Nicaragua has Puro Sabor. The Dominican Republic has ProCigar. Now Honduras is getting a cigar festival of its own. Registration is open for La Gran Cata Honduras 2027, the country’s first cigar festival, running January 23 to 27, 2027 in Tegucigalpa and Danlí.
According to halfwheel, the event is hosted by the Consejo de Artesanos del Tabaco de Honduras (CATAH), the Honduran cigar manufacturers’ association, and the official festival site bills it as a first edition “presented by CATAH.” Here’s what we’ve confirmed about the schedule, the price, the factories and how it lines up with Puro Sabor.
Five Days, From the Capital to Cigar Country
La Gran Cata follows the format that has worked so well for other countries’ festivals: a couple of days of culture in the capital, then a move to where the cigars are actually made. In Honduras that means starting in Tegucigalpa and heading east to Danlí, home to most of the country’s cigar industry. Here’s the itinerary as halfwheel and the festival site lay it out:
- Saturday, Jan. 23: Arrivals at Palmerola International Airport (XPL), transfer to Tegucigalpa, check-in at the Real InterContinental and a welcome reception
- Sunday, Jan. 24: A guided tour of Tegucigalpa, then the President’s Dinner
- Monday, Jan. 25: The drive to Danlí, cigar factory visits and a typical Honduran dinner
- Tuesday, Jan. 26: More factory and farm visits, capped by a White Party
- Wednesday, Jan. 27: Departure from Danlí
The headline event is that Sunday dinner. halfwheel reports it will be attended by Honduran President Nasry Asfura. The festival site calls the President’s Dinner “one of the central moments” of the week, and says the full times and venues will be filled in with its Master Program. The site also says the festival will bring together “some one hundred and fifty” aficionados, industry professionals and international guests, so this is a small group, not a convention hall.
What $2,500 Gets You
Right now there’s one way in: the VIP All Access Package at US$2,500 per person. You can add a spouse for $1,500. That lines up with halfwheel’s report of $4,000 for a married couple sharing a room. The festival site lists what’s included:
- Lodging for the whole event
- Airport reception and transfers from Palmerola
- The welcome reception, the Tegucigalpa city tour and a special lunch
- The President’s Dinner
- Transportation between Tegucigalpa and Danlí
- Factory and farm experiences in Danlí, with lunches at the host factories and farms
- The typical dinner, the White Party dinner and exclusive tastings
- A final transfer to Palmerola, to the Las Manos border crossing or back to the Real InterContinental
Airfare is not included, per halfwheel, and halfwheel adds that there will be “lots of cigars.” Prices are in U.S. dollars. The site’s footer says ticket sales are handled by the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association, the trade group better known today as the Premium Cigar Association. The site’s text also mentions other options, like a Danlí day pass and a President’s Dinner ticket, but as of this morning its tickets page listed only the full package.
The Factories Opening Their Doors
halfwheel lists 11 participating companies, and the festival site also counts 11 brands “and more to be announced”:
- CLE Cigar Co.
- Gran Habano
- JRE Tobacco Co.
- Maya Selva Cigars
- My Father Cigars
- Oliva Cigar Co.
- Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co.
- Plasencia Cigars
- Raíces Cubanas
- Rocky Patel Premium Cigars
- Scandinavian Tobacco Group
That’s a strong mix. You get big names that make a lot of cigars in Honduras, like Rocky Patel, Plasencia and STG, alongside Danlí specialists like Oscar Valladares, Maya Selva and Raíces Cubanas. Most of us have smoked plenty of Honduran tobacco without ever seeing the barns it cures in.
The Puro Sabor Connection
This is the clever part. halfwheel reports that the organizers built the schedule so people can do both La Gran Cata and Puro Sabor 2027, Nicaragua’s annual cigar festival. When the Honduran festival wraps, guests go either back to Tegucigalpa or across the border into Nicaragua. The festival site says the crossing is at Las Manos, with transportation and logistics coordinated by the festival.
Puro Sabor’s official site lists its 2027 dates as January 25 to 30, starting in Managua and moving to Estelí on Tuesday, January 26, with factory tours beginning Wednesday the 27th. If you take the transfer, you’ll miss the Managua days, but halfwheel says you should catch most, if not all, of the Estelí portion. That includes the White Party at El Fumador and the closing gala at Rufo Marín Stadium. Several companies, including My Father, Oliva, Plasencia and Rocky Patel, appear in both festivals’ lineups, according to halfwheel and the Premium Cigar Association, so you could see the Honduran and Nicaraguan sides of the same operation in one trip.
The Cigar Guys Take: Who Is This For?
Puro Sabor has years of practice and a big, well-known program. La Gran Cata is a first edition with a smaller group, a presidential dinner and a lineup built around a region that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as Estelí. That’s the appeal: you’re early. First-year festivals usually have rough edges, and the full program isn’t published yet. But small groups also tend to get more time with the people who blend and roll the cigars.
We’d say it’s for three kinds of smokers. First, retailers and lounge owners who want to talk tobacco face to face with Honduran producers. Second, the enthusiast who has already done the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua and wants the next stamp in the passport. Third, anyone who has been eyeing Puro Sabor and wants to turn it into a two-country trip. If you’re new to cigar travel, our guide to top cigar travel destinations is a good place to start, and Alex’s take on the Great Lakes Cigar Fest shows what a festival weekend looks like from the inside.
One more date for the industry folks: Cigar Journal reports that Arturo Fuente, Casa Carrillo, Padrón and Rocky Patel have joined the World Cigar Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre, November 10–11, 2026, with free registration for professionals in the trade.
Registration for La Gran Cata is open now at lagrancata.com. The site says attendees must be adults and that photos and video will be taken during the event. If you go, we want the full report, and if you’re picking between Danlí and Estelí, tell us which one is winning.
Sources: halfwheel: Registration Opens for La Gran Cata, Honduras’ New Cigar Festival · La Gran Cata Honduras official site · Puro Sabor official site · Premium Cigar Association: Registration Opens for 2027 Puro Sabor Festival · Cigar Journal: Arturo Fuente, Casa Carrillo, Padrón and Rocky Patel Join World Cigar Show Dubai Lineup
