Last Updated on June 6, 2019 by PowersToTravel
We aren’t “hang out at the beach” type travelers. We enjoy seeing new sights, learning new cultures and history, and trying new activities. We call them “Adventures.” Puerto Rico is very high on our “Adventure” list. We traveled around the island, and then did a half of a figure-eight at the end to boot.
I’ll admit that banana-boat riding is more of a passive adventure. We are not balanced on water-skis. Our skills are not challenged, unless you count my ability to hang on tight to a strap. We had sat at our lunch table at the Villa Cofresi Hotel and watched the parasailers, banana boat riders, jet-skiers and swimmers with envy. We were tired from our drive, the weather was warm, and all I wanted to do was get in the water. Finally we made our way down to the little beach cabana where one could rent almost anything. Anything, that is, except for the banana boat. You needed a minimum of four for that. We hung around for ten minutes or so, and no other families arrived.
Finally I asked if we could just pay for four people, and only the two of us go.
“But that’s not fair!” the girl exclaimed. “You would be paying twice what you should.”
“I know, but we don’t want to waste the afternoon waiting for people. We want to go out.”
She agreed, and soon we found ourselves wading out into the waves, to throw ourselves up and straddle the giant yellow banana. The boatmen said, “You are too few!” We answered “It’s ok. She said it is.”
Off we went, with the small boat pulling us along at about the speed of waterskiing. Astride as we were a large log-shaped inflatable pulled directly behind the speedboat, we were not rocked about much by the waves. It was only on the 180 degree u-turns that we hit our own wake and flew a bit into the air.
It was a blast. It was also pleasant to find when we returned that the girl only charged us an extra $4 a person.
We stayed at the Villa Cofresi Hotel, which we enjoyed very much. It was very apparent it was a fun-filled, noisy evening kind of place, which generally we would have avoided, as we like to sleep. However, we had read the reviews and understood that the Deluxe Room One-King or Deluxe Room Two-Queen Room with private balcony were actually somewhat distant from the center of the resort. In fact, the resort appears to have acquired a separate building at some time, and linked it to the main buildings with a walkway. This separate building has direct views to the ocean, and contains the best and quiet rooms. I definitely recommend these rooms.
However, be sure if you have reserved one of these rooms that you actually get it. Upon checkin we were taken to a non-deluxe room which directly overlooked the bar area. When I said that it wasn’t what we had paid for, we were taken back to reception where they scurried around a bit, and then told us to get lunch. Finally an hour and a half later we were brought to the room which we had paid for.
The beach here at Rincón is, in my opinion, not at all comparable to the beach at Luquillo, where we had spent the first five nights of our vacation. The beach at Rincon, at least at the Villa Cofresi, hides large rocks just at adult head-bobbing height. These large rocks extend the entire waterfront. So, after our Banana-boat excursion, as we bobbed around in the surf, we continually hit our feet on rocks. We really needed our surf shoes, however were not motivated to get out of the water to get them. This reason is why #10 is Banana-Boat Riding, and not Swimming!
Map of Villa Cofresi, Rincon, Puerto Rico
