Merida or Puerto Escondido?

Puerto Escondido is the beach town of the two by a long way. Its coast offers both the golden sweep of Zicatela, for watching surfers rather than swimming, and clear, sheltered coves at Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo where the water is calm enough for snorkelling, with Mazunte and Zipolite an hour away for more.

Merida has no beach of its own. Progreso, about 40 minutes north, has wide sand and warm, shallow water, pleasant for an afternoon but flat and greenish rather than memorable. The swimming that stays with visitors is in the cenotes, cool freshwater pools in limestone caverns that Puerto Escondido has nothing like.

Merida is the stronger place to eat because it is the home of a whole regional cuisine. Cochinita pibil for breakfast at the Lucas de Galvez or Santiago markets, sopa de lima, relleno negro and papadzules in family loncherias, and marquesitas in the squares at night make eating part of the reason to come.

Puerto Escondido eats well in a simpler way: fish grilled a la talla and ceviche at beach palapas, Oaxacan tlayudas and moles in the market, and mezcal everywhere. Its edge is variety for long stays, with the pizza, poke and bakeries of La Punta and Zicatela, which Merida's more traditional scene lacks.

Here the gap is as wide as it gets. Merida is a sightseeing city in its own right: the cathedral of San Ildefonso built from Maya temple stones, the Casa de Montejo facade, the Palacio de Gobierno murals, the henequen mansions of Paseo de Montejo and the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, which prepares you for the ruins.

Puerto Escondido has a pleasant pedestrian street, a small church and a lighthouse, and no museums at all. Its culture is lived in the market, on the fishing beach and at festivals, and anyone wanting more has to go inland to Oaxaca city.

Both are modest, informal places to go out, and the difference is in mood. Merida's evenings are sociable and grown-up: mezcal bars and terraces along Calle 60 and around Santa Lucia, rooftop drinks over the old town, and cantinas that bring plates of botanas with every round, with a few clubs and a student crowd keeping weekends going past midnight.

Puerto Escondido is younger and more barefoot. La Punta has open-air bars with reggaeton and electronic nights that run late in high season, while Zicatela does sunset drinks on the beachfront. It is busiest over the winter and the Mexican vacation weeks and goes quiet in the rains, so timing matters more there than in Merida.

Puerto Escondido has much more for people who want to be active outdoors, almost all of it on the water. Zicatela is a world-famous big-wave break with gentler waves at La Punta for learners, boats go out for dolphins, turtles and winter whales, and the Manialtepec lagoon glows with bioluminescence on dark nights.

Merida's countryside is a flat plain of dry forest, and its wonder is underground in the cenotes around Cuzama and Homun. The two do share one experience: mangroves and birds, with flamingos at Celestun to set against the crocodiles and channels of Chacahua.

Merida is one of the great bases in Mexico for days out. Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc sites lie to the south, Chichen Itza and Valladolid to the east, Dzibilchaltun barely half an hour away, and the all-yellow town of Izamal and the old henequen haciendas make for easy, varied outings.

From Puerto Escondido the choice is mostly more coast: the beach villages of Mazunte, San Agustinillo and Zipolite, the fishing port of Puerto Angel and the bays of Huatulco. Oaxaca city and the mezcal valleys are too far for a day and need an overnight stay.

Merida is the somewhat easier family choice, mainly because its water is gentle everywhere: cenotes and the shallow sea at Progreso suit small children, and the Parque del Centenario zoo, Animaya and the evening squares with balloon sellers fill the gaps. The sun at the ruins and the narrow pavements are the hard part.

Puerto Escondido can be wonderful for older children, with turtle hatchling releases, dolphin trips and gentle surf lessons. With younger ones it needs care, as the open beaches are dangerous for swimming and the safe coves, Carrizalillo especially, involve steep steps.

Neither is easy on foot, but the problems differ. Merida's centre is a numbered grid where most sights are within walking distance, held back by heat and high kerbs, and the real challenge is the countryside, where the Puuc sites, cenotes and haciendas are far easier with a hire car.

Puerto Escondido is split into separate pockets along the coast, each walkable but hilly, joined by plentiful taxis and colectivo vans. You will not need a car there, while in Merida one opens up the region.

Merida is clearly the better place to shop, and specifically for crafts: hammocks in every size, guayabera shirts, Panama hats woven in nearby Becal and embroidered huipiles, from the chaotic stalls around Lucas de Galvez to finer galleries in restored townhouses, with malls in the north for brands.

Puerto Escondido has stalls of Oaxacan crafts and alebrijes on El Adoquin, surf shops and swimwear in Zicatela, and good bottles of mezcal to take home, but little more.

Merida keeps its costs low however you travel. A market breakfast, a taxi across town or a night in a plain guesthouse costs little, and even its comfortable end, a restored house around a courtyard pool, stays reasonable for what it offers. What adds to the bill is leaving the city: a hire car for the Puuc route and the cenotes, and the entry fees at Uxmal and Chichen Itza.

Puerto Escondido can be just as cheap for someone living on palapa lunches and a simple room, and there are hardly any sights to pay for. The difference is how fast that changes. Move into the foreign-facing hotels and restaurants of Zicatela and La Punta, or arrive in the weeks when Mexican families are on vacation, and costs rise well above the local norm, so the neighbourhood and the dates matter far more here than in Merida.

Merida has a real programme of its own, much of it free in the open air: jarana dancers performing the vaqueria, trova trios at the serenade in the Parque Santa Lucia and the Maya ballgame re-enacted before the cathedral, plus the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra and ballet at the Teatro Jose Peon Contreras.

Puerto Escondido offers bar bands, DJs and the music and dances of its November festival, with no theatre or concert hall.

Puerto Escondido is the better place to unwind properly. Yoga is part of daily life in Zicatela, La Punta and the hills, with more in Mazunte, the temazcal sweat lodge is easy to try, and massages on the beach are plentiful, though light sleepers should avoid La Punta.

In Merida, relaxation means the spa of a restored hacienda outside town or a courtyard hotel with a plunge pool and a hammock. The centre is noisy with traffic, and the spring heat wears you out rather than slowing you down.