Domes rincon puerto rico: Domes Beach | Discover Puerto Rico

Visit Domes Beach on your trip to Rincon or Puerto Rico • Klarna Trips

Domes Beach reviews

TripAdvisor traveler rating

243 reviews

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• By RickyEspiet

  Great surf spot, awesome views, accesible on foot and places to Park very close!! Close to the lighthouse and places to eat. Loved it! 

  Great surf spot, awesome views, accesible on foot and places to Park very close!! Close to the lighthouse and places to eat. Loved it! 
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• By JWick-50

  Some Localism terrible…bad for business. I’m fully Puerto Rican born and raised and one of my buckets list was to ride domes beach in Rincon. The first locals were great they tell you and help you….. 
  more

  Some Localism terrible…bad for business. I’m fully Puerto Rican born and raised and one of my buckets list was to ride domes beach in Rincon. The first locals were great they tell you and help you….. 
  more »

• By Christina R

  Domes Beach is one of my favorite beaches in western PR to visit. I’m not a surfer, but it’s a beautiful beach to watch the surf, grab a drink and an empanada at the snack shack and sit in the sun… 

  html»>Domes Beach is one of my favorite beaches in western PR to visit. I’m not a surfer, but it’s a beautiful beach to watch the surf, grab a drink and an empanada at the snack shack and sit in the sun… 
  more »

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Scuba / Snorkeling

Scuba & Snorkeling

4.4

Duration: 2h 30 min

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Lighthouse

Faro de Punta Higuera

4. 5

Duration: 2h 30 min

Beach

Sandy Beach

4.6

Duration: 2h 30 min

Boat Tour

Boat Tours & Water Sports

4.7

Duration: 2h 30 min

Hidden gems in Rincon

Nature / Park

Tres Palmas Marine Reserve

4.6

Duration: 2h 30 min

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Flea Market

Rincon Art Walk

4.7

Duration: 2h 30 min

Spa

Spas

5.0

Duration: 1h 30 min

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Beach

Maria’s Beach

5.0

Duration: 2h 30 min

Side trips from Rincon

Horseback Riding Tour

Horseback Riding Tours

Utuado

4.9

Duration: 4 hours

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Cave

Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy

Camuy

3. 6

Duration: 6 hours

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Beer Tasting / Tour

Spotin tours

Guaynabo

4.3

Duration: 2h 30 min

Scuba / Snorkeling

Scuba & Snorkeling

Aguadilla

4.7

Duration: 3 hours

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Gift & Specialty Shop

Tres Puertas Art Gallery & Blue Mermaid Gift Shop

4.8

Duration: 2h 30 min

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Gift & Specialty Shop

Caribbean Trading Rincon

4.7

Duration: 1h 30 min

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Gift & Specialty Shop

The Uncharted Studio

4.7

Duration: 2h 30 min

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Gift & Specialty Shop

Ocean State of Mind

4. 8

Duration: 30 minutes

Nearby attractions in Rincon

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Surfing / Windsurfing / Kitesurfing

Rincon Surf School

4.9

Duration: 4 hours

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Surfing / Windsurfing / Kitesurfing

Rincon Paddle Boards

4.9

Duration: 1h 30 min

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Surfing / Windsurfing / Kitesurfing

Surf 787

5.0

Duration: 2h 30 min

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Scuba / Snorkeling

Rincon Diving & Snorkeling

4.8

Duration: 2h 30 min

Beaches in Rincon

Beach

Balneario of Rincon

5.0

Duration: 2h 30 min

Beach

Steps Beach

4.6

Duration: 2h 30 min

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An Added BONUS: Highlighting the Modesto Iriarte Technological Museum

Office of
Legacy Management

October 6, 2021

The Boiling Nuclear Superheater (BONUS) was the world’s eighth nuclear power plant and the first to be built in Latin America. A museum in the facility tells the story of the BONUS as a combined effort of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority.

Domes Beach in Rincón, Puerto Rico, widely known for hosting several international surfing competitions every year, is considered one of the most popular surfing beaches in the world. But beyond the waves, there’s more than immediately meets the eye in this celebrated place. Peeking out just above the shore’s tree line is the namesake dome itself, a prototype nuclear power plant: the eighth constructed in the world, and the first in Latin America. Called the Boiling Nuclear Superheater (BONUS) reactor, the dome is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Legacy Management Office (LM) site.

Although the nearby sunny beaches are synonymous with Puerto Rican culture and lifestyle, few people understand this area’s important role in the territory’s history. This Hispanic Heritage Month, LM is helping to highlight the history of one of its most picturesque sites.

“Puerto Rico is known for its stunning geographical landscape and rich culture – the beaches and mountains, the food, the music, and the arts,” said Cliff Carpenter, LM project director and site manager at BONUS. “But Puerto Rico has also played a vital part in American non-military history, and its involvement is sometimes overlooked. During Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond, we’re hoping to celebrate these contributions and illuminate the diverse history of the island.”

LM Director Carmelo Melendez added, “In the 1980s, while living on the Island and subsequently attending the University of Puerto Rico’s Engineering School at Mayaquez, I did not realize there was a decommissioned nuclear reactor just 45 minutes away from the school! I do remember that one of my best professors, Dr. Fernando Pla-Barby, was a mechanical engineer who had worked at BONUS with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority; I just thought it was concerning wave energy not nuclear energy!”

Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, institutions like the National Archives and Presidential Libraries showcase historic documents, films and other exhibits that highlight Hispanic culture and achievements. At BONUS, this legacy is close to home – and displayed at the Modesto Iriarte Technological Museum.

The museum, named for Puerto Rican scientist and nuclear engineering pioneer Dr. Modesto Iriarte Beauchamp, is located inside the domed building. It tells the story of the BONUS as a combined effort of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority.

The plant was in operation from 1965 to 1968 and became a training camp for hundreds of Latin American scientists. It played an important part in bridging the political and social projects outlined in President John F. Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress, which bolstered economic activity and progress between the United States and Latin America. Today, the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. LM supports Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) in maintaining the plant and its museum.

“Although in 2016 when I came to LM and talked to the site manager and fully understood how unique of a site this was, nothing prepared me for the first time opening the hatch and walking into the containment area,” Melendez said. “PREPA and other stakeholders had done an outstanding job preserving the site from a surveillance and maintenance standpoint, as well as for educational and beneficial reuse purposes.”

LM Director Carmelo Melendez

As explained to Melendez by the American Nuclear Society, he said “the nuclear plant design was somewhat unique in that not just the nuclear steam supply system was inside the containment; instead, the entire power plant, including the control room, was inside the 190-foot-diameter structure. So, unlike other decommissioned reactors where everything had been removed from the containment structure and support buildings, like in the Piqua decommissioned reactor in Ohio, BONUS looks like the reactor’s operators just walked out for a break,” he said. “It’s like walking back in time.”

Exhibits throughout the museum dig into the island’s Spanish Colonial, American, and Hispanic history, aiming to deepen visitors’ understanding and appreciation of Puerto Rico’s history. Each sheds light on how testing and discoveries at BONUS pioneered the development of electric power and nuclear energy in the United States.

“The breadth of the museum exhibits speaks to the multifaceted history of the land and the people who have lived on it,” Carpenter said. “There’s something for everyone there, whether you’re a history buff or curious to know more about the first Indigenous people on the island – I think that’s why local visitors feel such a connection to the museum.”

The museum serves the local community in a variety of capacities, including ongoing outreach and education focused on the area’s endangered species. The site is staffed with bilingual employees, features signage in English and Spanish, and receives visitors from six nearby public schools in Rincón. The museum also partners with institutions of higher education such as the University of Puerto Rico and the Ana G. Méndez University system to offer research materials and resources to students.