Mexico’s only nude beach is on the verge of being on the map.
This account draws on several stays in Zipolite, in 2021, 2023 and 2024, and has been expanded and revised since its original publication.
Looking for directions, safety information, or things to do in Zipolite? Head straight to the Practical Information section (last updated November 2026), which also covers where to stay and eat.
I first visited the beach town of Zipolite in late 2021 as part of a trip to Mazunte and the Oaxaca coast. I knew I wanted to come back, and finally, in summer 2023, I was able to go back for two one-week stays.
On my first visit, I flew into Huatulco airport, an hour to the east, and shared a taxi with a few travelers. I arrived in Zipolite Beach in no time and felt like I didn’t start my Zipolite experience as I should have. There is much to be said about slow travel, which makes arriving at your destination a bigger reward. On my second trip, I chose the slower (and cheaper) route and flew into Puerto Escondido, about ninety minutes to the west. I took a colectivo (or shared minivan) right into downtown Puerto to get into what Mexicans call a camion, a somewhat antique bus with no a/c and music blaring out of its speakers, that would drop me at the Zipolite turn off. The drive took us east via Highway 200, La Costera, the same one that passes by Troncones.
Right after leaving town, we passed over the massive mouth of the Colotepec River, and continued a few miles inland, only glancing at the ocean from afar, while passing by a few villages and stopping seemingly randomly to drop off and pick up passengers. Most of my travel companions were locals coming back from town, or going into the next biggest one, San Pedro Pochutla, the bus’s final destination. Only a few passengers were tourists, and all of them got off the bus with me in San Antonio, where we left the main road for a smaller one leading to a string of seaside villages: Mazunte, San Agustinillo, Zipolite and Puerto Ángel.
The searing heat made the wait for my last colectivo of the day feel a little too intense. I cheated on my slow travel plan, ended up sharing a taxi with a couple going to Mazunte, and probably gained a half hour on my schedule. Past the turnoff, Road 175 goes straight towards the ocean until Mazunte and then hugs the coast for a few miles, passing so close to the ocean in San Agustinillo that the village’s beachfront restaurant feels like it’s sitting on the road.
No matter which direction you’re coming from, Zipolite feels very unassuming. The village’s main area, called colonia Roca Blanca,is actually off the main road, so if you miss a right turn past the colectivo terminal (a big word), you’ll actually end up in the next village, Puerto Angel, before you know it.
If you do make a right in calle Pelicano, you’ll head straight towards the ocean and, a block away from it, will find a chain preventing you from going any further. Zipolite’s main drag is actually mostly pedestrian, and nothing but a few mopeds and small delivery trucks come disturb the flow of barefoot tourists and meandering dogs.
Without any status clues from fashion, everyone looked like a chill version of themselves.
Zipolite, which means Beach of the Dead in the Zapotec language, isn’t Mykonos-famous, not yet anyway. The pueblo is a little bit of an oddball in Mexico’s endless list of gorgeous beach towns thanks to its very singular history. In 1970, what was then a sleepy little beach surrounded by shrubs owned by a few rural families became notable as one of the best sites on the Mexican Pacific coast to observe a full solar eclipse. It took a few people, driven by the hippie vibes of the time, to realize the town’s potential and make it a place welcoming all free spirits.
Today, Zipolite is Mexico’s only official nude beach, and because of its past, is a welcoming destination for the LGBT+ community. It gives the beach its laid back, anything-goes vibe that’s quite endearing. Zipolite’s beach front is a mix of wooden huts, most with a thatched roof, and small-scale concrete buildings in various states of construction or disrepair (hurricane Agatha caused serious damage to the town in 2022). This sort of humble, raw beauty is part of the charm. In Zipolite, people don’t need to pretend. After all, most people on the beach are sunning in their birthday suit, and without any status clues from fashion, everyone looks like a chill version of themselves.
Zipolite also feels very authentically Mexican. The crowd of tourists is mostly composed of nationals, and the Americans (plus a few Canadians and Europeans) are a minority. It’s changing however, and the number of foreign tourists is growing year after year, as the town’s fame extends beyond Mexico’s borders. A few hotels on or off the beach are clearly trying to attract a more global and moneyed clientele, and Mexoni, the town’s exquisite design store, is clearly targeting the well-off tourist.
Walking on the shore is probably one of the best things to do in Zipolite. The main beach extends for more than a mile as it gently curves like a lazy bay. Its waves are famous for both being a surfers’ magnet and a treacherous threat. I didn’t see anything but red flags dotting the beach during my two stays and while a few brave souls dared wet their feet in the ocean, most people kept to the sand.
Nothing but a few mopeds come disturb the flow of barefoot tourists and meandering dogs.
If you walk west, you’ll end up by the Alquimista hotel, on a small beach that is famous for its dangerous undertow. If you walk east, you’ll hit a rocky point that separates Zipolite’s main beach from Playa del Amor, a stunning, secluded bay flanked by what I can only describe as a miniature version of Rio’s Sugar Loaf mountain. You’ll have to walk up a few stone steps and pass an abandoned beach house to be rewarded with a panoramic view of the beach. It’s the gayer area and the cruising tension is palpable. It also is one of my favorite spots on the Oaxacan coast to watch the sunset. In the summer, the sun goes down almost exactly over Punta Cometa, Oaxaca’s southern point, located in Mazunte, a few miles to the west, framed by the beach’s rocky sides. It’s quite a sight.
It's hard to give a detailed recap of what I did during my two one-week stays in Zipolite, and I guess that’s part of the point of coming here. Chilling, doing nothing, not accounting for every minute of the day, most of it while naked is very liberating. Note that in the town’s signature laissez-faire attitude, no one will bat an eye if you decide against baring it all, and plenty of people were enjoying the beach with some clothes on.
Most of Zipolite’s restaurants and shops are located on the main street, avenida Roca Blanca, over just five blocks. The menus are heavy on fish and seafood, most of it fresh and from the area, but a few restaurants are bringing variations to an otherwise very classically and delicious Mexican fare (Mao Mau, a Thai restaurant at the very end of the avenue, being one of them). At night, the street comes to life with tables extending the restaurants’ footprint on the pavement, vendors laying out their handmade jewelry on hastily dressed tables and convenience stores open late.
It would be hard to speak about Zipolite without mentioning its dogs. Why? Because dogs are everywhere. Playing with the waves on the beach, sunning themselves on the sidewalks, with their owners at the gym or gently begging for food by your side if the restaurant staff hasn’t shooed them away. It’s fairly frequent to see dogs roaming around freely in rural Mexico, or even in towns like Puerto Escondido. I lived in cities with plenty of dogs, in Europe and in the US, and I am an unabashed dog lover but the first time a lone dog came up to me here, I have to admit I tensed up a bit.
A few months back, while hiking the Quilotoa loop in Ecuador, I had been warned about potential aggressive dogs on the path, and every time I saw a dog, I imagined I was about to lose a limb (the worst that happened was being barked at very unceremoniously by a dog that was probably more scared of me than I was of him). In Zipolite, I quickly realized the dogs meant no harm. They were well cared for and most had collars – people just let them be free all day. I saw dog food ready for the taking in several of the stores I shopped at. To me, it looked as close to a dog paradise as I imagined.
I had picked a nude hotel for both of my stays. Why not, I pondered, I might as well go with the flow. It was the right move. My hotel was off the beach, very relaxed (and quite affordable), and while I was a little self-conscious for the first few minutes, I forgot about it very quickly. The fact that everyone was naked, even the hotel staff, certainly helped. There was a certain relief to be able to be oneself and not worry about what to wear or how to wear it. As a result, the hotel felt very egalitarian with none of the pretense you can find in other places where the pool is the center of social life and people spend hours chatting in or around it. It was actually hard to dress up to go outside the hotel grounds, even if that didn’t mean much: a lot of people go about town barefoot, or just wearing shorts.
Spending so much time being social doesn’t always come naturally to me, but the way the hotel was laid out made it a must, and I enjoyed getting to know the other guests. The hotel was founded by a Frenchman, but caters mostly to a Mexican clientele, with Americans a small minority. As a result, my pool sessions were a full-on immersion into Mexican culture, and I think my Spanish proficiency shot up a few notches after each stay.
The hotel featured both rooms and dormitories, which created great social mixity, from Monterrey doctors to Canadian backpackers to middle-class folks from Sinaloa or Chiapas.
Having lived most of my life in big, progressive cities, I easily forget that, in many places, living as gay or queer isn’t the walk in the park it can be in Los Angeles or London. Mexico’s record as a pro-LGBT nation has improved over the past years: gay marriage is legal nationwide, as is changing one’s gender. However, according to Equaldex, adoption by gay couples is still illegal in ten states, and conversion therapy isn’t banned in sixteen of them.
In a community that celebrates difference and nudity, it is a lot easier to be yourself.
My Mexican pool mates would tell me how being gay isn’t super easy in some of the states they lived in, like Aguascalientes, which they described as somewhat close-minded, and it made me understand why some of them came back to Zipolite year after year. In a community that openly celebrates difference and promotes nudity as a way to highlight everyone’s sameness, it is a lot easier to be yourself. It could also explain why some of the guests at the hotel seemed determined to make the most of their vacation, going out every night. It wasn’t just a vacation, but a vacation in a place you can truly enjoy yourself as you, not the person you create when you code-switch to blend in.
Something else that stayed with me after my trip was how the obsession for body perfection that is de rigueur in places like Sitges or Fire Island wasn’t really relevant here. People came in all shapes and sizes in a way that felt natural. I don’t know to what extent this was Zipolite-specific or more of a Mexican thing, but this was definitely welcome.
While fun and entertaining, my days by the hotel pool weren’t enough to satisfy my wanderlust, and so on my second stay on the coast, I set my sights outside of Zipolite proper. I checked out Puerto Angel, the next village over on the east side, and also went a little further out of the way, in search for the elusive wild and desert Mexican beach in Agua Blanca. I hope you’ll enjoy these diary entries as well.
Beyond exploring on land, I sailed in a small boat in search of Golfina turtles and dolphins. This trip departed from Mazunte and it is the kind of unpolished experience you won’t find on Viator anytime soon. We spent three hours at sea, repeatedly splashed and washed by waves, saw dolphins and turtles up close – dolphins, being curious animals, will come up to the boat even if you try to stay at a safe distance from them – and towards the end of the trip, had to jump off the boat and swim back to shore while our captain stayed on deck, waiting for the right wave to beach the boat back on the sand. Super fun, but also a little rough around the edges.
I have been serious about my workout routine for about a year now, and it means I hit the gym every other day, rain or shine. Zipolite’s Move Gym is located on the main street, a step above the doctor’s office – which I assume isn’t intentional. The gym itself is an open space of wood and concrete with a thatched roof and no windows, letting the hot air in. In other words, it gets sweaty pretty easily. Going to the gym regularly was another great way to meet people, and understand what they were doing here.
There are two kinds of people in a small beach town gym. People who live there or come regularly, les habitués, as the French like to say, and tourists who are a little too obsessed with their gym routine, like yours truly. The locals often came with their dogs, who never worked out but either slept or dutifully followed their owner from machine to machine. I had only seen dogs in a gym in Sayulita before, but I wholeheartedly approve of the concept. What better way to rest between reps than pet a cute pup?
One of the people I met at the gym wasn’t truly a local, but loved the town enough to come by car from Mexico City regularly, with his two dogs. An architect, passionate about sustainability, he talked to me about how Zipolite is fighting to keep big development away, and how architecture here should be less about concrete and more about wood (I must admit I asked him his opinion about container homes, and it didn’t go super well).
It’s a fundamental difference between Zipolite and other towns up and down the Oaxacan coast (looking at you, Puerto Escondido). Real estate development isn’t really wanted here and is severely restricted, as the community aims to preserve what makes the town unique.
It may be what saves Zipolite from the fate of so many of these magical coastal towns turned into caricatures of paradise for global tourists, and keep the incredible balance of weirdness and inclusivity that makes this little gem of a place a truly beautiful stop on my list of places to come back to again, and again and again.
Continue reading below for every bit of practical information you may need to enjoy Zipolite.
Practical information
(updated December 2025 with flight schedules and hotel recommendations, February 2026 with nearby places to check out, November 2026 with an expanded section on Zipolite beaches)
Getting to Zipolite
Zipolite has no airport of its own. The two main options are Huatulco (HUX), to the east, and Puerto Escondido (PXM), to the west. From either airport, you can continue by taxi or use cheaper local transport with connections. Below are the routes I’ve taken, including the more affordable options. Bring cash for local transport.
How to get to Zipolite from the US
From the US, you can fly into either Puerto Escondido (PXM) or Huatulco (HUX). While there are a few seasonal flights from the US and Canada to Huatulco, the easiest airport to get to from the US is indeed Puerto Escondido. United Airlines serves PXM from Houston International 3 times a week (currently on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays). The 2h30 flight is operated by an Embraer 175 regional jet, and provides a wealth of connections to and from the US. It is also possible to fly Aeromexico via a connection through Mexico City (MEX).
Huatulco airport is closer to Zipolite on the map, but the drive takes about 90 minutes from either airport: the road from Puerto Escondido is in better condition, which makes up for the greater distance.
How to get to Zipolite from Puerto Escondido
Airport taxi (fastest): an official taxi from PXM airport will cost MXN 1200 at time of writing. This is the easiest option, and 90 minutes later you’ll be on the beach. Note Uber isn’t available in the region. Cash is king, most taxis do not offer a credit card option.
Taxi from outside the airport: walk a few minutes from the terminal and onto the main road, and you can find other taxis waiting for passengers (these are official as well but are not licensed to operate from the airport). The cost should be close to MXN 800. The walk is absolutely feasible with carry-on luggage, but anything more than that and you might struggle in the tropical heat. You may also share these taxis with other people - I have done this a few times and only paid a quarter of the fare as a result, which makes it a fast, affordable way to get to the beach.
Budget route via public bus (three steps):
take a colectivo from the terminal (follow the signs). For about MXN 70, they will drop you anywhere in town. Ask to be dropped at the Terminal Delfines (basically nothing more than a bus stop, close to the Chedraui supermarket).
take a basic Delfines bus to San Antonio (MXN 60), where the road towards Mazunte and Zipolite starts and you can see the last Oxxo convenience store of your trip (the bus will drop you right in front of it).
Walk 20 meters to the side of the Oxxo sitting on the actual road to Zipolite and from there, take a colectivo into town, that will drop you here, about 5-10 minutes from Zipo’s main street, for MXN 20. Plan for this whole trip to last two good hours, but the overall cost of MXN 150 is unbeatable (I have done this a few times as well).
I have used the three options at least once, and they are all fine, depending on your time and budget constraints.
How to get to Zipolite from Huatulco
Airport taxi (fastest): an official taxi from HUX airport will cost MXN 1100 at time of writing. This is the easiest option, and 90 minutes later you’ll be on the beach. Note Uber isn’t available in the region.
Taxi from outside the airport: grab a taxi just outside the airport perimeter on the main road (MXN 800, shareable - note that taxis may sometimes wait on the gas station parking right by the terminal road entrance, you can’t miss them). The walk to the gas station is absolutely feasible with carry-on luggage, but anything more than that and you might struggle in the tropical heat. On my shared-taxi trip, I paid only a quarter of the fare, making it a fast, affordable way to reach Zipolite.
Budget route via public bus (two steps):
take a colectivo from the main road (stand on the side of the road opposite to the gas station to get the right bus). It costs MXN 50 and will leave you here in Pochutla.
Take a shared cab for Zipolite for MXN 30. Cabs are usually waiting by the minibus terminal for passengers going further. They will drop you here in Zipolite (or anywhere before at your request, but they will not make a detour for you), and you’ll have to walk the last few hundred yards to your hotel.
I’ve made this journey from Huatulco twice: once in a shared taxi and once using the budget colectivo route. Both worked well for me. Allow more time for the colectivo route, and avoid it if you have too much luggage.
How to get to Zipolite from Mexico City
By plane: Flying is the easiest way to reach Zipolite from Mexico City. Compare flights from Mexico City International Airport (MEX) and Felipe Angeles (NLU) to Puerto Escondido (PXM) or Huatulco (HUX). Consider the total journey time and cost, including getting to your departure airport and transferring to Zipolite. Once you land, follow the airport-to-Zipolite directions above.
By overnight bus: You can also travel overland to Puerto Escondido, then continue to Zipolite by taxi or the bus-and-colectivo route described above. Check the departure terminal, journey duration, and fare with your chosen operator before booking. ETN, theluxury bus company, offers overnight departures in very comfortable reclinging seats. Most buses leave from the Taxqueña station, in the south of Mexico City.
For more information about operators, comfort, and what to expect, see my guide to bus travel in Mexico.
Safety
The Oaxacan coast, away from major drug trafficking routes, is fairly safe, and the US Department of State only recommends to “exercise increased caution” when traveling there. For perspective, that is the same advisory level as Mexico City or Germany. Take normal precautions but don’t sweat it, this isn’t a particularly dangerous part of Mexico.
The only real danger in Zipolite is the ocean. Currents can be strong and swimming is not recommended.
As always, be respectful of the local culture. Zipolite is easygoing and unpretentious, and blending in is the simplest way to stay safe.
Zipolite’s beaches: what to know
Zipolite actually has two beaches. The main one is a long, gently curving bay that stretches for more than a mile, lined with thatched-roof huts, small hotels and beachfront restaurants (Sal y Pimienta for tacos on the sand, Posada Mexico for breakfast and lunch, El Alquimista for something fancier at the western end). It is Mexico’s only official nude beach, and nudity is common, but nobody will judge you if you keep your swimsuit on. Walking the shoreline from one end to the other is one of the best things you can do here. Just don’t expect to swim much: the waves draw surfers for a reason, currents are strong, and red flags are a common sight. Most people stay on the sand, and the small beach near El Alquimista, at the western end, is known for a particularly dangerous undertow.
At the eastern end, past the rocky point, lies Playa del Amor, a small secluded bay framed by rock formations that remind me of Rio’s Sugar Loaf. To reach the viewpoint, you’ll climb stone steps past an abandoned beach house. It’s the gayer part of Zipolite, with a palpable cruising vibe, and it’s my favorite spot to watch the sunset. In summer, the sun sets almost directly over Punta Cometa in Mazunte.
Where to stay and eat in Zipolite
Hotels
Casa Nudista - a cosy gay nudist hotel a few blocks off the beach, on a quiet block. Not a clothing-optional venue but rather a must-be-nude-inside-the-premises kind of place, the hotel is a wonderful place to enjoy Zipolite for the queer community. Arranged around a small pool that act as the hotel’s social center sit two dorms and a few rooms, above which two common terraces with lounge chairs and sofas ensure there is always a place to chill. It’s a great place to get to know other fellow travellers, socialize, and decide to hit the bars together later. I loved that the crowd was very mixed - lots of Mexican tourists mixed in with foreigners to create a really fun atmosphere. Book early during peak season as the hotel gets full really fast. A dorm bed starts around USD30 a night and rooms go much higher than that.
Casa Mixteca - a tiny, well designed hotel on the northern side of Zipolite’s main street, this hotel sits a few meters from the ocean and next to some of Zipolite’s best food options. It’s a quiet and quaint option for a relaxing stay. Rooms start around USD90.
Restaurants
MaoMau – it can seem strange to recommend a thai restaurant in a small beach town hidden in the middle of Mexico, but there you have it. The food is nice if a little pricey, the bridge at the entrance very photo-friendly, and the evening crowd always looking smart (Zipolite-style, don’t imagine cocktail dresses).
Sal y Pimienta – the quintessential Zipolite experience: delicious tacos right on the beach. You’ll eat with feet in the sand as beachgoers stroll around. Prices are fair, the only thing this place has not going for it are its unreliable opening times (last time I was in Zipolite, I wasn’t able to eat there once, but do persist, it is worth it)
Posada Mexico – a cute, no frills little hotel on the beach, it offers delicious breakfasts and lunches. Probably my go-to place. It never disappoints.
El Alquimista – located at the very end of the beach, on the west side, it would be easy to miss El Aquimista. It’s first a hotel, and its relative remoteness is an advantage: you get a secluded cove (almost) to yourself. The restaurant is a little fancier than other options, with prices to match, but the food is absolutely worth it as well as the scenery.
Fitness
There is only one option in Zipolite, but luckily it’s a very nice one. Move Gym is located on Avenica Roca Blanca, Zipo’s main (and some would say only) street. Its opening times vary according to the season, the equipment is pretty basic but it does the job for a few days. Move Gym also offers different types of (great) yoga classes in the morning. A day pass is MXN150 and a weekly pass around MXN600. This is an open-air gym on the second floor of a basic building, and although the gym is shaded and uses large fans, it can get very hot in the afternoon. Peak times are in the morning, but I enjoyed fairly quiet workouts between 11am and 2pm.
Shopping
Casa Mexoni - no one really goes to Zipolite for retail therapy, and to be fair, that’s not the point of the place. However, it would be unjust to not list Mexoni, the town’s design store, filled with upscale creations, most of them local or regional. Their beach towels are great souvenirs, and they are actually made in town. They have a location on Zipo’s main street that stays open late, and one in the Alquimista hotel.
What to do around Zipolite
Most people spend the totality of their Zipolite vacation between their hotel and the beach, and that is absolutely OK. Zipolite is to disconnect and recharge. If, after a few days, you feel like exploring further, here are a few options worth considering:
Mazunte, a pueblo mágico 15 minutes away by colectivo (MXN 15, station here), can make for a lovely day out. The small town feels a little more developed, with more restaurants and tourist shops, but it still has a lot of charm. Enjoy the beach and head towards Punta Cometa before sunset, to see a gorgeous sunset - just beware colectivos stop running at night, so don’t stay too long on the beach past sunset, or take a taxi back (about MXN 100).
Going east, Puerto Angel is a cute little fishing village with very few foreign tourists. A 10-minute colectivo ride (pick up here), it has a lovely bay and a side beach that wouldn’t look out of place on the Mediterranean. Check out my article on how to spend a day there.
Playa Agua Blanca
Puerto Escondido can be a great place to visit for a day or two - it can even be a strategic move to spend a few days there before flying back, since the Puerto Escondido airport is the most convenient to and from Zipolite. The vibe is very different. It’s a bigger town with an active surfer culture, and a heavier gringo presence. It also feels like a place that’s already discovered, so it’s more touristy. It still has a lot of charm and several gorgeous beaches. Autobuses Delfines are an easy and cheap way to reach the town, whether as a day trip or to head back to the airport (all details in the Puerto Escondido article).
Playa Agua Blanca is probably my favorite beach on the Oaxaca coast. Between Zipolite and Puerto Escondido, it’s another great day trip if Zipo doesn’t feel quiet enough. Playa Agua Blanca, especially during the week, is deserted, peaceful and absolutely remote, the perfect place to have a mile-long beach for oneself. Delfines bus drop you off in Agua Blanca, on the main highway, and the beach is about 15 minutes away on a small road. It’s absolutely worth the (low) effort.
Photos from top to bottom: Zipolite’s main beach from the Shambala hotel, Nene Malo (one of main street’s convenience stores), Playa del Amor, Calle Pelicano towards the beach, Playa del Amor at sunset, Zipolite’s main beach, a delivery truck on avenida Roca Blanca.
All photos are mine and are copyrighted.