Shhh… Do Not Tell Anyone About Rincon, Puerto Rico

On the west coast of Puerto Rico, Rincon is authentic and has no chain hotels and no chain restaurants. They began to build condos during the real estate boom but they are mostly empty or incomplete. This keeps Rincon as an off-the-beaten-path destination and beautiful place that has not yet been conquered by tourists. The governor of Puerto Rico is talking about bringing in gambling casinos, but the mayor of Rincon and the people who live there are fighting it.

Rincon is on land that juts out of the northwest coast of Puerto Rico; kind of like a tiny peninsula. It is where the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea meet. So the waters on the north side are surfing waters -- world class surfing, which you can do or watch from the beaches or from the deck of the Tamboo Tavern restaurant. Conversely, the waters on the south side are calm Caribbean beaches in which you can swim (no sharks, we were told by several people).

Rincon is extremely laid back -- shorts are as dressy as it gets. There are many outdoor things to do (snorkeling, diving, sailing, surfing, kayaking, horseback riding on the beach, bicycling, birdwalks -- you can find guides for all of these), and some tourist attractions (a lighthouse).

Another thing we liked about Rincon is that we were in a foreign culture. Although some Puerto Ricans do speak English, many don’t. It is familiar and easy in some ways (they use dollars) but also different. Nelson, the very friendly and helpful innkeeper at The Pineapple Inn said, “This is the real Puerto Rico.” And, though there are people who have moved down from the states -- largely artists who came many years ago -- it felt that way.

A simple, charming guesthouse, The Pineapple Inn featured an outdoor pool, patios and gardens, 2 houses off a beach in a working class neighborhood. We were there for 3 days, in which we went to a gorgeous quiet beach (Ascanas) where we sat and read in a grove of palm trees, swam, walked on the beach, watched surfers from the Tamboo Tavern deck, saw a gorgeous sunset from the outdoor deck of another restaurant, The Spot, and drove 1.5 hours to the Arecibo Observatory, home to the largest radio telescope in the world.

We ate roast chicken and yucca with garlic sauce from a truck on picnic tables; plus it was only $3.50 for half a chicken. We tried snorkeling at the coral reef (Izzy, at Taino Divers outfitted us) but the surf was too rough that day.

We plan to go back next year and stay a week.

So, as I said, keep it under your hat. And I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.