I traveled to Rincón, Puerto Rico for a friend’s wedding this month, and we decided to extend the trip a few days beyond the nuptials. This is my second time traveling to Rincón—back in college, my friends and I did a Spring Break to the beautiful, laidback surf town. This Rincón travel guide is everything we did, plus a few recommendations from friends that we didn’t have time to check out.
Where to Stay in Rincón
Pics are from Maria’s / Pic of Joe in pool is from Villa Playa Maria
Let’s start this Rincón travel guide with where to stay. The first three nights we were in Rincón, we stayed at Maria’s with some other friends in town for the wedding. It’s a big villa rental right on Maria’s Beach with a pool, beautiful spacious rooms, a deck overlooking the ocean with a hot tub—we loved it! It’s set up like a duplex with two sides sharing the pool and outdoor area. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. If you’re traveling with a big group, I can’t recommend this rental highly enough.
Next to our rental, we had more friends staying at Villa Playa Maria, which was another beautiful rental for a big group (right on the beach, awesome pool area).
Start your search looking at those two, or at least close to Maria’s beach. We loved the location. We had the beach and surfing rentals right outside our door, and we could walk to Calypso, Jack’s Shack, El Bohio and The Beach House. I’d imagine staying close to Sandy Beach would also be nice because you’d have Tamboo and Pool Bar close by.
Here are some additional rentals our friends recommended (shoutout to my friends’ wedding website for helping me with this Rincón travel guide ;)):
There aren’t big hotels in Rincón, so vacation rentals, Airbnbs, and small boutique hotels are going to be your best bet. If you haven’t booked through Airbnb before, use my referral link to get $55 off your stay.
After the wedding festivities were over, we stayed in an Airbnb a little south of the main downtown, and while the space was nice and our view was great, I wouldn’t recommend it. We didn’t love the location and it was in a nearly empty condo building that reminded us of the start of an Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode. Needless to say, I don’t see a point linking to the rental for you guys lol.
Where to Eat in Rincón
Jack’s Shack
No exaggeration, we ate here every day, either for breakfast or lunch (or both). Jack’s is a little organic food truck by Maria’s Beach and everything on the menu is delicious. Pictured are the fish tacos, quinoa salad, breakfast wrap and vegan breakfast plate.
El Bohio
Next to Jack’s Shack at Maria’s Beach is the cute and colorful El Bohio. This is your go-to for smoothies, acai bowls, juice and … booze. A smoothie stand – bar hybrid?? Yes, heaven on earth exists (lol). I got the acai bowl with peanut butter a couple times during our stay and it was delicious.
FYI there’s also a smoothie/acai bowl spot by the marina called The Juice Box that I heard was good.
Sana Farm to Table
Sana Farm to Table almost looks like a little green house off the side of the road near town. The food was amazing—go for lunch! They have vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian options. Pictured are the spring rolls with peanut sauce. I also got the vegan poke bowl (so good).
The English Rose
The English Rose is a cute (and yummy!) breakfast spot. It’s up in the hills of Rincón so you have a beautiful view as you sit out on their deck enjoying your meal. They offer fresh squeezed juices, and you can turn any of them into a mimosa (the grapefruit juice was amazing!).
Pool Bar Sushi
Pool Bar Sushi was our favorite dinner spot. This laidback sushi restaurant has a bar and a pool (as the name suggests), and the food is excellent. Get the coconut ceviche special if they have it, and save room for the banana tempura dessert (omg). We went on week nights so it was pretty chill, but I’ve heard it turns into quite the little party on the weekends so it could be a great choice for dinner and a night out. Over the pool they have a big projection screen playing surfing videos.
La Copa Llena
The welcome party for my friend’s wedding was here, so I’m not sure if the food we ate was made by La Copa Llena or brought in by a separate catering company. Either way, the menu looks great and the location is right on the beach with pretty views of the sunset.
The drink recommendations below also include some more food options …
Where to Grab a Drink in Rincón
Next stop on this Rincón travel guide: adult beverages. Because Rincón is on the west coast of the island, sunsets are gorgeous! We loved having a couple happy hour drinks while we watched the sunset before heading out to dinner.
The Beach House
You gotta catch a sunset at The Beach House! It’s up on a hill overlooking the ocean. They have a big bar/seating area, and also lawn chairs set up across the street if you want to lounge and enjoy sunset while sipping on a beverage. Live music is playing every day, and it’s just the happiest vacation vibe.
Two nights we used this as our happy hour spot for a couple drinks, but after sunset went elsewhere for food. That being said, the food certainly isn’t bad here! It’s more of a casual bar-esque menu, but we ate there for lunch one day and I thought the vegan tacos were great.
Calypso Cafe
Calypso is a fun bar/restaurant at Maria’s Beach that has live music and a great beach town vibe. Check it out for happy hour, a casual lunch, or a night out.
Tamboo Tavern
Tamboo is a bar-restaurant overlooking Sandy Beach with an upper deck and frequent live music. If you’re looking at a map of Rincón, it sort of juts out of the west coast of the island, and Sandy Beach is on the side facing more north than west. So sunsets at Tamboo aren’t going to be *as* impressive as, say, The Beach House. But it’s a great daytime spot with a beautiful view, and on the weekends makes for a fun night out.
Tamboo is close to Pool Bar Sushi. If you’re looking for a place to eat dinner, go to Pool Bar over Tamboo, but Tamboo could be a good spot for a casual, convenient lunch if you’re at Sandy Beach.
Villa Cofresi
We didn’t make it to Villa Cofresi, but our friends recommended going for sunset and enjoying their signature “El Pirata” cocktail.
What to Do in Rincón & Beach Recommendations
Surf / Take Surfing Lessons
No Rincón travel guide would be complete without mentioning surfing! That being said, no, no I did not go surfing while there lol. Joe went almost daily, and had no problem renting a board from whatever beach we decided on that day (Maria’s Beach, Sandy Beach & the beach by the marina all had surf board rentals right there). Have cash handy if you’re going to rent from the beach stands. The Beach House also has rentals.
If you want to take surfing lessons, our friends recommended Puntas Surf School.
A couple of the days we were there, the waves were HUGE. When the surf is advanced like that, the little beach rental shacks won’t rent to you for safety reasons.
We saw people surfing at almos every beach, depending on the day. Maria’s is probably the most popular surfing beach. Domes Beach is for advanced surfers. Steps Beach and Sandy Beach also had surfers.
If you’re looking for a swimming beach, the following have areas where it’s easier to get in the water:
- Steps Beach – there are also lots of reef areas, but you can dip in the water between reef
- Sandy Beach – also has surfing rentals, but (as the name says), it’s a sandy entry into the water in comparison to other beaches where it’s rocky/reef. Makes it easier to get in and out of the water.
- Little Malibu Beach (by the marina) – on the days the waves were biggest, we found that this beach was the calmest option
- Corcega Beach
Walk Tres Palmas Beach Reserve
Walk from Steps Beach to the marina (or the other way) though the Tres Palmas reserve. It’s a pretty walk along a thin strip of beach. You’ll climb over trees jutting out into the water, see surfers out in the distance, and if your upper body is strong enough to get the photo opp (mine wasn’t lol), there’s a strategically placed swing along the way.
If you’re at Steps Beach looking at the water, you’d walk to the left.
Snorkeling / Scuba
We didn’t get a chance to go snorkeling or scubaing, but our friends recommended Taino Divers for charters, snorkeling, diving and sunset cruises. Steps Beach is good for snorkeling if you don’t want to go the charter route.
Rincón Art Walk
Every Thursday (in the evening, I believe), the main plaza in Rincón does an art walk filled with local artisans and musicians. We were bummed we weren’t there for it!
Rincón Farmers Market
We didn’t go to this, but every Sunday from 8-2 there’s a farmers market in the main plaza in town.
Check Out a Waterfall
Back when I came to Rincón in college, we went to Gozalandia, which is a hiking area and waterfall about 45 minutes away from Rincón in San Sebastian. It would make for a great day trip. You hike to the waterfall and if you’re daring enough, can even climb up and jump off into the water below. We were fearless (read: stupid) 21-year-olds so we jumped back then, but can’t say if I’d do it now.
This most recent trip, I tried to bring Joe to this waterfall but mistakenly thought it was in Rincón. So we ended up going to El Ultimo Brinco waterfall. It’s right in Rincón, set directly off a main road, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going. It’s small and was pretty, but I got the impression that it’s basically just a spot teenagers go to smoke weed and hook up (lollol).
If you’re all beached-out and looking for a quick activity, maybe check out El Ultimo Brinco, but otherwise I’d recommend doing the drive and making a day out of going to Gozalandia to get your waterfall fix.
Take a Yoga or Fitness Class (or Don’t lol)
Working out is honestly never high on my priority list when I’m on vacation. We stayed active with surfing (Joe), beach walks, swimming and dancing, but we didn’t do any yoga or workout classes. (An outdoor yoga class to start the morning would have been lovely though!) Here are the classes that came recommended to us:
- Barefoot Yoga for daily yoga classes ($15 drop-in, mats included)
- Rincon Fitness Center for CrossFit and barbell classes
Rincón Travel Guide: General Tips
Fly into Aguadilla (BQN) or San Juan (SJU)
If you fly into the small airport in Aguadilla, you’re only a 35-minute drive from Rincón. The San Juan airport will be about a 2.5-hr drive from Rincón. Flight times are a little funky (at least from the Northeast), so prepare to arrive late/early (we got into Aguadilla at 4:45am).
Rent a Car
Cabs/Ubers are hard to come by in Rincón, so you’ll definitely want to rent a car to get around. Depending on where you stay, some places will be walkable, but you’ll still need to drive to others.
Rincón Beaches Favor Surfing vs. Leisurely Swimming & Sun Bathing
As mentioned above, some beaches are easier to swim than others, but overall, Rincón is a surfing spot. The reefs and rocks can make it hard to get in the water in some areas, so keep this in mind if you’re visiting with kids or aren’t a strong swimmer (maybe look into a rental with a pool as an option!). While you may not feel comfortable going out in the ocean, the reef creates pools and little shallows in certain spots, so you can still dip in, splash a bit and cool down. I was told that just a quick drive south of Rincón are calmer beaches.
Have you been to Rincón? If you have a recommendation I didn’t include in this Rincón travel guide, leave it in the comments!
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xo Nicole
