Guadalajara or Puerto Escondido?

This category is no contest. Guadalajara lies high inland and Lake Chapala is not for swimming, so a swim in town means a hotel pool or a spring-fed balneario. Beach lovers carry on to Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Escondido is built around the sand, and the water is warm all year. Choose your beach with care. Zicatela is for watching big waves, not for swimming. The sheltered coves at Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo have calm, clear water for swimming and snorkelling, and Mazunte and Zipolite are about an hour away.

Guadalajara is the better place to eat because it is where the dishes come from: birria in the morning, the torta ahogada, carne en su jugo, and tequila or cantaritos in the evening. The upstairs stalls of Mercado San Juan de Dios and the modern kitchens of Colonia Americana and Providencia add range within Mexican cooking.

Puerto Escondido eats well but simply. Expect whole fish grilled a la talla, ceviche at beach palapas, and Oaxacan tlayudas and moles, with mezcal everywhere. The pizza and poke places of La Punta serve a long-staying crowd, but there is no fine dining.

Guadalajara has a proper historic centre. The plazas laid out in a cross around the cathedral lead past the Teatro Degollado to the Hospicio Cabañas, a UNESCO site whose chapel holds Orozco's Man of Fire. Add Tlaquepaque's colonial streets and you have two or three days well spent.

Puerto Escondido has little to visit beyond El Adoquin, a small church and the lighthouse. Its culture lives in the market, on the fishing beach and in its festivals. For museums you have to go to Oaxaca city.

Guadalajara's nights are bigger and more varied. A large student population fills the mezcal and craft-beer bars around Avenida Chapultepec, and the city has one of Mexico's best-known LGBTQ+ scenes. Old cantinas where drinks come with snacks sit alongside the dressy clubs of Providencia and Zapopan, where the nights run very late.

Puerto Escondido goes out barefoot. La Punta has open-air bars and electronic nights, and Zicatela has sunset drinks. The whole scene grows in winter and fades in the rains, and there is no real club culture.

The outdoors at Puerto Escondido is wilder and sits at the centre of any stay. You get the world-famous surf at Zicatela, dolphin and winter whale trips, turtle releases, the bioluminescent Manialtepec lagoon and the mangroves of Lagunas de Chacahua. Hiking is the weak point.

Guadalajara is better for exploring on foot. There are the oak and pine trails of Bosque La Primavera, the hard descent into the Barranca de Huentitán and the hills above Lake Chapala, but nothing to match the coast's wildlife.

Guadalajara has the better range of outings. You can visit the agave landscape and distilleries of Tequila, Ajijic on Lake Chapala, the round stepped pyramids of the Guachimontones, and the cool mountain villages of Tapalpa and Mazamitla, all within about two hours.

From Puerto Escondido the trips are mostly to more beaches: Mazunte, San Agustinillo and Zipolite, the fishing port of Puerto Angel and Huatulco's bays. Oaxaca city and the mezcal valleys are too far for a day.

Guadalajara is easier with children. The large zoo above the Huentitán canyon, the rides at Selva Mágica, the Acuario Michin and the Trompo Mágico museum give plenty to do. The spring-like climate is gentler than the coast, though you will need taxis between these places.

Puerto Escondido suits families who want simple beach days in the calm coves, with turtle releases and dolphin trips for older children. There is nothing built for children, the heat is strong, and the surf beaches are off limits for swimming.

You will use a lot of taxis in both, but for different reasons. Guadalajara is a sprawling city. The centre and Colonia Americana are walkable, and the light rail and Mi Macro bus lines reach some places. Cheap ride-hailing covers the rest, though rush-hour traffic is heavy.

Puerto Escondido is a small town split into separate pockets: the centre, Rinconada, and Zicatela down to La Punta. Each one is walkable but hilly and hot. Plentiful taxis and colectivo vans link them, and you do not need a car.

For crafts, Guadalajara is a real shopping destination. There are the galleries of Tlaquepaque, Tonalá's pottery market, the three floors of Mercado San Juan de Dios and the region's leather and boots, and the malls of Andares are there if you want brands.

Puerto Escondido covers what a beach town needs. You will find Oaxacan embroidery, alebrijes and hammocks on El Adoquin, surf shops in Zicatela, and mezcal, which is the best thing to take home.

Both are easy on the budget, but Guadalajara is cheaper and more predictable. Street food, ride-hailing and central hotels cost little, with few tourist mark-ups, and even upscale Providencia costs less than Europe.

Puerto Escondido can be just as cheap if you stick to market meals, taxis and guesthouses. The design hotels, villas and international restaurants of Zicatela and La Punta, though, charge well above local prices, and rooms cost most in the weeks when Mexican families are on vacation.

Guadalajara is the home of mariachi, which you can hear in the Plaza de los Mariachis and around the bandstand of El Parián in Tlaquepaque. The Teatro Degollado hosts the Jalisco Philharmonic and the university's Ballet Folclórico. There is little opera or drama, but the folk music is authentic.

Puerto Escondido offers only bar bands and DJs in Zicatela and La Punta, plus music and dances at the November festival. There is no theatre or concert hall.

Puerto Escondido is the better place to slow down. Yoga studios and retreats in Zicatela, La Punta and nearby Mazunte, temazcal sessions and cheap beach massages suit its slow, tide-paced days. Light sleepers should avoid La Punta.

Guadalajara is a busy metropolis where wellness mostly means hotel spas. It does have something the coast lacks: thermal balnearios near Bosque La Primavera and Lake Chapala, with Ajijic for a few quiet days by the lake.