Guadalajara or Nuevo Vallarta?

This category belongs entirely to Nuevo Vallarta. Guadalajara is far inland, nobody swims in Lake Chapala, and a dip means a hotel pool or one of the spring-fed balnearios.

Nuevo Vallarta has a long, wide strand of golden sand on Banderas Bay, with warm water that shelves gently, and the coves of Punta Mita and the surf at Sayulita are close by. Many visitors to Guadalajara end up adding a few days on this same stretch of coast.

Several of Mexico's best-known dishes come from Guadalajara, and here you eat them where they began: birria in the morning, tortas ahogadas, carne en su jugo, the upstairs stalls of Mercado San Juan de Dios, and a modern scene of chefs and coffee in Colonia Americana and Providencia.

In Nuevo Vallarta itself, eating mostly means resort dining rooms and terraces by the marina. The coastal cooking is excellent, with pescado zarandeado, aguachile and raicilla, but you have to go to Bucerias or Puerto Vallarta to find it done well.

The gap here is as wide as it gets. Guadalajara has a real historic centre of plazas laid out in a cross, with the cathedral and the UNESCO-listed Hospicio Cabañas and Orozco's Man of Fire. Around it are the mansions of Colonia Americana and the colonial streets of Tlaquepaque.

Nuevo Vallarta is a planned enclave of hotels, golf courses and a marina, with no sights of its own. The nearest old town is Puerto Vallarta's cobbled centre, and getting there is an outing.

Guadalajara is a university city that goes out late. It has mezcal bars and cantinas around Avenida Chapultepec, dressier clubs in Providencia and Zapopan, and one of Mexico's best-known LGBTQ+ scenes.

Nuevo Vallarta winds down around midnight, after lobby bars and poolside shows. A real night out means a taxi to the malecon and the Zona Romantica in Puerto Vallarta.

Nuevo Vallarta has the wildlife. Humpback whales come into Banderas Bay to calve in winter, you can snorkel at the Marietas Islands, turtles nest on the beach and crocodiles live in the Ameca mangroves, with jungle foothills behind the coast.

Guadalajara has more green space than its size suggests, with the oak and pine forest of Bosque La Primavera and the steep Huentitán canyon on the city's edge. It is country for walking and mountain biking rather than for watching sea life.

Both have good outings, but Guadalajara's offer more. Tequila and its UNESCO-listed agave fields, the circular pyramids of the Guachimontones and Ajijic on Lake Chapala are all within about an hour and a half. The mountain villages of Tapalpa and Mazamitla are a little further.

Nuevo Vallarta's trips follow the coast: Puerto Vallarta's old town, Sayulita and San Pancho, and Yelapa, which you can only reach by boat. Inland there is the silver-mining village of San Sebastian del Oeste. These are pleasant towns and beaches, but there are no major historic sites.

Nuevo Vallarta makes a family vacation easy. Kids' clubs, shallow pools and water slides are on site, the beach shelves gently, and whale trips and turtle releases at dusk are outings children remember.

Guadalajara has more of the usual attractions, including the large zoo above the canyon, the rides at Selva Mágica and the Trompo Mágico children's museum, and its climate is milder. But they are spread across a large city, so family days mean more time in taxis and traffic.

Neither is easy without a car or taxis, but Guadalajara does better. Its historic centre and Colonia Americana are good on foot, light rail and the Mi Macro bus lines cover some routes, and ride-hailing handles the rest cheaply.

Nuevo Vallarta is a long boulevard of resorts where little beyond the beach is within walking distance, and the highway buses are a long, hot walk away. Most visitors rely on taxis, shuttles or a hire car. The one advantage is an airport about twenty minutes away.

Guadalajara is much the better place to shop, above all for crafts. It has the glass and ceramics galleries of Tlaquepaque, the pottery market at Tonalá, three floors of leather and boots at San Juan de Dios, and big brand-name malls at Andares.

Nuevo Vallarta's own shops sell swimwear and souvenirs. For Huichol beadwork and galleries, people go to Bucerias or the old town of Puerto Vallarta.

Guadalajara is clearly the cheaper vacation. Street food, ride-hailing and central hotels all cost little, and visitors pay few of the tourist premiums found elsewhere.

Nuevo Vallarta is built for North American resort guests, and staying, eating and booking tours inside the enclave are priced to match. All-inclusive packages keep the bill predictable, and tacos in Bucerias and the local buses bring costs down once you step outside.

Guadalajara is the home of mariachi, and you hear it every day in the Plaza de los Mariachis and at El Parián, along with the Jalisco Philharmonic and the Ballet Folclórico at the Teatro Degollado.

Nuevo Vallarta's live performance is resort shows, themed dinners and one acrobatic dinner theatre. Beyond that, the main option is the cabaret and drag stages of Puerto Vallarta.

Rest is what Nuevo Vallarta is for: long days by the pool, resort spas with hydrotherapy circuits, temazcal ceremonies and yoga on the beach, though all of it depends on your hotel.

Guadalajara is a busy city where wellness means a hotel spa or a drive out to the hot pools near La Primavera and Lake Chapala. A few slow days in Ajijic are the closest it comes to a restful break.