Guanajuato or Puerto Escondido?

The two cities could hardly differ more here. Guanajuato is in the mountains, a long day's drive from either coast, so swimming means a hotel pool or a balneario out in the countryside.

Puerto Escondido is a beach town above all, with warm Pacific water and a choice to make. Zicatela is for watching surfers, not for swimming, while the calm coves of Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo are good for swimming and snorkelling. Mazunte and Zipolite, about an hour away, add more sand.

Neither is a serious food destination, and both serve simple, good local cooking. The difference is what is on the plate. Guanajuato's is highland food from its mining past: enchiladas mineras, gorditas, and the cajeta and candied fruit of Mercado Hidalgo. The better meals are in family places away from the main plazas.

Puerto Escondido cooks from the sea and from Oaxaca: whole grilled fish, ceviche at beach palapas, tlayudas and moles, with mezcal everywhere. Its surf districts also offer pizza, bakeries and international cooking for a longer stay.

Guanajuato is the place for sights. The whole town is a World Heritage site, from the Basilica and the baroque Valenciana church to the Teatro Juárez, the Alhóndiga with its independence history and murals, Diego Rivera's birthplace and the Museum of the Mummies. Two or three days cover it well.

Puerto Escondido has almost nothing of this kind, just a modest church and a lighthouse near El Adoquin and no museums of note. Its culture is found in the market, on the fishing beach and at its festivals. For architecture you have to travel inland to Oaxaca city.

Both have informal, young scenes of similar size, but they work differently. Guanajuato's is a university town's: drinks on the terraces of the Jardín de la Unión and Plaza San Fernando, then mezcal bars and a few small clubs in old stone buildings, busiest from Thursday to Saturday.

Puerto Escondido's is a surf town's, open-air and barefoot, with reggaeton and electronic nights at La Punta and sunset bars along Zicatela. It changes with the season rather than the day of the week: full in winter and the Mexican vacation weeks, thin in the rainy months.

Puerto Escondido has far more to do outdoors. Zicatela is a world-famous big-wave break with gentler waves for learners nearby. Boats go out to see dolphins, turtles and, in winter, whales, and the Manialtepec lagoon and the mangroves of Chacahua add birds, crocodiles and bioluminescence.

Guanajuato's outdoors is drier and smaller in scale: the climb to the Pípila, a half-day hike up La Bufa, and the oak forest and bike trails of the Sierra de Santa Rosa. It suits someone who likes a hill and a view.

Guanajuato is much the better base for outings. San Miguel de Allende is about an hour and a half away and Dolores Hidalgo, with its Talavera workshops, about an hour. Querétaro, León, Mineral de Pozos and small wineries are enough for several more days.

From Puerto Escondido most outings mean more beach: Mazunte, San Agustinillo, Zipolite and Puerto Angel to the east, Huatulco's bays further on and Chacahua to the west. Oaxaca city and the mezcal valleys need an overnight stay.

Puerto Escondido is the somewhat easier choice with children, as long as the family keeps to the sheltered coves and away from Zicatela's currents. Turtle releases, dolphin boat trips and beginner surf lessons are real treats for older children, though the heat is strong and the town is spread out.

Guanajuato has its own pleasures, such as the funicular, the tunnels and the singing callejoneadas. But its stairways are hard with a pushchair, the lanes get packed at weekends, and the Museum of the Mummies is too much for small children. Older children who are happy to walk get the most out of it.

Guanajuato is easier to get around without a car. Almost everything is a short walk from the Jardín de la Unión, and buses and taxis run through the tunnels to the sights further out. The walking itself is tiring, though, with stairways and an altitude of about 2000m.

Puerto Escondido is split into separate areas: the centre, Rinconada, and Zicatela down to La Punta. You can walk within one, but you take a taxi or colectivo between them. Trips along the coast need a colectivo, a driver or a tour.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Guanajuato has a little more to take home: leather, ceramics, silver jewellery and sweets at Mercado Hidalgo and around the centre, with León's shoe trade about forty minutes away. Puerto Escondido has Oaxacan crafts and hammocks on El Adoquin and surf shops and swimwear in Zicatela, and mezcal is the best souvenir.

Guanajuato is the cheaper stay overall. Market food, buses, taxis and museums cost little, and only the boutique hotels and plaza restaurants charge more. The time to avoid is the October festival, when rooms are scarce and expensive.

Puerto Escondido can be just as cheap if you live on tacos and stay in simple guesthouses. But in the surf districts, which cater to foreign visitors, design hotels and restaurants charge well above local prices, and the town fills up and gets dearer at Christmas and Easter.

Performance is a real reason to choose Guanajuato, especially in October, when the Cervantino brings international theatre, dance and orchestras to the Teatro Juárez, the plazas and the university. For the rest of the year there are estudiantinas singing in the alleys most evenings and a modest programme of concerts and plays.

Puerto Escondido has bar bands, DJs and the occasional son jarocho night, plus music and dances at its November festival, but no theatre or concert hall.

Puerto Escondido is the place to slow down. The pace follows the tides, there are yoga studios and retreats in Zicatela, La Punta and Mazunte, and temazcal sweat lodges and cheap massages are easy to find. Light sleepers should stay away from La Punta.

In Guanajuato, wellness means a hotel spa or a half day at the Comanjilla hot springs near León. Weekend crowds and late street music mean the town never feels like a retreat.