How to travel with cigars

There comes a time for every cigar lover when they are going to want to travel with cigars.

After all, what better way to enjoy a vacation or a visit with an old acquaintance than with a nice cigar? While fine smokes are available the world over, it is often far more convenient to have a small selection of your favourites available than to take whatever is on offer at some unknown store in a strange land.

Air travel, unfortunately, is not so kind to cigars – the changes in temperature, air pressure, the dry air of a plane cabin, and so on, are all detrimental to ideal smoking condition. Equally, cigars do not usually appreciate being crammed into a suitcase.

If really pressed, the easiest way to travel is with a few cigars in tubes – put the tubes inside a Ziplock bag for a little extra atmospheric stability.

When looking to carry a more or varied cigars the solution is normally a travel humidor.

Travel humidors come in a huge range of designs at every price point but, essentially, they all amount to a practically airtight box. They range in size from a few sticks to a large chest holding fifty or more. A key element of every travel humidor is that it has a method of stopping cigars moving around inside, such as moulded foam padding or an elastic strap. More advanced models have a valve to regulate pressure during flight, although this is not usually necessary as it’s better to carry your cigars in cabin baggage if possible, to mitigate temperature changes. 

Any humidor must come with some kind of humidification device, often a small compartment of silicon beads or a sponge. In most cases, it is simpler to leave this unused and just place a Boveda pack inside the case.

Cigars secured, the next question for the travelling smoker is what to do about lighters and cutters while abroad. Any kind of cutter can be carried in checked baggage, but for cabin baggage, the only kind you are likely to get away with is an inconspicuous punch.

Most airlines allow you to carry a single soft flame lighter on your person (not in either your checked or carry-on baggage). Blue flame torch lighters are generally forbidden unless empty of gas and carried in the checked baggage in a specialised, certified case. Butane refills are also forbidden.

Many cigar smokers travel without incident with torch lighters – emptied or otherwise – in their checked baggage, but confiscations are not unknown, particularly when traveling to or from China. 

To avoid hassle (and particularly to avoid the loss of a costly high quality lighter), it is often wiser just to purchase a disposable lighter at your destination. Most hardware stores sell a kind of lighter body that takes a standard disposable lighter and converts it to a blue flame torch, which is another option for those who really cannot bear the idea of lighting with a soft flame.

The final issue you are likely to encounter is customs upon arrival.

Most countries allow you to enter with at least fifty cigars duty free without declaration.

One notable exception is the United States, which totally forbids Cuban cigars, even when carried by non-US citizens, and will confiscate and destroy any that they find. Checks are most common at airports that serve flights from Cuba.

Australia limits travellers to only 25g of tobacco products, which amounts to about two smallish cigars or one large one. If you declare a reasonable quantity (say, ten sticks), then the customs officer will usually allow it, rather than bother with the paperwork. A large quantity will see you ushered to a counter, where they will weigh your cigars and charge you the duty rate of $2100 AUD per kilogram, plus 10% GST. 

Customs in Australia are far more vigilant than in most countries, and random bag checks are common. If they discover undeclared tobacco, then it may be subject to confiscation, and, in extreme cases, hefty fines. As such, it may be better to purchase locally when travelling in Australia.

It should also be noted that the duty will apply even to cigars that were purchased fully taxed in Australia, have left the country, and then returned unsmoked – the best solution to this problem is to smoke all your cigars while overseas.

Enjoy your trip!