Akumal or Playa del Carmen?

These are equally strong beach places, but the beaches are different. Akumal has a string of small, calm bays where green turtles feed on the seagrass close to shore. Parts of the shore are limestone or seagrass rather than soft sand, and the Yal-Ku lagoon is good for gentle floating.

Playa del Carmen has one long town beach instead. Near the pier it is lined with beach clubs, sunbeds and music, and it gets wider and quieter towards Playacar. It can be narrow and crowded in the centre. Akumal's bays are among the beaches that Playa del Carmen visitors take a colectivo to.

Playa del Carmen gives you far more choice. The tourist menus on Quinta Avenida aren't the point. A few streets inland you'll find al pastor stands, Yucatecan kitchens and simple ceviche counters. The long-settled Italian and Argentine community also means good pizza, pasta and coffee.

In Akumal you get a few sandy-floored seafood places on the bays and plainer, better cooking in the pueblo across the highway. Many visitors cook in their villas, and many drive to Playa del Carmen when they want a proper night out to eat.

Neither town is a place for sightseeing. Playa del Carmen has a little more within walking distance: the small Xaman Ha ruins among the Playacar villas, the white chapel facing the sea by the pier, and a few galleries. Akumal's only institution is its small ecological centre for the reef and turtles. In both places the region's Maya heritage means a drive out of town.

This is the biggest gap between the two. Playa del Carmen is a real going-out town. Calle 12 and the nearby stretch of Quinta Avenida have open-fronted bars and clubs playing reggaeton and house into the early hours, and there are rooftop bars at sunset and mezcal bars on the quieter northern streets. Expect touts and inflated drink prices on the main strip.

Akumal stops at a margarita by the bay in the late evening. People who want a night out take a taxi to Playa del Carmen, and plenty choose Akumal precisely to avoid that.

Both rely on the same reef and cenotes, but the access is different. In Akumal you can walk off the sand and snorkel with turtles, and it is closer to the cave cenotes on the road to Tulum and Coba and to the Sian Ka'an reserve.

From Playa del Carmen you get the famous wall and drift dives off Cozumel by ferry, the Ruta de los Cenotes inland, and kitesurfing, paddleboarding and cycling along the coast. Neither has hills for hiking.

Both are central bases on the Riviera Maya, and Chichen Itza and Valladolid are a long day out from either. Akumal is the better base for the south: the cliff-top ruins at Tulum are about twenty minutes away, Coba is under an hour, and Muyil sits at the edge of Sian Ka'an.

Playa del Carmen faces the other way. The Cozumel ferry leaves from the town itself, Isla Mujeres and Cancun are up the coast, and buses make inland trips possible without a car.

Playa del Carmen is the easier choice with children. Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Xplor are just outside town, the Playacar resorts are set up for families, and the compact centre means you can walk to an ice cream. The drawback is the nightlife strip close to the middle of town.

Akumal's sheltered, shallow bays and the Yal-Ku lagoon are ideal for younger swimmers, and seeing turtles there is a real highlight. Villas give you space, but the village has little else for children, so most days involve a drive.

Playa del Carmen is far easier without a car. The flat centre is walkable, colectivos leave from a stop in town, long-distance buses run to Cancun airport, Tulum and Valladolid, and the Tren Maya has a station on the edge of town.

Akumal is spread out in bays and villas along the highway. You can flag down colectivos at the roadside, but that is awkward with snorkel gear or children, so most visitors hire a car.

Playa del Carmen has the only real shopping of the two. Quinta Avenida runs for kilometres with silver, hammocks, Talavera pottery, embroidered blouses and Huichol beadwork, and there are linen boutiques towards the north end. In Akumal you'll find sunscreen, snorkel gear and groceries, and its visitors come to Playa del Carmen when they want to shop.

Both are expensive by Mexican standards, but Playa del Carmen gives you more ways to cut costs. There are guesthouses and apartments a few streets back from the beach, inland taco stands, cheap colectivos and free public beaches. If you skip the parks and beach clubs, you can keep daily spending low.

Akumal's accommodation is mostly villas and resorts priced for foreign visitors, and car hire is nearly unavoidable. You save by cooking at home and eating in the pueblo. Once you're there, swimming in the bays costs nothing.

Neither is a place for theatre or concerts. Playa del Carmen at least has bands playing salsa, rock covers and mariachi in the Quinta Avenida bars, and fire dancers on the beach at night. Akumal rarely has more than a guitarist in a beach restaurant. For both, the one big show is the evening spectacle of Mexican music and dance at Xcaret near Playa del Carmen.

The two are about level here, and both offer massages, resort spas and the Maya temazcal sweat lodge. In Akumal the quiet covers the whole place, with no traffic in the bays and early evenings, and a still cenote nearby makes a good swim.

Playa del Carmen has more yoga studios, mostly in the streets north of the centre. Its calm depends on where you stay, though, because music runs late around Calle 12.