Naked Wanderings
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Why we didn't go to the Zipolite Nudist Festival
🕑 Added 2025-02-17 07:00:06 +0000 UTC
In a matter of little more than a decade, Zipolite has grown from a sleepy hippy village with a nude beach to a mythical destination that appears on the bucket lists of more and more clothes-free travellers around the world. "Did someone say Cap d'Agde? That's sooooo 2010… Zipolite is the new naked hot spot!".
The popularity of Zipolite has a lot to do with its yearly Nudist Festival, which started back in 2016 with maybe a few hundred mostly local nudists. In the last years, many thousands from all over the world have flown into Mexico for several days of nude activities. But we are not among them.
The Zipolite Nudist Festival 2020
From the title of this blog post, you probably already imagined that we are about to drop a number of reasons why one may not want to go to the festival. And you're right. But just for the record, we have actually been to one edition, back in 2020, and it definitely was not a negative experience.
The best thing about the festival is that it brings people together, people from all over the world with a similar mindset. And everyone is in a festival mood, making it easy to connect and meet new friends. Just like at music festivals, there's a sense of camaraderie that’s hard to put into words. We're all there for the same reason, and that creates a bond. It’s like the entire town becomes one big, happy, clothes-free family for several days.
You are also being entertained. There are a bunch of activities going on, most of them not much different from what you can find in a mid-sized European resort, like volleyball, yoga, or body painting, but there is nude whale watching too, and as far as we know, that can not be done anywhere else in the world. Although there are some side hustles organised by independent people, the activities organised by the festival committee are also 100% free. Knowing this, you're probably about to raise an eyebrow when you read the next title.
The Zipolite Nudist Festival is expensive
When we talk about holidays in Mexico, many of you will immediately think of the Riviera Maya (also known as Cancun, its major city) or Baja California. Super touristy areas where the prices of food, drinks, and accommodation are very similar to Europe, Canada, or the USA. Zipolite is not like that. The first time we visited we stayed in a private seaside room for about $25 USD per night. Although the accommodation prices have meanwhile gone up, it's still possible to find decent accommodation for less than $50 USD.
But not during the festival. Most places in town sell out months in advance and it's very common for regulars of the festival to immediately book for next year while they are there. Hotel prices triple or quadruple, competing with those in Tulum. For the price of a 4-night stay during the festival, we can stay in town for weeks during the low season.
Shops and restaurants like to make some extra profit during the festival too. We can't blame them, it's the law of supply and demand at work but we always wonder whether it's worth it. How much are we willing to pay more to be here during these 4 days, instead of the other 361 of the year?
We like our beers ice-cold
From unofficial statistics, we've learned that Zipolite counts between 500 and 1000 inhabitants. Add to that a couple of thousands of tourists during high season and you get an idea of what the town is used to cater to. During the festival, several additional thousands come to town, as well as people who booked a hotel in the nearby villages of San Agustinillo, Mazunte, and Puerto Angel.
Throughout the four days of the festival, we found it almost impossible to find an ice-cold beer. Not in the shops and neither in the bars. This is just a wild guess, but we think that there just aren't enough fridges in town. This place just wasn't built to accommodate so many people at once and the cost of buying or hiring extra fridges may not weigh up to the profit. People will buy beer anyway and after a while, they are already happy when it's not lukewarm.
This is not "our" Zipolite
We fell in love with Zipolite years ago, for a variety of reasons, but the most important was the vibe of the town. A relaxed hippy village that almost seems lawless. A place where everyone can be themselves, where nobody cares about appearance or attitude. A nude beach where you can choose for a vibrant atmosphere near Shambala or a chill vibe further away if you're more in a have a nap or read a book kind of mood. A place we would go to for a couple of days, and almost without noticing, end up staying for a month.
During the festival, this totally changes. The town is packed, it's hard to find a table at our favourite restaurants and there's noise everywhere. Suddenly, it becomes a lot about seeing and being seen and the usual relaxed energy turns into something electric. Even excentric maybe.
Zipolite transforms from the off-grid hidden gem into a mainstream beach destination as we have found many around the world. It's a nude one though, and that's still quite unique, but for us, this vibe just isn't Zipolite.
Prove us wrong
Given its current popularity, we get a lot of questions about the Nudist Festival. When people ask us whether it's worth going, we always say: "Absolutely, at least for once". It is one of the largest nudist gatherings in the world and it's just something you should see. Something you should experience. So head into the sweaty crowds, fight for a table, and drink not-so-cold beers. Just know that this is not the Zipolite you'll find outside of these 4 days.
We imagine you nodding in agreement while you are reading this, thinking back to the days when Zipolite was still an oasis of peace and quietness. Or maybe you've hardly managed to keep yourself from punching the screen just because our faces are on it, shouting "What are these two idiots saying?". That's totally fine. Keep in mind that this whole blog post is based on just one experience. We've seen the festival in 2020 and decided that once is enough.
If you have experienced it as well, we would like to hear your opinion. Do you feel the same? Or maybe the other 361 days are just not "your" Zipolite?
By the way, our friend Angy, who you may remember from some of our videos, was at the 2025 edition of the Zipolite Nudist Festival and she recently started her own blog. So here's a shout-out to Angy: How about you prove us wrong on your blog? Or maybe prove us right…
Comments
Naked Wanderings
We definitely agree that it's a unique experience and a great time to meet up with other people. Don't get us wrong, this blog post wasn't written against the festival, we know how much effort you and the whole team put into this. But we want people to know that there are two Zipolite's, the one during the festival and the one during the rest of the year :-)
Naked Wanderings
Good to hear you had a great experience! And we're certain you can now understand what happens with the town if suddenly the crowds would quadruple... or more...
Claudia Kellersch
I never miss any of the nudist festivals and have been part of the all-volunteer unpaid organizing committee each year. I agree that there are too many tourists in town for those few days. I do love seeing 150 of my best friends and endlessly running into friends from all over the world by surprise who show up for their first time and the epic sunsets off Playa del Amor. Wandering off the beach into Arroyo Tres gets you cheaper unhurried restaurant experiences with locals during the festival. Yes, reserve one year in advance. The experience is like no other in the whole world. The warm Mexican welcome hospitality, live bands off the stage, the endless _calenda_ (nude parade) of amazing painted bodies, hundreds of them after hours of mass painting for a small contribution
Chris
We’ve only been to Zipolite once. (In fact, this morning is our last morning here. ) However, the week that we’ve spent here has given us the same vibes. First of all, we’re not party people, but the town we’ve spent the last week in has been quaint and welcoming. I can only imagine the chaos of a big festival here. We’ve enjoyed trying to talk with locals through our extremely limited Spanish, and everyone has been helpful and understanding. We’re looking forward to coming back, but once again, it won’t be during the festival.
