Rincon, Puerto Rico

Casa Tamara is a great, moderately priced beach house south of Rincon, PR. There are two units; the upstairs which is 3 bed/2 bath and the downstairs that is 3 bed/3 bath. Both have spectacular views of the beach and the wonderful sunsets you get in Rincon.

The furnishings are comfortable and homey and the house includes many amenities. We took full advantage of the grill and kitchen supplies and saved a fair amount of money by cooking at home most nights. Also appreciated were the on-site laundry and outdoor shower so that we didn't track too much sand inside.

It's easy to get to from San Juan or Aguadilla, especially since the owner gives spectacularly detailed directions prior to your trip. Many beaches, restaurants, stores and attractions are nearby but the house is in a residential neighborhood, making it quiet. We fell asleep to the sound of the coqui frogs and waves most nights.

All in all, the house is well-equipped and very reasonably priced. We'd definitely go back!

The Calypso cafe is located on Playa Marias. The menu is predominately americanized island food. They have great dorado burritos, strong drinks and a friendly staff. We also enjoyed the salsa and the blacked dorado. Try the orange hot sauce, but be careful, because it is SPICY! The views from the patio are wonderful.

They also have a nice gift shop with some pretty jewelry and nice clothes. There is a surf shop downstairs if you're inclined to hit the waves. Overall, a nice place to catch lunch while you're exploring the beaches in Rincon.

We originally went here because we had heard that they have a pig roast on Sundays. It turned out that we were a little too early in the season to catch the pig roast, but we decided to stay for lunch anyways.

The menu is a mix of American favorites and great seafood. If they have it, definitely try the seafood salad, a wonderful mix of octopus, scallops, calamari and shrimp with a great dressing. It was light but filling enough to be perfect for the somewhat humid weather.

Drinks are strong and cheap, and the service is good. There are a lot of American ex-pats here, but they're a friendly lot.

"The English Rose" is a B&B as well as a breakfast hot-spot in Rincon. It's perched on a hill far about the coast, giving it an amazing view. The drive, like most driving in PR off the highways is on a one-way road with a lot of twists.

The food is excellent; I had French Toast with carmelized bananas and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. The bacon is thick and cooked perfectly to order, and the omelets are wonderful as well. Definitely try to eat out on the patio to take full advantage of the views!

They also have a book-swap and sell local artwork as well. This was a great way to end our vacation to Rincon.

I actually had to look up the name of this place after I got home, because I'm unsure if there's a sign for it! They serve mostly American-style BBQ, but what really attracted us is that they're also a fish-monger. We had searched, and searched and searched for good, fresh fish but were having a bear of a time finding it. El Cerdito del Cielito to the rescue! The proprietor spear-fishes and brings back what he catches for sale. It's so amazingly fresh, and the prices are great.

The BBQ is also extremely respectible, especially the pulled pork and shrimp. They've got all the fixins, too; cornbread, cole slaw and baked beans. Prices are very reasonable, and the service is friendly (it's a small spot, only about 6 indoor tables). Definitely a place to check out.

In theory, this is a great half day trip to take from Rincon - a ride along some of the most beautiful beaches on the island. However, in execution they're a little lacking, especially if you have any riding experience and expect to do anything other than walk.

The barn itself is not hard to find and is very well kept. Unlike a lot of these operations, the horses were well cared for and the tack was in good shape. We made reservations to do a 9 AM ride the week prior, and at the time of booking I mentioned that I was an experienced rider and would like to do more than just walk in a line. I was assured that they could work with me to come up with something. You can probably see where this is going - once we got there, we waited, and waited, and waited to be assigned horses. It felt like we were looked over as they had a few larger groups.

Once we start riding, I asked the guide if I could do more than walk but was told no. At one point, the guide refused to stop even though some of the horses were falling very far behind the main group.

Even though the beaches were beautiful, the guide was terrible and I felt that they misrepresented what we were able to do. So, if you don't mind walking in a line for two hours, you'll probably like this trip - but don't expect more than walking!

Rincon has BEAUTIFUL beaches, all with their own personality. A few that we visited and loved:

Domes Beach and Spanish Wall Beach - connected by a trail near the old power plant. The beaches are popular with surfers but during the day are most deserted. Spanish Wall is hidden; we never saw anyone either time we were there.

Steps Beach - Has small tidal pools that capture neat aquatic life to watch. Steps Beach is named for the concrete stairs that sit in the shallow water. It's more popular with families but it still a beautiful beach.

Pools Beach - Towards the north side of Rincon, it's a wide, flat beach with beautiful rock formations on either side. It was abandoned when we went but I've heard it gets families on the weekends.

About 1.5 hours south of Rincon, lies one of the three bioluminscent bays in Puerto Rico in the town of La Parguera. The bioluminiscence phenomenon is observed at night in the calm bay waters, caused by high concentrations of one-celled organisms known as dinoflagellates. The result is a spectacular, glowing display every time you jump or move in the water. The best time to go is during a "new" moon; as opposed to the full moon when there's too much light.

Unfortunately, the bay at La Parguera is the least spectacular of the three in PR. That doesn't mean that it's not worth the trip though! It's still a beautiful, otherwordly experience, and one that you won't find in too many locations.

Now, there are a few different boats that go to the bay. One is very large, very cheap, and they won't let you swim. Unless you just want to be ferried around for 30 minutes and come out $10 poorer, I recommend spending a little extra time and money to find a good captain that will take you out. We chose Aleli Tours with Captain Ismael (too perfect!) who was gracious, knowledgeable and above all - he let us swim in the bay for as long as we wanted. It was $90 to rent his boat, which held up to 6 people.

All in all, the bio-bay is one of the most precious experiences you can take away from your PR vacation. The only downside is that pictures don't really take well because of the low light and activity. Don't miss it for the world!

The Guajataca forest is an hour's drive from Rincon, but much of it is over very narrow, twisting roads off the main highways. Don't forget to honk your horn around curves so that people will know you're coming! If you've got the courage to drive it, however, the forest itself is beautiful, serene and largely un-visited. We were the only people we saw going to it.

The forest itself is a sub-tropical moist forest, and boasts the best examples of karsts in Puerto Rico. Karsts are limestone "haystacks" that have been eroded away by rainwater. It also boasts the largest amount of hiking trails in PR (something like 25 miles worth!). We only hiked a very small area, but if you can make it to the lookout tower, the views are amazing.

We also saw a large number of birds, lizards and butterflies.