One of the biggest (and only) regrets I have about my trip to Puerto Rico is not spending more time in Rincon. On our 7 day long trip to Puerto Rico we only spent 3 days actually in Rincon, which wasn’t NEARLY enough time. From the moment we drove under the archway leading into the city, we were instantly in love.
DAY 1
We started off our stay here by checking into our hotel, Casa Isleña Inn. One of our bigger “splurges” for the trip, this place was insanely beautiful. With a pool overlooking the water and being located just steps from the beach, it was completely worth the extra money. (A post with more detail about our stay as Casa Isleña is soon to come!).
From there we walked to the nearest restaurant we could find, which ended up being this fun (somewhat “tourist trap”) beachfront restaurant named Tamboo Bar & Seaside Grill. The meal was fairly simple, fish tacos and a margarita for me, and a sandwich with a beer for Trevor. Both were delicious and the restaurant was great (although who can complain about margaritas and tacos while overlooking the sandy beach).
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. We walked down Steps Beach, did an obligatory surf check for Trevor, explored Punta Higuero Light (the historic and iconic lighthouse), checked out Playa Domes, and said hi to the horses living outside of our hotel.
That night we made our way over to the Rincon Art Walk that happens every Thursday night in Rincon’s Town Plaza. This was hands down the best thing we did when in Puerto Rico and it is a MUST if you’re ever in Rincon. Expecting only a few stands here and there, we were totally surprised when there were dozens of stands with homemade goods, fresh fruit, fresh chocolate, which forever changed the way I see chocolate, as well as live music. (Again, MORE info on the Art Walk in a post of its own soon to come!).
We wrapped up the night eating empanadas from Brother’s Pizza, an awesome, hole-in-the-wall pizza shop in the plaza, taking a few for the road, and then headed back to the hotel to pass out.
DAY 2
We woke up the next morning and feasted on our stash of fruit that we purchased from a variety of roadside fruit stands on the drive from San Juan to Rincon and from the Art Walk the night before. Soursop, guava, pineapple, quenepas, and fresh coconut…Ahh…life was good.
The only thing we had on our agenda for the day was to get Trevor some good waves. We made our way over to Mar Azul Surf Shop (which was recommended by a friend), and after talking to the owner for nearly an hour, decided on a surf spot for the day, Playa de Jobos – Jobos Beach, in Isabella! (just under an hour drive away) which ended up being one of Trevor’s unknown dream surf spots that he had a picture of hanging on his wall when he was a kid!
We stopped by this little food stand (El Carbon Rotisserie Chicken) on the way out of Rincon (115) , recommended by the owner of Mar Azul as well, which ended up being one of the best meals we ate while in Puerto Rico! It’s easy to miss, but just be on the lookout for a little stand with a bunch of chickens roasting right by the side of the road. Each meal was about $6 and came with half a chicken, two sides, and a drink. I opted for the green plantains, rice, and chicken which were delicious needless to say. Each meal could’ve easily fed the both of us, so we ended up with TONS of leftovers (perfect for a post-beach snack later on).
Along the drive to Jobos we stopped at a little coffee shop in Aguadilla (The Coffee Spot) because I was severely caffeine deprived, where I had the best espresso of my life. I even bought a whole bag of their espresso beans and continue to buy beans from them for my morning cup back home!
When we arrived at Jobos we were amazed. This place was gorgeous. We hopped out of the car, surfboard in hand for Trevor, and snorkeling gear in hand for me (I don’t surf), and ran down to the water where we spent a good half the day. The water was crystal clear and full of sea life and there was this cove up above that I explored while Trevor surfed.
After we were thoroughly tanned and surfed/snorkeled out, we decided it might be time to leave and stopped by the bar and restaurant (Coco Loco) to grabs some mega cheap and mega good empanadas and fresh coconuts for the road. We walked back to our car when we realized that we had LOST OUR KEYS! We retraced our steps and even borrowed some guys metal detector and with no luck, we were stuck calling the rental company all the way back in San Juan (a good 3 hours away) who sent out a guy to bring us a new key in the next 3-6 hours.
Determined to not let this get to us and bring us down, we did what anybody in our situation would do and went back to the beachfront bar to grab a few drinks and some french fries and empanadas and soak up what left the sun had to give that day on the beach.
After roughly 5 hours, our knight in shining armor rode in on his stallion, or at least in his silver coupe, and delivered us our new keys. From there we drove our salty, sunburned selves back to the hotel where we passed out, exhausted from our eventful day.
DAY 3
Waking up to the sound of the ocean is something I don’t think I will ever get tired of, and morning number 3 was no exception. It was our last day in Rincon so we spent most of the morning relaxing in our hotel room and packing before we left.
Determined to get as much time out of his board as he could before the 5 PM rental deadline, we made our way back to Jobos for another surf and snorkel sesh. On the way we stopped by The Coffee Spot once again to grab a latte (seriously I’m not joking when I say that this was THE BEST espresso I’ve ever had!) and a farmers market where we tried a fruit, known as Inga edulis or the Ice Cream Bean, which tasted identical to cotton candy and bought the freshest rambutan we’ve ever had!
August being the middle of Puerto Rico’s rainy season, we knew we were in for a few showers and this was our day to experience a severe downpour. About 5 minutes away from the beach it started to pour so we took shelter at one of the empanada stands on the stretch of road just outside Jobos where we feasted yet again on chicken, beef, and conch empanadas.
After 30 minutes or so the rain let up and we made our way to the beach where we did the same as the day before (minus the whole losing our keys part), taking advantage of our time off from work and just relaxed. Later on we returned to Mar Azul to return the board and make our way to San Juan for the rest of our trip.
Full of winding roads with breathtaking cliffside views of the water and delicious food, Rincon was truly unique and I absolutely cannot wait until the next time I go back. You definitely cannot skip this place on your trip to PR!