Acapulco or Mazatlan?

Both cities are first and foremost beach cities, but the shorelines differ. Acapulco's beaches line a deep, enclosed bay. The swimming is gentlest in the coves of Caleta and Caletilla and in the neighbouring bay at Puerto Marqués, while the open beaches at Revolcadero and Pie de la Cuesta are too rough to swim safely.

Mazatlan has an almost unbroken run of open-ocean sand, from Olas Altas north to Cerritos, so you have more room but more surf to watch. Its calmest water is a short boat ride away, on Isla de la Piedra and in the coves of Isla de Venados.

Mazatlan eats better, because it is a working shrimp port and seafood runs through the whole day. Shrimp cocktails come from street carts in the morning, aguachile and smoked marlin tacos at beach shacks, and pescado zarandeado with a cold local lager at the end of the day. The Pino Suárez market adds cheap breakfasts in the centre.

Acapulco has its own coastal Guerrero dishes worth seeking out: fish grilled a la talla at Barra Vieja, tomato-based ceviche and green pozole on Thursdays. But the Costera is dominated by chains and tourist seafood places, so finding good food takes more effort.

Neither city is a culture destination, but Mazatlan gives you more to walk through. Its painted 19th-century streets lead to the Plazuela Machado and the Teatro Ángela Peralta, and the climb to El Faro rounds off a day or two.

Acapulco's sights are scattered rather than gathered in an old quarter. You have the star-shaped Fuerte de San Diego with its museum, the divers at La Quebrada and Diego Rivera's mosaics on the Casa de los Vientos. One day covers them, and the city's mid-century jet-set past shows mostly in its villas and old hotels.

Acapulco is the bigger night out. Clubs along the Costera and on the hillsides above the bay keep going until dawn, and on long weekends crowds from Mexico City turn the whole strip into one party. The music is loud and mainstream, though.

Mazatlan splits its evenings in two: dance clubs in the Zona Dorada, and quieter drinks at tables around the Plazuela Machado. Banda sets the soundtrack, and Carnaval is the week to be there. Most other nights finish earlier than they do in Acapulco.

Mazatlan has more to do outdoors. There is kayaking and snorkelling around the islands, humpback whales offshore in winter, surfing at the Olas Altas point breaks and herons in the southern mangroves. The pine-clad Sierra Madre Occidental is about two hours inland.

Acapulco's strength is its setting, a green horseshoe bay best seen from the Scenic Highway. There is snorkelling at Roqueta, mangrove boat rides on Coyuca Lagoon and turtle releases at Barra Vieja. Inland, the Sierra Madre del Sur offers few trails and the heat is heavy.

Mazatlan has a proper day out on its doorstep. Concordia, with its baroque church and furniture workshops, is about an hour inland, and the silver-mining village of Copala is a little higher up. El Rosario and Cosalá are further options.

Acapulco's easy outings are half days to the lagoon villages on its edge. Taxco, the one great excursion, is about three hours away by toll road and needs a night there, so Acapulco works better as a place to stay put.

Mazatlan is easier with children. The aquarium in the Parque Central fills a hot afternoon, the island coves give calm water to splash in, and children are welcome everywhere, from beach restaurants to the Sunday-evening malecón. The mild winter also makes days out comfortable.

Acapulco has the water park on the Costera and the shallow coves of Caleta and Caletilla, but the constant heat, the traffic and the dangerous open surf mean most families stay inside an all-inclusive resort.

Mazatlan is the easier place to move around. The old centre is compact enough to walk, the 20km malecón can be walked or cycled in sections, and the open-air pulmonía taxis make short hops fun.

Acapulco depends on the long Costera and the buses and taxis that run along it. The hills are steep, the old town and Diamante are too far apart to walk between, and after dark the advice is to take a taxi everywhere.

Shopping is a sideline in both cities, mostly crafts and beachwear. Acapulco's large artisan market is the better place to bargain for regional craft, with Taxco silver, lacquerware from Olinalá and Guerrero embroidery. Mazatlan has the Pino Suárez market hall for leather and local sweets, along with a few small galleries of local art in the old streets.

Both cities are priced mainly for Mexican vacationers, and both are easy on the budget. In Acapulco, the bargains are beach-view rooms in the older Costera hotels and well-priced all-inclusives, while Diamante and Las Brisas are where costs rise.

In Mazatlan, the savings come from street-cart shrimp, beach-shack seafood and staying in the historic centre. Both get dearer at Easter and Christmas, and Mazatlan also at Carnaval.

Mazatlan has an actual stage. The restored Teatro Ángela Peralta hosts concerts, opera and dance, and it is the centre of the city's autumn cultural festival. On the streets, banda sinaloense, the brass music of the city's own state, fills the rest of the evenings.

In Acapulco, live performance means mariachi bands in the restaurants, folk shows in the hotels and the occasional pop concert in Diamante. There is no regular theatre season.

Neither city has a spa tradition, so relaxing comes down to where you stay. In Acapulco, calm is something you pay for: the resort spas of Diamante and the clifftop hotels above the bay, well away from the noise of the Costera. Mazatlan's quiet comes more from its slower pace, with sunset walks on the malecón and hammock days at Cerritos or on Isla de la Piedra.