Mazatlan or Cancun?

Both are beach cities, but Cancun has the finer shore. The Hotel Zone has 22km of pale coral sand and Caribbean water that is warm all year. You can choose between the calm, shallow bay at Playa Langosta and the surf of the open eastern shore. The main drawback is sargassum on the eastern beaches in some summers.

Mazatlan's sand is long and varied, from the rocky coves of Olas Altas to the wide beach at Cerritos and palm-backed Isla de la Piedra. But this is open Pacific, rough in places and noticeably cooler from January to March. Only the island coves are as still as Cancun's bay side.

Mazatlan eats better, and almost all of it comes from the sea: aguachile, smoked marlin tacos and pescado zarandeado grilled over coals, eaten at beach shacks with a cold local lager. Even the morning shrimp cocktails from street carts are part of the appeal.

In Cancun the good food is downtown, at the taco stands, Mercado 28 and Parque de las Palapas, where Yucatecan dishes such as cochinita pibil and sopa de lima are a real discovery. In the Hotel Zone, where most visitors stay, meals tend to be resort buffets and international menus.

Mazatlan has a real old town and Cancun does not. The painted 19th-century port streets, the arcaded Plazuela Machado, the twin-towered cathedral and El Faro above the harbour fill a day or two of easy wandering.

Cancun was built as a resort from the 1970s, so its own sights are the Maya Museum and the small ruins at San Miguelito, El Rey and El Meco. Its real heritage is out on the peninsula, which means a day trip rather than a stroll.

Cancun goes harder and later. The Party Center at the bend of the Hotel Zone is a cluster of huge clubs with acrobatic shows, open-bar wristbands and crowds until dawn, though nearly every venue is aimed at the same visitors.

Mazatlan's Zona Dorada has its own loud bars and dance clubs, filled mostly with Mexican visitors. In the old centre, drinks around the Plazuela Machado are quieter, with banda playing in the background. Except at Carnaval, the city winds down earlier, especially on weeknights.

The outdoors is equally rewarding in both, and in both it mostly means the sea, but the kind of sea differs. Cancun has the Mesoamerican Reef for snorkelling and diving, freshwater cenotes inland and whale sharks in summer, all on flat land with no real hiking.

Mazatlan offers Pacific wildlife instead of a reef: humpback whales in winter, marlin and sailfish offshore, surf at Olas Altas and turtle releases in late summer. It also has hills, with the climb to El Faro and the pine-clad Sierra Madre foothills about two hours inland.

Cancun is the far stronger base. Chichen Itza with Valladolid, the jungle ruins of Coba and Ek Balam, Tulum's clifftop ruins and the island town of Isla Mujeres each make a good day out, though the great Maya sites mean long drives.

Mazatlan's outings are smaller and quieter: Concordia with its baroque church, the old silver village of Copala, El Rosario and Cosalá. Most visitors take one trip into the sierra and spend the rest of their stay on the coast.

Cancun is easier with children because its big all-inclusive resorts do much of the work, with kids' clubs, shallow pools and calm bay water on the northern stretch. Eco-parks down the coast can fill whole days. The catch is that anything beyond the hotel needs a bus, taxi or tour.

Mazatlan is warmly family-minded, with Mexican families on every beach and a large aquarium near the seafront. But it has no theme park, and the exposed beaches can be rough for small swimmers.

Mazatlan is the easier city to get around. Its compact old centre is walkable, the malecón links it to the Zona Dorada for anyone happy to walk or cycle, and the open-air pulmonía taxis make short trips fun.

Cancun is essentially one long road, so the frequent buses along Boulevard Kukulcan are the practical choice, as walking any distance means heat and patchy pavements. ADO coaches cover the coast well, but cenotes and ruins usually mean a tour or a hire car.

Neither city is worth a trip for its shopping, but Cancun has more of it. Air-conditioned malls along the Hotel Zone carry international and luxury labels, and Mercado 28 sells huipiles, hammocks and silver, with bargaining expected. Mazatlan has souvenir shops in the Zona Dorada, the Pino Suárez market for leather and local sweets, and a few artists' studios in the old streets, which offer more character than choice.

Mazatlan is the cheaper stay because it is priced for Mexican families. Street-cart shrimp, beach-shack seafood, market breakfasts and short taxi rides all cost little, and a room near the historic centre keeps costs down further.

Cancun's Hotel Zone is priced for international visitors, and resort meals, Party Center drinks and organised tours add up quickly. Downtown narrows the gap, but most visitors either pay beach-strip prices or buy an all-inclusive package.

Mazatlan has a proper stage in the restored Teatro Ángela Peralta, with concerts, opera, dance and an autumn cultural festival. Banda sinaloense, the local brass-band music, fills the beach restaurants and the malecón. Cancun's performances are mostly staged for visitors: folkloric dinner shows, resort entertainment and large evening shows at the eco-parks.

Cancun is the better choice for pampering. Its large resorts have full spas with hydrotherapy circuits and massages on the sand, and the Maya temazcal sweat lodge is a local ritual few beach resorts can offer, though the Hotel Zone itself can be noisy.

In Mazatlan, relaxing mostly costs nothing: sunsets, walks on the malecón and hammock afternoons at Cerritos or on Isla de la Piedra. Spa treatments are limited to the larger hotels and a few massage places.