Los Cabos or Zihuatanejo?

These are equally strong beach towns, but they work differently. In Los Cabos, which side of the cape you are on decides everything. Medano and the corridor coves such as Chileno Bay and Santa Maria Bay are calm and good for snorkelling, while the Pacific beaches behind Land's End and in front of many resorts are too dangerous to swim.

Zihuatanejo's sheltered bay is simpler: La Ropa, Madera and the reef-protected water at Las Gatas are calm. The sea is also noticeably warmer in winter, so swimming is pleasant in every month, while Los Cabos' winter and spring water is cooler.

The food is about as good in both places, and in both it is built on fish landed that morning. Los Cabos adds the farm garden restaurants in the hills above San José del Cabo, plus Baja wines and mezcal. Around the marina, though, the eating turns loud and overpriced.

Zihuatanejo has its own local dishes: tiritas, pescado a la talla grilled over coals at the palapas, and Thursday pozole shared by whole families. The municipal market is the place for breakfast.

Neither town is a place for sightseeing, and they are much alike here. San José del Cabo has a little more to walk around, with its colonial-style plaza, the mission church and the seasonal evening art walk through the gallery district. Zihuatanejo has the small coastal archaeology museum, and its appeal is the working fishing town itself, with its whitewashed streets and fishermen's pier.

Los Cabos wins easily if you want to go out. Cabo San Lucas is a real party town: big bars and dance clubs behind the marina stay open until the early hours, and the Medano beach bars start well before sunset. It is loud rather than varied, and San José del Cabo stays quiet.

In Zihuatanejo a night out means a drink at sunset, a long dinner and a few small bars with a local crowd. Ixtapa's clubs only fill up in high season and on long weekends.

Los Cabos has the richer sea. Whales can often be seen from shore in winter, marlin bring in serious anglers, and Cabo Pulmo protects a living coral reef. On land, the Sierra de la Laguna offers proper hikes up into oak and pine forest.

Zihuatanejo's wildlife is on a smaller scale and closer to hand: kayaks on the calm bay, snorkelling at Las Gatas, spoonbills and herons at Barra de Potosí, crocodiles near Playa Linda and nesting turtles later in the year. Hiking there is limited.

Los Cabos has better places within a day's drive. Todos Santos, about an hour up the Pacific coast, is a proper colonial town, and La Paz, the state capital on its bay, makes a full day out. The mining village of El Triunfo and Miraflores, known for its leatherwork, fit into one loop by car.

Zihuatanejo's outings are small: a surf beach day at Troncones, lunch on the sand at Barra de Potosí, or the ball court at Xihuacan. Bigger places are too far to reach in a day.

Both work equally well for families, and in both the beach does most of the work, with resort pools and kids' clubs as back-up. Los Cabos adds glass-bottom boats and whale watching, but families should stay in the calmer corridor or San José del Cabo rather than near the rowdy marina.

Zihuatanejo is small and easy to manage, with warm, flat water at La Ropa and Las Gatas and turtle releases in season. The fierce sun there needs more planning.

Zihuatanejo is much easier to get around. The centre is compact, a waterfront path leads to Playa Madera, plenty of taxis and colectivos run to La Ropa and Ixtapa, and boats cross to Las Gatas. You will rarely need a car.

Los Cabos is two towns about 30km apart, joined by a corridor of resorts, and the airport lies well beyond San José. Most visitors depend on taxis, shuttles or a hire car.

Los Cabos has more choice, though no one goes to either place to shop. The marina malls in Cabo San Lucas carry duty-free international brands, and the galleries and design shops in San José del Cabo's old centre are the better place to browse.

Zihuatanejo has an artisans' market where Taxco silver and lacquerware from Olinalá are the best buys. Beyond that there is little more than souvenirs.

This is where the two differ most. Zihuatanejo is cheap from day to day: guesthouses in town, market meals and buses cost little, and only the hillside boutique hotels and the Ixtapa resorts push prices up.

Los Cabos is among the most expensive places in Mexico, with resort rooms, marina restaurants and taxis all priced at international levels. San José del Cabo's taco stands soften the bill a little.

Neither has much of a stage, and neither has a theatre or concert season. Los Cabos offers cover bands in the Cabo San Lucas bars, mariachi and resort dinner shows. Zihuatanejo has its long-running international guitar festival once a year, with concerts on the beach, and trova singers in some places during high season.

Los Cabos is the better choice for a spa stay. The luxury hotels along the corridor compete on their spas, many with treatment rooms facing the sea, and several offer temazcal ceremonies. To get the benefit, though, you need to stay away from Cabo San Lucas itself, which is noisy.

In Zihuatanejo it is the pace of life that relaxes you more than any treatment: shade, a book and a swim. Spas and yoga are mostly limited to the hotels above La Ropa and in Ixtapa.