Only The Brave Visit The Annual Zipolite Nudist Festival –
Annually Late January – Early February
Zipolite Nude Beach
Playa Zipolite’s nude beach is not just the first and only official nude beach in Mexico. This one mile stretch of warm white sand is also among the largest and most beautiful nude beaches in Central America. Including the Caribbean. One of the reasons why Zipolite has become a very popular vacation destination for nudists is because of its yearly “Festival Nudista Zipolite. What started as a gathering of the Mexican Nudist Federation has quickly grown into a world famous nudist festival, attracting naked guests from all over the world.
The festival is yearly organised during the last weekend of January or the first weekend of February. Click here to find the latest for the next festival. During the weekend of the festival, a whole range of activities are organized. There’s nude yoga on Shambala beach, volleyball tournaments, beach games and body painting. In the evenings are communal dinners, parties and concerts.
Most of the activities are free of charge. Several side activities like nude boat tours on the Pacific Ocean come at a fee. Most of all, the Zipolite Nudist Festival is the perfect occasion to get together with nudists from all over the world. To socialize, meet new friends and have an amazing clothes-free weekend under the warm Mexican sun.
Naked Zipolite Hotel.
Nude Hotel in Zipolite.
The clothing-optional hotels in Zipolite typically get fully booked at least 6 months before the festival. The other beachside hotels do tend to loosen their clothing policy during the festival, so it’s definitely possible to stay at one of those too. We don’t recommend arriving without a room booked. There are still some places in town that don’t work with online bookings, but you’ll be stuck with whatever is left. A couple of our favorites, pictured above, are the Naked Zipolite Hotel and the Nude Hotel. They are almost side by side on the beach.
LGBTQ Welcome & Friendly?
The tranquil atmosphere of Zipolite where everything goes but nothing has to, in combination with the excellent nude beach, yearly attracts thousands of gay visitors. Many of whom stay much longer than initially intended or actually never leave again. They have created their own LGBTQ community in this wonderful Mexican beach town.
Whereas being gay in Mexico is something that’s often still frowned upon, Zipolite is definitely an exception. This is one of the few places in the country where the LGBTQ community feels 100% safe and welcome. Especially Playa de Amor, in the far east of the main beach, is popular among gay visitors. In the late afternoon and around sunset, this beach is also known to be a hot spot for cruisy gay men.
There will be naked boys on the beach.
There will be naked women.
Don’t be surprised at what you might see.
While Zipolite is more and more being referred to as Mexico’s nudist village, it’s important to know that nudity is only allowed at designated areas and definitely not in the whole town. A nude beach is only enjoyable when everyone feels comfortable. Given the free spirit of Zipolite, it feels wrong to define a set of rules. Instead, here are some basic guidelines to keep the Zipolite nude beach a great place:
✅ Don’t gawk.
✅ Don’t take pictures of others without their permission.
✅ No public sex.
✅ Respect the comfort zone of others.
✅ Respect the clothing policies of the hotels, bars and restaurants.
P.S. You will also see these rules being broken.
Beach map during the festival.
The main beach of Zipolite can roughly be divided in 3 parts: Shambala beach, Roca Blanca and the east beach. On both ends, you will find smaller coves where nudity is also allowed: Bahia Camaron and Playa de Amor. About Playa de Amor, translates to: Love Beach. It’s a hidden cove at the far east of Zipolite beach, that can be accessed via a staircase over the hill. When the ocean is wild, Playa de Amor is often the best place for swimming. During the high season, there’s also a beach bar. In the evenings, the name of Playa de Amor tends to get honoured, and public sex is common.