenir needs.

First things first: this isn’t really a “tour.” It’s more of a guided shopping experience. You do learn how they make cigars and you get one to smoke, but you don’t learn much about their fields, curing process, or full production cycle. I’m sure I could’ve asked more questions, but that’s what YouTube is for. This is truly a one‑stop shop for anything you’d want to bring back from the DR. They have a wide selection of cigars, rum, and small souvenirs, and the small fee to visit is worth it. However, my wife and I found the coffee and cocoa sections to be lacking. When you arrive, you start with the cigar‑making demonstration and learn how they wrap them. Next is a jewelry shop selling Larimar—native to the DR—and amber sourced in the country. They offer costume jewelry as well as gold and silver pieces at reasonable prices. After that, you visit their main souvenir shop, where you’ll find shot glasses, picture frames, clothing, and other items to remember your trip. This building has an upstairs and downstairs; the upper level has cosmetics and their full cigar lineup (more on that below). After that comes the rum tasting. The rum tasting can be free or cost a little extra. They offer 3–4 small samples of rum, but if you want a full shot or want to try anything beyond their basic rums, expect to pay $3–$7 per shot. You do get a full‑size shot for that price. Their rum selection is great, and the staff member helping us knew the legal amount we could bring back to the U.S., which helped us decide what to purchase. The last two shops weren’t as impactful as the earlier stops because they felt more like simple stores rather than places eager to explain their products. The coffee room had one wall of coffee and related items, and they gave my wife a small, hot, burnt sample. She’s the coffee drinker in the house, and she wasn’t impressed, so we didn’t buy anything there. The final area was a cocoa shop with a ton of local chocolate but no one offering suggestions or any history about their products. We did get samples, but it was basically just, “What would you like?” Circling back to the cigars: since you’re visiting a place that makes its own cigars, most of the options are their own brands. If you’re looking for Cubans, they do sell them, but they’re the most expensive I’ve seen—and I’ve been to three Caribbean countries in the past five years. If you want to see how the DR makes cigars and browse a full room of them, you won’t be disappointed. Overall, I highly recommend this place. The staff is friendly and open to answering questions. My wife and I never felt pressured to buy anything at any stop, and we still spent close to $700 and got everything we wanted for ourselves and for family back home. They picked us up at our hotel and brought us back, which is a major advantage. I’m sure you can find other places that offer similar items, but for us, this spot checked every box we had for our trip.

via Tripadvisor

Great excursion for the price! Worth it!!

This excursion is great if you're into cigars or rum. It's worth the price and the tour guide gives a good introduction to cigars and cugar making. The cigars are actually very good. Nice selection in the humidor. The rums are also great. Nice guys or girls excursion if you're a cigar person. My buddies and I had a great time and we found the selection good. Found some cigars we'd heard about but never seen in person.

via Viator

Don Lucas Cigar Tour

It was Ok, but would not go again. No pressure to buy anything and the people there were very informative just not our thing. It was just a big gift shop.

Response from the operator: We are a shop that manufactures handcrafted cigars, larimar and amber jewelry, and offers tastings of chocolates and local rum. For this reason, we only charge $2.50, which includes pickup and drop-off at your hotel.

via Tripadvisor