*Warning: This is a long blog post – I had sooo many great experiences out there – I didn’t want to leave them out! So apologies in advance 🙏*
Every now and then, I like to get cheap flights and an Airbnb and do a bit of travelling. As a cigar enthusiast, every trip these days MUST include a visit to the local cigar shops, lounges, and terraces in the areas I visit 🙌.
I may even visit a town or city just because of its cigar shop/sampling lounge presence. Some might say I’ve taken this hobby too far! 😅 Check out that time I went to Cigar World in Dusseldorf, Germany, where I spent three consecutive days being a complete and utter cigar tourist—sampling lots of different cigars in one sampling lounge!
Earlier this year, at very short notice I saw a window of opportunity to travel, but I needed to figure out where I wanted to go. Of course, I dream of visiting Cuba and Nicaragua to see the tobacco fields and cigar factories, but I’m not made of money.
I chose Croatia (or it chose me). I believe this because I’ve been so inspired by everything I’ve been learning about the Cigar Smoking World Championship and its founder, Marko Bilic. Watching the final live online last year from Split, Croatia and seeing all the photos and videos from it afterwards, I definitely experienced some FOMO (fear of missing out).
For those that don’t know, Marko, didn’t have much of a local cigar community in Croatia when he started his cigar journey, so took it upon himself to create one and draw the global cigar community to him. Fast forward 15 years his creation, the CSWC, now attracts enthusiasts from around 50 countries to Croatia annually.
Over the years, I’ve heard so many good things about Marko from fellow cigar enthusiasts I’ve met – big shout out to Hazely in Malaysia, and Cem from Turkey who runs the El Lector blog 🙏 And if you recall, just last month, I competed in the Cigar Smoking World Championship UK Heats 2024. Here I did terribly 🙈😬 with only 20 minutes and 28 seconds before my cigar went out. However, during this event, I heard a lot of firsthand experiences of the annual gathering and grand final held in Croatia from Etan Patel, one of the UK’s top slow smokers, and from Sarah Saunders, the International Deputy Head Judge for the CSWC.
Again, I truly believe all of this influenced my decision to book this adventure. Little did I know what awaited me on this trip after I booked my flights!
Planning the Trip
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Its coastline borders the Adriatic Sea, offering stunning views and a rich cultural heritage. The flight from London takes approximately 2 to 3 hours, making this beautiful destination easily accessible.
I chose to spend two weeks out of season traveling from the north to the south (YouTuber Jack Lawson gave me this idea!). I started in Zagreb, the capital, then visited Plitvice Lakes National Park, followed by Split, the island of Brac, and finally Dubrovnik.
Since I don’t drive, I travelled each city using Flixbus, although not the most luxurious, the travel experience was practical and efficient (plus there was free wifi onboard, USB slots to charge my phone and a toilet). I also used the odd Uber here and there – especially to travel back and forth from the airports!
Before leaving for Zagreb, I asked for recommendations across my social media for places to visit our there.
I got quite a few responses 🙏 One place kept getting mentioned again and again… Marko’s Club Mareva!
But Split was in the middle of my itinerary, so I used Google to find a few more places in the surrounding cities. Surprisingly, I didn’t find many cigar lounges, but I did come across a couple of shops. I later found out the reason for this – which I’ll reveal in a bit.
First Stop 👉 The Humidor in Zagreb
Upon arriving from London Heathrow to Zagreb, I hoped into an Uber to take me from the airport to the city. I reached my accommodation very quickly. My room was just a 5-minute walk from the closest cigar shop. Within moments of checking in, I found myself surrounded by cigars – happy days!
The Humidor is located in the very centre of Zagreb at Petrinjska ul. 5, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia. They are an exclusive agent and distributor of Seles Zastupstva d.o.o. In addition to well-known brands of cigars, they offer a wide assortment that includes lighters, cigar cutters, ashtrays, specially designed humidors, as well as travel humidors of well-known international brands.
It was here that I met Ivan Mlivic. He was great and made me feel totally relaxed when he took me into the humidor to pick up some initial cigars.
The store had a wide variety of cigars from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras, with a small selection from Cuba. It included well-known cigar brands such as AJ Fernandez, Arturo Fuente, Ashton, Davidoff, Oliva, and Plasencia, as well as lesser-known brands like 1502, Chateau Diadem, De Los Reyes, Eiroa, Karen Berger Cigars, La Galera, and Viva La Vida, all at good prices.
I asked Ivan for some recommendations on where to smoke nearby, and he mentioned that you can smoke in most bars and restaurants. Unlike the UK, Croatia hasn’t banned smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces. Mind blown! 🤯 Hence, there were so few specific cigar lounges available when I looked on Google!
It’s funny because just walking around, I felt a little self-conscious as a cigar smoker to just light up in a restuarant. I think that’s ingrained in us in the UK.
Ivan also kindly recommended some places to visit and dine at during my stay in the city. After doing a free walking tour, visiting a few places including the Cathedral (which got damaged by the 2020 Zagreb earthquake, and is still being repaired), riding the funaculer and dining at Croatian restuarant Stari Fijaker. I took my cigars and smoked them down Tkalciceva Street – the perfect spot to eat, drink, and people watch.
First cigar experience of the trip DONE! ✔️
Exploring Plitvice Lakes
Next up I went to Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia’s largest national park – stunning place! A must visit location, but get there early as it gets busy.
Then it was off to Split!
Cigars at Club Mareva in Split
After seeing so many people recommend Club Mareva on my Instagram story and my current obsession with the CSWC, I knew I wanted to visit it. Then, I stumbled upon Dino Tomicc’s post (a fellow cigar smoker I follow on Instagram) featuring a stunning cigar lounge. I reached out to him to ask about the location, and to my surprise, he revealed it was Club Mareva! I had no idea he actually works with Marko 🤯. I expressed my interest in visiting, despite Google showing it as ‘temporarily closed’. Coincidentally, we were all in Split at the same time, and to my amazement, he invited me to the Club. I couldn’t believe my luck!
Nick Hammond of “Around The World In 80 Cigars” lists it among his top five cigar lounge recommendations worldwide – saying, ‘It is THE place which leaves an indelible mark on you with the never-ending wish to come back again, and again to feel that unique cigar atmosphere.’ – And wow, he wasn’t wrong!
I visited Club Mareva at Iza Lože 9, 21000 Split in Pjaca Square, inside the walls of Diocletian’s Palace.
The palace is a major attraction for visitors to Split who are interested in exploring the old town. Club Mareva is situated in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Diocletian’s Palace. Is this the first cigar lounge in the world to be situated within a UNESCO site? It was here that I met Dino in person.
As I stepped inside, Dino introduced me to Marko – a remarkable individual – a true gentleman with a great soul. The Club is truly unique. Upon entering, there is a cupboard full of smoking jackets to the right and the walls are adorned with pictures depicting the building’s history and photos showcase Marko’s journey, articles from the New York Times about his Cigar World Championship empire, and scenes from his visits to the tobacco fields with some of the greatest cigar makers in the industry. A staircase leads up to the Club, and Marko goes to great lengths to ensure all his members feel a sense of ownership. The decor is splendid, with red walls, excellent lighting, a variety of drinks, and bottles of champagne for guests.
There is also a small bar and a walk-in humidor with a selection of cigars.
The cigar lounge is the epitome of relaxation, with plush chairs everywhere. Outside, the sounds of the streets below create a delightful atmosphere within these walls.
We enjoyed smoking cigars, including some Rocky Patel cigars. I also had a Perdomo 30th-anniversary cigar, which I believe is fairly new. It was a really nice, mild cigar.
We had a great chat for hours. I loved learning more about Marko’s personal cigar journey. His drive to organise the Cigar Smoking World Championships is truly exceptional. If you haven’t tried slow smoking yet, I highly recommend giving it a go. It’s a lot of fun, and I think it becomes pretty addictive once your competitive streak kicks in.
After enjoying some wonderful cigars and conversation, my favourite part was discovering that Marko and Dino are massive fans of Only Fools and Horses!!! 🇬🇧 I definitely feel like a bit of a Rodney at times 😁
After the perfect night, it was time to head back to my accommodation.
I must admit going in, I had complete imposter syndrome – how the hell have I ended up in such a wonderful cigar lounge – just through blogging and posting about my cigar experiences – learning about all these wonderful people and places in this cigar community – I’m not the super-rich – I don’t own loads of empires – I’m just a super geeky cigar enthusiast originally from Essex living in London for the past 10-15 years with still so much to learn about cigars – my mind was well and truly blown 🙏 Marko ensures that everyone at Club Mavera has the best cigar experience – and boy did he live up to this! I couldn’t have felt more welcomed – especially as I joined a few other cigar club members, a big shout out to Zoran, Sara and Ivan – some of the best slow smoking folk in the world!!! Which was mad!!! The members made me feel incredibly welcome, especially speaking in English all night – for me a lazy Brit – honestly, I felt so extremely welcome. I felt at home – thousands of miles from London.
Their website states that Club Mareva is more than just a club. It’s more than just a smoky room. Club Mareva is a place where all of your senses are stimulated. Did they give me an unforgettable experience = YES! An experience that will change your perception of pleasure = 100%
My rating is 11 out of 10 for Club Mavera, Split—and I think this could be the best cigar lounge experience I’ve had so far on my travels!
As I was leaving, Marko and Dino learned of my travel plans, and we quickly found out that we would all be in Dubrovnik at the same time. They invited me to join them during a visit to the Rixos Hotel, where the CSWC is set to take place at the end of August/September 2024. I’ll talk about that in a sec!
The next day, I visited the Havana Cigar Shop, the local cigar shop at Zadarska ul. 3, 21000, Split, Croatia.
I took the cigars I had and smoked them on the rooftop bar at Cornaro Hotel – a great recommendation from Dino! Well worth checking out if you visit Split.
I also randomly saw the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic and the President of the EU Ursula Von Der Leyen who were heading for Sushi down on the Riva.
Island Hopping to Brac
So fast forward a couple of days, after I visited the island of Brac and chilled out smoking cigars – there was a cigar shop there but sadly it wasn’t open when I was there.
I smoked a couple of the cigars I bought in Zagreb, including this Chateau Diadem cigar.
Final Stop 👉 Dubrovnik
I then headed to Dubrovnik, my final stop – a place Game of Thrones fans will be familiar with as it’s filmed there.
I was recommended to check out the Bono Bar at the Royal Princess hotel by my readers Paul & Julie (thanks so much for the recommendation 🙏) – a nice place to relax with a cigar.
The next night lo and behold I met up with Marko and Dino at the Rixos Premium Dubrovnik hotel – for another incredible night of great conversation and great cigars – I got a quick tour of the hotel which is 5 star and outta this world!!!
This will be the host venue for this years Cigar Smoking World Championships.
At their sports bar, you can also enjoy a cigar from their humidor. I highly recommend trying it out. The hotel manager, the head chef, and an amazing mixologist paired us a wonderful drink with a cigar – wonderful wonderful new memories!!!
Saying farewell to Croatia (for now)
After that, it was time to fly back home to London. I was looking forward to checking out what cigars were awaiting at Dubrovnik airport. I was gutted to come face to face with an empty cigar humidor 😭😭😭.
I went from the sunny and hot Dubrovnik ☀️ to the cold and rainy London ☔. I totally want to return to Croatia, so I now need to practice my slow smoking skills, participate in more UK heats then make it to the world final in Dubrovnik! 💪💪💪
Are you interested in taking part in the Cigar Smoking World Championship?
The next UK qualifier takes place on July 1st in at the Puffin Rooms in Liverpool. You can get your tickets here.
Other dates for the next UK qualifiers:
5th July Top Secret Location near Seveoaks in Kent (Reserve your place by message on Instagram @cswc_uk)
7th July CSWC UK FINALS at Boisdale of Canary Wharf, London
Book tickets via the Boisdale website.
Competitor and Spectator tickets available. 12.00 noon doors open. Cigars, cocktails, feasting, cigar personalities, entertainment, cash bar.
The Cigar Smoking World Championship finale will be held in Dubrovnik’s Rixos Hotel from August 30th to September 1st, 2024. Register here.
Also if you want to visit Club Mavera in Split check out https://www.clubmareva.com/ – they have other lounges opened up across the globe including Beirut Lebanon, Tallinn Estonia and Pristina Kosovo – I want to visit them all now!
If you decide to attend any of these events, do keep me posted on how you get on! I’m sure you’ll beat my time!
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