Rincón is Puerto Rico's surf town, and it is seasonal in a way that catches people out. From November to March the north-west coast picks up Atlantic groundswell and the reef points — Domes, Maria's, Tres Palmas — turn on; Tres Palmas in particular only breaks on a big winter swell, and when it does it is one of the largest waves in the Caribbean. From May to October the same beaches are usually flat, and the town becomes a snorkelling, diving and sunset-watching place instead.
The schools teach year-round on the sand-bottom beaches rather than the reef. Whale watching runs from January to March, when humpbacks pass through the Mona Passage offshore, and the lighthouse park at Punta Higüera is the place to watch from.