Bacalar or Valladolid, Mexico?

This is where Bacalar is far ahead. Its long freshwater lagoon over white limestone is warm, clear and still, and you get in from docks, jetties and public balnearios. Cenote Azul and the gentle current at Los Rápidos add variety. There is little sand, though, and no surf.

Valladolid has no swimming of that kind. Its water is in cenotes such as Zací, Suytun and X'keken, which are cool, very clear and often under cave roofs. They are wonderful for an hour, but the nearest sea beaches are two hours away.

Both towns cook Yucatecan food, such as cochinita pibil, panuchos and sopa de lima, but Valladolid eats better. It has dishes of its own, longaniza and lomitos de Valladolid, a lively morning market, and marquesitas made outside the cathedral in the evening. Its courtyard restaurants along the Calzada de los Frailes add some comfort.

In Bacalar the choice is narrower: taquerías in town, and a handful of lakeside kitchens serving fish and ceviche with a view of the water. After a few days you will be going back to the same places.

Valladolid has far more to see. There is the sixteenth-century convent of San Bernardino at the end of the Calzada de los Frailes, the twin-towered San Servacio over the main square, and the folk art collection at the Casa de los Venados. Its painted colonial streets are among the best kept in the Yucatán, and they are enough for a full two days.

Bacalar has one sight, the Fuerte de San Felipe, a fort built against pirates, with a small museum and ramparts above the lagoon. The rest of the town takes about an hour to see.

Both towns are quiet after dark, with no clubs and nothing open late. The difference is in the setting. Valladolid's evenings happen on the lit-up main square, with families strolling and a few mezcal and craft-beer bars nearby. Bacalar's are hostel drinks and a few bars by the water, and most people go to bed early to be out on the lagoon at sunrise.

Bacalar has a slight edge because its landscape is on the surface and easy to get onto. You can kayak more than 40km of changing blue water, sail to Bird Island and the Pirates' Channel, and see the ancient stromatolites in the shallows.

Valladolid's nature is mostly underground, in cenotes and caves you can cycle to on flat paths. Its big outing is a boat trip among the flamingos and pink salt flats of Ría Lagartos. Neither town has hills or proper hiking.

Day trips are Valladolid's greatest strength. You can be at Chichén Itzá when the gates open, before the coach tours arrive, and Ek Balam, with its carved Acropolis, is about half an hour away. Cobá, the yellow town of Izamal and Río Lagartos are all easy outings too.

From Bacalar the trips are pleasant but minor: the jungle temples of Chacchoben, the stucco masks of Kohunlich, the Maya museum in Chetumal, or a longer drive to the coast at Mahahual.

Families will find both towns about equal, calm and with nothing built for children. In Bacalar the attraction is the shallow, waveless lagoon, which keeps children busy all day, ideally from a lodge with its own dock. In Valladolid it is cenotes with rope swings and climbing on ruins, though the long walks in full sun at the ruins are hard on small children.

Valladolid is easier to get around. Its flat centre, from the main square to the San Bernardino convent, is all within walking distance, and a cycle path runs out to the nearer cenotes. Buses go to Chichén Itzá, though the other ruins are easier with a car.

Bacalar's small centre is walkable, but the lagoon shore where many people stay stretches for kilometres along a road with little room for pedestrians. That leaves you relying on taxis or bicycles, and a hire car is best for the ruins.

Neither town is for serious shoppers, but Valladolid has more to buy. There are embroidered huipiles, leather sandals made in town, honey and Xtabentún liqueur at the craft market by Zací, and spices at the working municipal market. Bacalar has a few stalls of hammocks and souvenirs near the square.

Valladolid is the cheaper of the two. Courtyard guesthouses, market meals and colectivos all cost little, and the main extra costs are boutique hotels and entry fees at the ruins and cenotes.

Bacalar can be cheap if you stay in town, in a hostel or simple guesthouse. The lakeside lodges with private docks, which are why many people come, cost about the same as rooms on the Caribbean coast.

Valladolid at least has something to watch. Jarana dancers perform the vaquería on the main square on some evenings, balancing trays on their heads, the convent facade is lit with projections about the town's history, and restaurants have trova music. In Bacalar the most you will find is some live music in a bar or on the square at weekends.

Neither town has thermal baths or a proper spa. In both, pampering comes down to whatever your hotel or a small local studio offers. Bacalar is the more restful of the two because of the water. It is warm, still and right outside, so a swim or a float becomes part of the day without any planning, and a stay on the shore puts kilometres between you and the town.

Valladolid's calm is a town calm. You rest in a courtyard behind thick colonial walls, with a small pool and the shade of the trees, and the cooler evenings on the square are the gentlest part of the day. It is pleasant, but there is no landscape asking you to do nothing for days, and in the spring heat the afternoons are something to shelter from rather than enjoy.