Guanajuato or Puerto Vallarta?

On beaches the two are further apart than anywhere else. Guanajuato is an inland mountain town many hours from either coast, so a beach trip is simply not possible from there. The closest you get to a swim is a hotel pool or a day at one of the warm spring-fed pools in the countryside.

In Puerto Vallarta the bay shapes the whole stay. You can spend a day on the busy town sand at Los Muertos, take a water taxi to a jungle-backed cove on the south shore, or swim off the flat, gentle sands of Nuevo Vallarta. Surfers have Sayulita within an hour. The water is warm enough for swimming all year, though the sand is coarse and golden rather than fine and white.

Guanajuato's cooking is cheap, simple and rooted in its mining past. The dish to try is enchiladas mineras, and Mercado Hidalgo has food counters upstairs and cajeta and candied fruit below. The choice runs thin after a few days, though, and the terraces on the Jardín de la Unión sell the view more than the food.

Puerto Vallarta eats better and with more range. It has Pacific seafood such as wood-grilled pescado zarandeado, ceviche and aguachile, taco carts selling birria and marlin in the evenings, and chef-run dining rooms in the hills. In both towns the best meals are a few streets back from the main tourist strip.

The difference here is large. Guanajuato itself is the sight, a UNESCO-listed ravine town of painted houses and baroque churches. Inside it are the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, where the 1810 independence fighting began, Rivera's birthplace, the Quijote museum and the macabre Museum of the Mummies. All of that needs two or three full days.

Puerto Vallarta is a pretty old fishing town rather than a place for sightseeing. Its highlights are the whitewashed lanes above the centre, the crown-topped church of Guadalupe, the sculptures along the Malecón and a small museum on the Cuale island, and they fit easily into one afternoon.

Guanajuato's evenings belong to its students. Terraces fill around the Jardín de la Unión and Plaza San Fernando, and then the crowd moves on to mezcal spots and small bars in the stone alleys. It is friendly and liveliest from Thursday to Saturday, but there are few proper clubs.

Puerto Vallarta goes out later and harder. Open-fronted dance clubs on the Malecón fill after midnight, and the Zona Romántica adds rooftop bars, beach clubs and one of Latin America's largest gay scenes. It is busiest in winter and over Christmas and Easter, and quieter in the summer heat.

Guanajuato's outdoors is dry and rocky. You can climb to the Pípila or to the outcrops of La Bufa, walk out to the colonial Presa de la Olla, or ride the oak-forest trails of the Sierra de Santa Rosa. It is good for anyone who enjoys a hill and a view, but there is nothing on the water.

Puerto Vallarta's setting is far more dramatic. Jungle-covered Sierra Madre ridges drop into the sea, humpback whales calve in the bay from December to March, and boats run out to snorkel at Los Arcos and the Marietas Islands. On land there are coastal trails to Yelapa, river canyons and zip-lines.

Guanajuato is the stronger base for day trips, because it is surrounded by the Bajío's colonial towns. San Miguel de Allende is about an hour and a half away, Dolores Hidalgo has its Talavera workshops, and Querétaro has its aqueduct. The half-abandoned mining town of Mineral de Pozos makes a quieter outing, and there are small wineries near Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel.

Puerto Vallarta's outings mostly follow the coast, to the beach villages of Bucerías, Sayulita and San Pancho, or by boat to Yelapa. Inland, a winding mountain road leads to San Sebastián del Oeste, an old silver town in the pines that echoes Guanajuato's own mining past, and Mascota and Talpa make a longer day out. Guadalajara is too far to go and come back in a day.

Puerto Vallarta is much easier with children, as long as the days centre on the beach. The water is warm, the sands at Nuevo Vallarta are flat and calm, and many resorts there have shallow pools and kids' clubs. Whale-watching boats, water parks, the jungle zoo at Mismaloya and turtle releases fill the rest of the week.

Guanajuato suits older children who like to walk. They tend to enjoy the funicular, the road tunnels under the town and the singing callejoneadas, but there is no zoo or theme park. The mummies are too much for many young children, and the long stairways are hard going with a pushchair.

In Guanajuato almost everything is a short walk from the Jardín de la Unión. The traffic runs through tunnels beneath the town, so you won't need a car. The catch is effort, because the lanes climb steeply, often as stairways, at around 2000m.

Puerto Vallarta's old centre and the Zona Romántica are walkable, but the town stretches a long way along the bay to the marina and Nuevo Vallarta. Most visitors take taxis or ride-hailing between districts, since the bus routes are confusing, and a hire car helps for exploring the Riviera Nayarit.

Both towns sell crafts rather than fashion, and Puerto Vallarta has a bit more choice. Its most distinctive buys are Huichol yarn paintings and beaded figures from the Sierra Madre. There are also galleries in the old centre, silver and textiles at the market by the Cuale river, and malls near the marina for everyday needs.

Guanajuato's shopping is smaller and sweeter. Mercado Hidalgo sells cajeta and candies, and the shops in the centre have majolica-style ceramics, wooden toys and Cervantes keepsakes. For serious leather and shoes, people go to León.

Guanajuato is noticeably cheaper day to day. Market meals, buses, taxis and museum entries all cost little, and the main exceptions are the boutique hotels in colonial mansions and the plaza restaurants. Rooms become scarce and expensive during the October Cervantino.

Puerto Vallarta charges resort prices for beachfront hotels, all-inclusives, boat tours and meals on the Malecón, especially in the winter high season. If you eat at the taco stands, ride local buses and stay in simple guesthouses in the old centre, you can still do it cheaply.

Guanajuato has the deeper performing-arts life, built around the Festival Internacional Cervantino. Each October, theatre, dance and orchestras from many countries fill the Teatro Juárez, the plazas and the university courtyards. All year round, estudiantinas dressed as minstrels lead singing walks through the alleys most evenings.

Puerto Vallarta's performance is lighter and more informal. It has drag and comedy cabaret in the Zona Romántica, live bands in bars, mariachis, and the Papantla flyers descending their pole on the Malecón. There is little classical music or serious theatre, and much of the programme slows down in summer.

Puerto Vallarta is better for slowing down, with long beach mornings, sunsets over the bay, and resort spas and beachside massage. Its most distinctive options are the temazcal sweat-lodge ceremony and the yoga retreats in the roadless villages of the south shore, which are also where to stay for quiet.

Guanajuato is not a quiet retreat, because students and street music keep the centre noisy late into the night. The town has no bathing tradition of its own, but the thermal balnearios such as Comanjilla near León are within about an hour and make a relaxed half day.