Guadalajara or Sayulita?

Here the gap is total. Guadalajara is an inland city on a plateau, and Lake Chapala is not for swimming. Cooling off means a hotel pool or a spring-fed balneario.

Sayulita is a beach town first. Its main bay has gentle waves that suit beginners on a board, Playa de los Muertos is calmer for swimming, and San Pancho and the sands around Punta de Mita are within half an hour. Anyone based in Guadalajara who wants sand has to fly or drive to this coast.

Guadalajara is where several of Mexico's best-loved dishes come from: birria at breakfast, the torta ahogada, carne en su jugo, and tequila or cantaritos in the evening. The upstairs stalls of Mercado San Juan de Dios offer deep street cooking, and the kitchens of Colonia Americana offer a modern take.

Sayulita eats well but simply. It is at its best with fish tacos, aguachile and whole grilled fish on the sand. Beyond that, its cafés and international menus serve the surf crowd and feel much alike.

Guadalajara has a proper historic centre: a cross of plazas around the cathedral that leads to the Hospicio Cabañas, where Orozco's Man of Fire fills the chapel dome. With the mansions of Colonia Americana and the colonial streets of Tlaquepaque, two or three days pass easily.

Sayulita has almost nothing to tour. There is a plaza, a small church, the hillside cemetery and galleries of Wixárika beadwork. Culture there is a short stroll, not a reason to come.

Guadalajara goes out like the large university city it is. There are mezcal bars and dance spots along Avenida Chapultepec, one of Mexico's best-known LGBTQ+ scenes, and dressier clubs in Providencia and Zapopan that run until the small hours.

Sayulita's evenings start with sunset drinks on the beach and end in a few blocks of bars around the plaza. These are busy with surfers and backpackers in winter but quiet in summer. For a real club night you would go to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita has the stronger outdoors, and almost all of it is on the water. You can surf from the bay out to Punta de Mita, snorkel and paddleboard, see humpback whales from December to March and take boat trips to the Marietas Islands. Jungle paths over the headlands link the coves.

Guadalajara's outdoors is on land and takes more effort. There are oak and pine trails in Bosque La Primavera, the steep hike down the Barranca de Huentitán, and walking and birdwatching in the hills above Lake Chapala.

Guadalajara has the better range of outings. The agave fields and distilleries of Tequila, the circular pyramids of the Guachimontones, Ajijic on Lake Chapala and the mountain villages of Tapalpa and Mazamitla each make a very different day.

From Sayulita the trips are mostly more coast: Puerto Vallarta's malecón and old town, San Pancho and Bucerías, and a longer run to the mangroves of San Blas. They are pleasant, but they repeat the beach-town theme.

Guadalajara has more for children. There is a large zoo above the Huentitán canyon with rides next door, a freshwater aquarium, the hands-on Trompo Mágico museum and car-free avenues on Sundays. The mild climate helps, but the sights are spread out and you will need taxis.

Sayulita gives children the sea, with surf schools and the sheltered cove at Playa de los Muertos. There are no attractions built for children, the cobbled lanes are hard on pushchairs and the summer heat is heavy. It suits older children who love the water.

Sayulita is the easier of the two, simply because it is tiny. Everything is within a ten-minute walk, though the lanes are cobbled, steep and shared with golf carts. Reaching other beaches means a taxi, a rented golf cart or a hire car.

Guadalajara has a walkable centre and a light-rail network, but the city sprawls along busy avenues. The ordinary buses are hard to work out, so most trips between districts are by ride-hailing, and rush-hour traffic is heavy.

Guadalajara is a serious place to buy crafts. Tlaquepaque has galleries of ceramics, blown glass and furniture, Tonalá has its pottery market, and Mercado San Juan de Dios has three floors of leather and boots. There are also large malls in Zapopan.

Sayulita is good for an hour of browsing linen, swimwear and surf gear. Its one standout is Huichol beadwork and yarn painting, which is worth buying there.

Guadalajara is much the cheaper of the two. Market meals, ride-hailing and central hotels cost little, and there are fewer tourist mark-ups than on the coast.

Sayulita is priced for North American visitors, especially in the winter high season and over Christmas and Semana Santa, and lessons and boat trips add to the bill. Taco stands and the summer low season soften the cost.

Guadalajara is the home of mariachi, which you hear every day in the Plaza de los Mariachis and around El Parián in Tlaquepaque. The Jalisco Philharmonic and the university's Ballet Folclórico perform at the Teatro Degollado.

Sayulita has no theatre or concert hall, only bar bands and buskers in high season and the occasional mariachi group.

Sayulita is the better place to unwind. It has daily yoga in open-air shalas, week-long retreats, massage and temazcal, and a daily rhythm of surf, yoga and sunset. For real quiet, stay on the hillsides away from the plaza.

Guadalajara has hotel spas in town and something Sayulita lacks: thermal balnearios with hot pools near La Primavera and Lake Chapala. Resting there, though, means a drive out of the city.