Погода: Ринкон, декабрь

December opens the dry season without being dry: regulars put it at about four and a half inches and warn that the month can still be wet, adding that a wet day here is not a wet day at home. Our row says 79.8mm across 11.9 days, seven millimetres apiece, under 29.6C over 23.3C. The payoff they name is specific - less rain means less runoff, so the bioluminescent bays are clearer and the glow stronger. The cost is the calendar: the festive season from about mid-December to early January is the island's high season, and air fares, hotels and car hire all climb with it. The record: humidity 82 percent, 10.1 hours of sun, a 18.8 kph wind and a 27.7C sea.

Rincón's forum describes July as hot, into the 90s F, and humid, squarely inside the June-through-November hurricane season - though posters were clear that day-to-day storms and showers tend to be brief, often a predictable afternoon shower around 2pm, with plenty of sun the rest of the day. One thing that surprises first-time visitors: July is genuinely one of the busiest months on the island, since local holidays mean Puerto Ricans are off work and vacationing, plus visiting family flying in from the mainland.

Forum posters describe January as reliably warm and sunny, with visitors reporting high-80sF air and water temperatures and comparatively sunnier skies in Rincon even on days when other parts of the island turned cloudy. Winter swell does pick up this time of year, though, which changes which beach works best on a given day: the Balneario (town public beach) stays calm and swimmable even when Sandy Beach nearby runs too rough, while Steps Beach can go from good snorkeling to too choppy depending on the day's wave size. Posters note hurricane season officially ends November 30, so major storm risk is essentially off the table in January - overall it's rated a strong month, just one where checking which specific beach is calm that day matters more than in calmer seasons.