A Traveller’s Guide to Playa Zipolite

Where To Stay in Zipolite

A big part of why we stayed so long in Zipolite the first time we visited was the very special hostel we picked when we first arrived.

Very basic, with a kitchen that barely deserved the name and rudimentary shared bathroom facilities, it did however offer us a palapa roofed, raised room above the kitchen with views out over the sea for $5 USD a night. We made good friends there, kept on extending our time, and still struggled to leave just over three weeks later.

It was a big part of why this place held such a place in our hearts for so long.

That hostel was El Carrizo, and it was still open, popular and offering cheap rooms when we returned to Zipolite 10 years later (although it’s currently down as ‘temporarily closed’ on Google Maps).

Those glory days of turning up with our backpacks and wandering around for two hours to get a good deal at a super basic hostel are behind us now, but if you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind living without some luxuries, it may still be perfect for you.

Accommodation is actually one of the biggest areas of change in Zipolite, with countless new properties having opened up in the intervening years, many with a much more ‘Conde Nast Traveller vibe’, and catering to more modern tastes and aesthetics.

Its increasing popularity as a vacation destination, rather than simply a backpacker one, has changed the vibe slightly, and there were several more hotels under construction on our last visit. In comparison to other smaller beaches on the Oaxaca Coast, the size and and width of the beach means it’s primed to grow further, and we do hope this is done in as slow and sensible a way as possible.

Beyond that, some accommodations are nudist-only, some are LGBTQ-focussed, some are backpacker-friendly, and some are just a decent place to lay your head near the beach.

To help you find the best place for your own stay – whether it’s a few nights on a budget, a couple’s vacation, or something else entirely – we’ve done the hard work and shared the best places to stay in Zipolite, with something for every budget and travel style.

*Due to new places being constructed each year, and the proximity of some to half-dozen or so loud late-night beach bars, it is always important to check recent reviews to make sure there isn’t a place next door that may cause noise/enjoyment issues.