Mazatlan or Sayulita?

Both towns are beach places first, but the beaches take very different shapes. Mazatlan has kilometres of almost unbroken sand, from the rocky bays of Olas Altas to the wide beach at Cerritos, plus Isla de la Piedra across the harbour. The open Pacific can run rough here, so the island coves are where you'll find calm water.

Sayulita has a single curving bay whose soft, rolling waves suit beginners on a board, and its winter sea is a little warmer. The town beach gets crowded, so for quieter swims people go to Playa de los Muertos or Carricitos, or to the longer beaches at San Pancho and Punta de Mita.

Mazatlan is the better place to eat. As a working shrimp port it has a deeper seafood tradition, from aguachile and smoked marlin tacos to pescado zarandeado grilled over coals. It also has the Pino Suárez market for breakfast and its own famous lager to drink alongside.

Sayulita has good fish tacos and ceviche too, and the al pastor stands around the plaza in the evening are worth a visit. Much of the rest, though, is smoothie bowls and pizza for the surf crowd. Neither town has much fine dining, and from Sayulita that means a trip to Puerto Vallarta.

The gap is wide here. Mazatlan has a real historic centre of brightly painted 19th-century port houses, the arcaded Plazuela Machado, the Teatro Ángela Peralta, a twin-towered cathedral and El Faro above the harbour. That is enough for a day or two between beach days.

Sayulita has a small plaza, a modest church and the hillside cemetery. Its one real cultural thread is the Huichol beadwork and yarn painting sold in its galleries. Anyone who wants architecture or museums should stay in Mazatlan, or plan a day in Puerto Vallarta.

Mazatlan has the bigger night out. The open-fronted bars and dance clubs of the Zona Dorada run late at weekends, the old centre offers gentler drinks around the Plazuela Machado, and you hear banda music everywhere. Carnaval before Lent fills the malecón for most of a week.

Sayulita's nightlife is a few blocks of mezcal and cocktail bars around the plaza. Evenings start with sunset drinks on the sand, and in the winter season a few places have DJs past midnight. It suits a young surf and backpacker crowd, but for proper clubs you have to drive to Puerto Vallarta.

Both have winter humpback whales, sportfishing and island snorkelling, but Sayulita's setting is wilder. Jungle-covered hills drop straight into the sea, footpaths cross the headlands to neighbouring coves, and the Marietas Islands reserve and the reef breaks around Punta de Mita are close by.

Mazatlan's outdoors is more spread out. There is kayaking around Isla de Venados, surfing on the point breaks at Olas Altas, birdlife in the mangrove estuaries and the climb to El Faro. The pine foothills of the Sierra Madre are about two hours inland, and turtle hatchlings are released on nearby beaches in late summer and autumn.

Neither has a major heritage site within reach, and their day trips head in opposite directions. From Mazatlan they go inland and uphill, to colonial Concordia, the silver-mining village of Copala and the gilded mission church at El Rosario. Most visitors make only one such trip.

Sayulita's outings stay on the coast. Puerto Vallarta's cobbled old town is about an hour south, San Pancho and Chacala make easy beach-village days, and San Blas, with its colonial ruins and mangrove river trips, is a long day to the north.

Mazatlan is the more practical family base. It has hosted Mexican school vacations for generations, the aquarium in the Parque Central fills a hot afternoon, and Zona Dorada hotels offer pools and kids' clubs. The exposed beaches can be rough for small children.

Sayulita works best for older children who want surf lessons on its gentle waves and swims in the sheltered cove at Playa de los Muertos. It has no attractions built for children, and its cobbled lanes without pavements make it hard work with toddlers and pushchairs.

Sayulita is a little easier simply because it is tiny: you can cross the village on foot in ten minutes. The cobbles, dirt lanes and lack of pavements make walking hard going, though, and exploring the coast means taxis, a rented golf cart or a hire car.

Mazatlan stretches for kilometres, with the old centre at one end and the Zona Dorada well to the north. You get between them by coastal bus, taxi or open-air pulmonía, or by a long walk or bike ride along the malecón.

Neither town is a reason to go shopping, but the styles differ. Mazatlan has souvenir shops in the Zona Dorada selling silver, hammocks and ceramics, the Pino Suárez market for leather and local sweets, and ordinary malls for practical needs.

Sayulita is more boutique, with linen, embroidered dresses, handmade jewellery and surf gear in small shops. Huichol beadwork and yarn paintings are the purchases most worth taking home, but there are no large markets.

Mazatlan is clearly the cheaper stay. Most visitors are Mexican families, so street food, market breakfasts, buses and short taxi rides cost little, and staying near the historic centre keeps a stay cheap. Only Carnaval, Easter and Christmas push room prices up.

Sayulita is priced for North American visitors. Villas, visitor restaurants, surf lessons and yoga classes add up, especially over Christmas and Semana Santa. The taco stands and the regional bus are still cheap, and rooms cost noticeably less in the summer low season.

Mazatlan has a real stage. The restored Teatro Ángela Peralta puts on concerts, opera and dance and is the centre of the city's autumn cultural festival. Banda sinaloense, born in this state, plays at beach restaurants and along the malecón.

Sayulita has no theatre or concert hall. Live music means bands and acoustic sets in bars during the high season, buskers by the plaza and the occasional mariachi.

Sayulita is made for unwinding in a way Mazatlan is not. Hillside studios run daily classes, many villas host retreats, and sound healing and temazcal sweat lodges are easy to book. The centre gets noisy in high season, so for real quiet, stay on the hillsides or out towards San Pancho.

Mazatlan has no spa tradition of its own. Relaxing there means the slow pace of the beach, with hammocks and sunsets on the malecón, and treatments are limited to resort spas and a few massage places in the Zona Dorada. Its calmest corners are Cerritos and Isla de la Piedra.