Cancun or Miami?

Both are true beach destinations, but Cancun is the stronger one. Its 22km of pale coral sand along the Hotel Zone has the clear turquoise water Miami's Atlantic cannot match, and its two sides give you a choice: the sheltered, shallow bay at Playa Langosta and Playa Tortugas, or the open surf of Chac Mool and Delfines.

Miami Beach is one long, flat, built-up strip from South Beach to Surfside, gentle and warm but less striking, with Key Biscayne offering the calmer water. Sargassum can affect both in the warmer months, and in Cancun the bay side is the usual escape.

Miami eats far better. Its Cuban backbone of ventanita coffee, croquetas and lechon along Calle Ocho is joined by Venezuelan, Peruvian, Haitian and Nicaraguan cooking, stone crab and grouper sandwiches, and a serious chef-led tier in Brickell and the Design District.

Cancun's strength is narrower: Yucatecan dishes such as cochinita pibil and sopa de lima at downtown taco stands and the Mercado 28 stalls. Stay inside the Hotel Zone and you are mostly eating resort buffets.

Neither is a heritage city, but Miami has much more to see. The 1930s Art Deco blocks of South Beach are a sight in their own right, Vizcaya is a proper house-and-gardens visit, and the Perez, the Bass and the Wolfsonian give a few good museum days.

Cancun was built as a resort from the 1970s, and within the city the Maya Museum with the small San Miguelito ruins is about all there is. Its history lies out on the peninsula, which is a day trip rather than a stroll.

Both are party towns, and Miami has the wider range. Beyond the glossy, dress-coded South Beach clubs and the all-night rooms of Park West, there are Wynwood's breweries and warehouse parties, Brickell's rooftop bars and salsa nights on Calle Ocho.

Cancun puts nearly everything into the Party Center, where open-bar wristbands, confetti and acrobatic shows run until five in the morning. It is loud and fun for that crowd, but quieter bars mean heading downtown to Avenida Tulum.

These two are about level, and in both the land is flat and the outdoors is mostly water. What differs is the kind. Cancun's is about swimming: the Mesoamerican Reef off Isla Mujeres and Puerto Morelos, freshwater cenotes inland and whale sharks from June to September.

Miami's is about wildlife on the Everglades boardwalks and airboats, with alligators and wading birds on the Anhinga Trail and cycling at Shark Valley, plus kayaking in Biscayne National Park. Winter suits Miami's outdoors far better than its storm-heavy summer.

Cancun is the better base for getting out. Chichen Itza with Valladolid and a cenote, the jungle ruins of Coba and Ek Balam, Tulum's clifftop site and the island town of Isla Mujeres give a run of very different days.

Miami's options are pleasant rather than memorable: Fort Lauderdale's canals, Palm Beach mansions and the seafood shacks of the Upper Keys. Key West is too far for a comfortable day.

Cancun is the easier family destination, because the resort does the work: kids' clubs, buffets for fussy eaters and the shallow bay beaches are all on the doorstep. The eastern shore's currents and the need for a bus or tour beyond the hotel are the main drawbacks.

Miami has more varied attractions, among them Zoo Miami, the Frost Science Museum's aquarium and the Venetian Pool, but reaching them means long drives, and South Beach's party side is not what most parents are after.

Neither is easy without wheels, but Miami gives you a little more. South Beach is flat and walkable, the free Metromover links downtown and Brickell, and ride-hailing covers Wynwood and Little Havana, although the Keys and Everglades need a hire car.

Cancun is one long boulevard served by frequent buses, with patchy pavements and long, hot walks. Its saving grace is the ADO coach network, which reaches Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Valladolid comfortably.

Miami is the shopping destination of the two. The Design District's fashion flagships, the exclusive open-air mall at Bal Harbour, enormous Aventura Mall and the outlets on the western edge draw buyers from across Latin America.

Cancun's malls in the Hotel Zone are convenient on a hot afternoon but unremarkable. Mercado 28 is livelier for hammocks, huipiles and silver, though the stock repeats from stall to stall and you are expected to bargain.

Cancun is the cheaper trip, though not a cheap one by Mexican standards. The gap between the Hotel Zone and downtown is the key: taco stands, local buses and small inland hotels cost a fraction of the beach strip, and an all-inclusive package keeps the total predictable.

Miami is expensive across the board, with resort fees, parking, tax and tipping on every bill, and the club drinks in South Beach are notoriously dear. Free beaches, Cuban lunch counters and summer room rates help only so much.

Miami has a genuine stage life and Cancun barely has one. The Adrienne Arsht Center hosts Florida Grand Opera and touring shows, Miami City Ballet is a company of real standing, and the New World Symphony plays in its Frank Gehry hall, with salsa and timba bands in Little Havana for something more local.

In Cancun, the performances are put on for visitors: folkloric dinner shows, resort entertainment and the evening spectacles at the eco-parks.

In both cities, wellness happens at the resort, but Cancun does it more thoroughly and has a tradition of its own in the Maya temazcal sweat lodge. An all-inclusive stay, and quieter retreats on Isla Mujeres or at Puerto Morelos, make it easier to switch off.

Miami offers hotel spa floors, sunrise yoga on the sand and an old Russian and Turkish bath house, yet its late nights and traffic work against rest unless you retreat to Key Biscayne or Surfside.