Beaches in Puerto Rico

An island with three distinct coasts: a north shore facing the Atlantic with real surf, a calm Caribbean south, and a west end that catches both. It is a US territory, which means US standards of access and infrastructure alongside a Caribbean coastline. A United States territory with a Caribbean coast on the south and an Atlantic one on the north, which behave differently — the north has the surf at Rincón and the west, the south is calmer. The island holds one of the world's brightest bioluminescent bays at Vieques and a rainforest inside the national forest system. Culebra and Vieques offshore were used as US Navy ranges until 1975 and 2003 respectively, and both were secured for the public by sustained civil disobedience campaigns; unexploded ordnance still closes parts of them. Hurricane María in 2017 caused severe and lasting damage. Rincón on the west coast is the surf town and hosts international competitions in winter.