I hope Zipolite has not turned into into Playa Del Carmen, at least in my view in 2018 it was not even close to being Playa - no Freeway overpass or Starbucks there, so hopefully it will not be that way. Im planning on a return visit to Zipolite and Costa Chica, however keeping it on a Downlow and not telling many people about it, in February/March til April, hopefully the Mosquitos scare people away!

It was about 200 dollars equivalent. Good luck!

Oh, wow. That sucks. How much did you have to pay the transit cops? I really love Mexico, but these border problems are ruining it. I hope they can get a handle on it before things get much worse. I'm going down again next month, driving by myself. I'm feel safe once I make it to the toll roads, but it's scary until then.

The trip was fine overall. We did cross at Colombia at 8:15 am. We had to get visas, and that took over an hour even though we got there right at opening. They seem to be very unorganized in comparison to other places we've crossed. After crossing, we got pulled over by a transit just looking to extort money. He said we were doing, even though most people were actually going quite a bit faster than us. We paid him since there's no telling who he may know up the road. From there, the trip was fine. On our way back through, we ended up leaving very early so we could arrive at the border before night fall. We did reach Colombia around 6pm and it took us 3 hours to get through. I definitely felt the insecurity near the border like never before. I think we have decided we are definitely not traveling after dark near the border anymore.

1. Cali license is fine.
2. You may not need 'extra' insurance, since you don't specify what that is. But to be legal, you for sure need basic liability, or 'daños a terceros' of $4,000,000 mxn. If you have to pay 'extra' to get that much coverage, then yes, you need it. Some companies include minimal liability coverage of $350,000 mxn in their basic rate, but that's not sufficient any longer. Collision is always a good idea, though not required by law. But who wants to be on the hook for a $35,000 dlls SUV in case of an accident or theft? You're probably looking at about $60-$75 dlls per day for a large sedan or SUV with adequate insurance.

I remember being in the Yucatan in 1983, visiting all the beach places that I won't return to today. I would rather remember what they were. BTW, I thought Cancun was gross then. We met a guy who talked about this great little surfing village called "Puerto Escondido." I wish I had visited then, as I have chosen not to visit now. Will this happen to all of the best places in Mexico? I hope not in my lifetime!

Arrived in Zipolite a week ago after a 3 year absence and I thought ...OMG Zipolite has been lost just like Playa del Carmen many years ago. But the nude festival ws on so there were throngs of people and loud music ( or so they call it ) all nite. Certainly it has been growing and gentrifying over the past 20 yrs that I have seen it. Accommodation prices are way up with lots of new places with pools etc being built. I just hope that the unswimmable beach and those nude old hippies will keep the crowds away. During the festival I was happy to see a lot more Mexicans partaking....nude and not. After all it is their land. Anyway , I enjoy the diversity here and falling asleep to the sound of the crashing waves !

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.