Cancun or Merida?

This is Cancun's home ground. About 22km of fine coral sand lines the Hotel Zone. The northern bay side around Playa Langosta has gentle water, the eastern shore faces open Caribbean surf, and Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres is a short ferry ride away.

From Merida you drive about 40 minutes to Progreso on the Gulf, where the water is warm and calm but greener and the shore is flat and ordinary. The swims most visitors remember from Merida are in cenotes, freshwater pools in limestone caverns, rather than in the sea.

Both cities serve Yucatecan cooking, but Merida is where it is at home. You can have cochinita pibil for breakfast at the Lucas de Galvez and Santiago markets, relleno negro and papadzules in family loncherias and old townhouse dining rooms, and marquesitas from the carts in the squares at night.

In Cancun the good eating is downtown, at Mercado 28 and the stalls around Parque de las Palapas, while the Hotel Zone runs mostly on buffets and international menus. Fresh ceviche near the lagoon is the one thing it does especially well.

Merida has a 16th-century colonial centre laid over the Maya city of T'ho. Around it stand the cathedral of San Ildefonso, the carved facade of the Casa de Montejo, the stairwell murals of the Palacio de Gobierno and the henequen-era mansions of Paseo de Montejo. The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya explains the region before you visit the ruins.

Cancun was laid out as a resort from the 1970s and has the Maya Museum, with the San Miguelito ruins in its grounds, plus the small El Rey and El Meco sites. That is enough for an afternoon.

Cancun goes much bigger and later. The clubs of the Party Center, at the bend of the Hotel Zone, put on shows and confetti drops and sell open-bar wristbands until four or five in the morning. Cheaper local bars are downtown, around Avenida Tulum.

Merida's nights are smaller and more conversational. They centre on mezcal bars along Calle 60 and around Santa Lucia, rooftop terraces over the old town and cantinas that bring free botanas with every round. It suits a long evening of talk, not dancing until dawn.

Both cities sit on the same flat limestone, so neither has real hiking, but Cancun has the sea. The Mesoamerican Reef, the underwater sculptures of MUSA, whale sharks from June to September, mangrove kayaking on the Nichupte lagoon and the bird island of Isla Contoy give it far more to do outdoors.

Merida's strengths are inland. Around Cuzama and Homun you reach cenotes by bicycle or horse-drawn cart, and at Celestun boats take you through the mangroves to see flamingos.

Merida is the better base for the Maya world. Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc sites are about an hour south and Dzibilchaltun is half an hour away. Chichen Itza, the yellow convent town of Izamal and the old henequen haciendas are all within easy reach.

From Cancun the great ruins make long days out, with Chichen Itza two and a half hours each way. The coast makes up for some of this, with Isla Mujeres by ferry and Playa del Carmen and the clifftop ruins of Tulum to the south.

Cancun is far easier with children. Resorts with kids' clubs and shallow pools, the calm bay beaches, an aquarium and the eco-parks down the coast fill days without much planning. The strong currents on the eastern shore need watching.

Merida has smaller pleasures: the free zoo in the Parque del Centenario, Animaya, the cenotes and the squares in the evening. But the fierce heat, narrow pavements and ruins in open sun make it harder work with young children.

Neither city is easy on foot, but Merida's compact grid of numbered streets puts most sights within walking distance of the Plaza Grande. Taxis and ride-hailing cover the rest.

Cancun stretches along Boulevard Kukulcan, so you need buses or taxis for almost everything. The buses are frequent, though, and the ADO coaches to Playa del Carmen and Tulum are reliable. In both cities, a hire car makes the ruins and cenotes much easier.

Merida is the better place to buy Yucatecan crafts at their source: hammocks, guayabera shirts, Panama hats from Becal and embroidered huipiles, with finer work in the galleries of the centre's restored houses. Cancun relies on air-conditioned malls with international and luxury labels, and on Mercado 28 for souvenirs that repeat from one stall to the next.

Merida costs noticeably less from day to day. Market meals, cheap taxis and free evening performances keep spending low, and even its courtyard boutique hotels are reasonable for what they offer.

Cancun's Hotel Zone is priced for international visitors, and tours to the ruins and eco-parks add up. Eating or staying downtown narrows the gap, and an all-inclusive package at least makes the bill predictable.

Merida has a real local stage. Free performances fill the squares through the week: jarana dancers, the trova serenade in the Parque Santa Lucia and the Mayan ballgame in front of the cathedral. The Teatro Jose Peon Contreras is home to the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra.

What Cancun offers is staged for visitors: folkloric dinner shows, resort entertainment and large evening spectacles at the eco-parks.

Cancun does pampering on a larger scale. Its resort spas offer hydrotherapy circuits, massages on the sand and temazcal sweat-lodge rituals, and quieter retreats are found at the southern end of the strip or at Puerto Morelos.

Merida's version is slower and simpler: hacienda spas outside town, shuttered afternoons and courtyard hotels with plunge pools and hammocks. The spring heat and the traffic in the centre take some of the calm away.