Cozumel or Holbox?

Both are strong beach islands, but the beaches are very different. Cozumel's swimming shore is mostly low limestone rock on the sheltered west coast, with the sandy parts near Palancar and Punta Sur run as beach clubs, and a swim usually means snorkelling over reef a few strokes out. The wild east coast looks beautiful but is mostly unsafe for swimming.

Holbox is the opposite: one unbroken stretch of fine pale sand along the north shore, with water so shallow you can wade far out. The sea is milky green rather than clear blue, and there is no reef to explore, but for lying on sand and paddling, Holbox is the simpler beach.

Neither island is worth a trip for its food, and they eat about as well as each other. Cozumel has a little more depth for anyone willing to walk a few streets back from the waterfront. San Miguel's family kitchens serve cochinita pibil and panuchos, and the town market is good for breakfast.

Holbox has no market and no real Yucatecan scene. Eating there means fresh seafood in sand-floored places around the square, plus its own odd speciality, lobster pizza. After a few days the menus start to repeat.

Cozumel has the small edge here. It has the scattered Maya temples of San Gervasio, once a pilgrimage site of the goddess Ixchel, and a waterfront museum covering the reefs and island history. Holbox has no museums or ruins at all, only its painted wooden houses and street murals. Anyone serious about Maya sites will have to visit them on the mainland either way.

Both islands are quiet after dark, and neither has a club. Cozumel's bars are on the San Miguel waterfront, with cover bands and rooftop terraces at their busiest while the cruise ships are in. Holbox's evenings are barefoot ones: sunset drinks on the beach, reggae bars on the sand and hostel bars where backpackers stay up a little later.

Outdoors the two islands are about level, but one is at its best below the waterline and the other above it. Cozumel's nature is underwater: coral walls, turtles, eagle rays and nurse sharks in a national marine park that divers fly in for, with good snorkelling closer to shore. On land it has little beyond the Punta Sur lagoons and a ride along the windswept east coast.

Holbox sits inside the Yum Balam reserve, where the highlights change with the season and are mostly above the surface. Whale sharks gather offshore in summer, and the southern lagoon has flamingos and pelicans. On dark nights, plankton glows in the shallows.

Cozumel is far better placed for day trips. The ferry to Playa del Carmen takes under an hour, and from there Tulum's cliff-top ruins, the cenotes and Coba all fit into a long day, especially on an organised tour.

From Holbox, the only trips worth taking are by boat to sandbars and bird islands. Valladolid, Ek Balam and Chichen Itza are too far once the ferry from Chiquila is counted, so it makes sense to see them on another leg of the trip.

Cozumel gives families more to do. Older children can snorkel the calm reef off the west coast, Chankanaab has sea lions and a lagoon, and the semi-submarine boats show the coral to non-swimmers. San Miguel's square fills with children in the evening.

Holbox is gentler but thinner. Its warm, shallow sea and car-free lanes are lovely for very young children. Beyond the beach and a flamingo trip, though, there is nothing aimed at children, the sandy streets defeat a pushchair, and getting there takes a long day.

Holbox is easier once you are there. Cars are banned, the village is a short walk from end to end, and bicycles or golf-cart taxis cover the rest of the beach, though the sand streets turn muddy after rain. The catch is getting there: a drive or bus ride of a couple of hours from Cancun to Chiquila, then a ferry.

Cozumel is quicker to reach, but harder to see without wheels. San Miguel is walkable, but there is no useful public transport, so seeing the east coast or the southern beaches means taxis or a hired car or scooter.

Neither island is a shopping trip, but Cozumel at least has a port's worth of it. The cruise plazas sell duty-free jewellery, silver, tequila, embroidered blouses and Mexican vanilla, and a few galleries on the side streets offer better-made crafts. Holbox has only a few stalls around the square selling beachwear, hammocks and souvenirs.

Cozumel is the cheaper of the two. A stay in a San Miguel guesthouse with meals at the taco stands and the market keeps costs moderate. The real expense is several days of boat dives.

Holbox costs more across the board. Everything arrives by ferry, hotels and restaurants are priced for visitors, and a whale shark swim is a big outlay. Cash machines are scarce, so bring cash from the mainland.

There is almost nothing to attend on either island, and neither has a theatre or concert hall. Cozumel's one real occasion is its carnival before Lent, one of the oldest in Mexico, with parades and dance troupes in San Miguel. Holbox offers only a guitarist or small band in a beach bar some evenings.

Holbox is the more restful island. Its peace comes from the place itself: no traffic, low buildings, hammocks over the shallows. Beach massages, yoga and small boutique spas add to that, and the quiet sand west of the village is especially calm.

On Cozumel, rest depends on where you stay. The southern hotel strip, the adults-only resorts and their spas are quiet, and a few places offer a Maya temazcal sweat lodge. On cruise days, though, the town around the piers is anything but calm.