Merida or Valladolid, Mexico?

Neither is a beach town, but Merida has a real beach within easy reach: Progreso, about 40 minutes north, with wide sand and warm, shallow, calm water, and the quieter shores of Chelem and Telchac further along. It is a plain Gulf coast rather than Caribbean colour, but it works well for an afternoon out.

From Valladolid the sea is about two hours away in either direction, so swimming means cenotes, with Zací right in town and X'keken, Suytun and Oxman a short ride out. Merida has its own cenotes too, around Cuzama and Homun, so it offers both kinds of swimming.

Both eat Yucatecan, but Merida is where the cuisine is at its fullest. Beyond cochinita pibil and panuchos, its menus run to relleno negro, papadzules and queso relleno, served everywhere from the Lucas de Galvez and Santiago markets to grand dining rooms in restored townhouses. There is some international cooking and high-end dining for a change of pace, though the range is modest.

Valladolid has specialities of its own, longaniza sausage and lomitos de Valladolid, and good regional cooking in courtyards along the Calzada de los Frailes. After a few meals, though, the choice narrows. Few cuisines from elsewhere are on offer, and there is no fine-dining tier to turn to.

Merida has a city's worth of sights. The Plaza Grande gathers the cathedral built from Maya temple stones, the carved facade of the Casa de Montejo and the murals of the Palacio de Gobierno, while the henequen-era mansions of Paseo de Montejo and the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya give the best grounding in the region before the ruins.

Valladolid is a well-kept colonial town rather than a place of museums. The walk along the Calzada de los Frailes to the San Bernardino convent is its finest hour, the Casa de los Venados folk-art collection fills a morning, and two days covers the lot.

Merida has a real night out, if a relaxed one: mezcal bars and terraces on Calle 60 and around Santa Lucia, rooftop bars over the old town, cantinas serving botanas with each drink, a student crowd and a few clubs going past midnight at weekends.

Valladolid winds down after the evening stroll on the square. A handful of mezcal and craft-beer bars and courtyard restaurant bars are all there is, with no clubs, and the early start for Chichén Itzá usually ends the night first.

The two share the same flat limestone country, with cenotes as the main draw and no hiking to speak of. The difference is in reaching them: from Valladolid you cycle out on easy paths from town, while from Merida the cenotes of Cuzama and Homun mean a drive and then a bicycle or a horse-drawn rail cart along old hacienda tracks.

Each also has its flamingo reserve. Merida's is Celestun to the west, reached by boat through the mangroves, and Valladolid's is Ría Lagartos to the north, where the pink salt flats are a sight in themselves.

Both are excellent bases, but for different halves of the Maya world. Merida has Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc sites of Kabah, Sayil and Labna, with Dzibilchaltun and Mayapan an easy morning, though Chichén Itzá is a two-hour run.

Valladolid puts Chichén Itzá under an hour away, close enough to be at the gates before the coach tours, and adds Ek Balam and Cobá, which are awkward from Merida. Izamal, the yellow town around its great convent, works from either.

Merida gives children a little more to do: the free zoo and playground in the Parque del Centenario, the larger Animaya zoo and the calm, shallow sea at Progreso. Valladolid has no zoos or play attractions, though older children love the rope swings and ladders at its cenotes and the small centre is easy to manage. Both are hard going at midday, with uneven pavements and ruins in full sun.

Both centres are walkable and hard on the feet, with narrow pavements and fierce midday heat. Merida's numbered grid is larger, so taxis and ride-hailing take over beyond the centre, while Valladolid is small enough that a rented bicycle covers the town and the nearer cenotes.

For the sights further out, the answer is the same in both. Buses reach Chichén Itzá and the bigger towns, but a hire car on the flat, quiet roads makes the Puuc sites, Ek Balam, Cobá and the outlying cenotes far easier.

Merida is the better place to buy: hammocks in every size, guayabera shirts, fine Panama hats from Becal and embroidered huipiles, with galleries in restored houses for finer work and malls in the north for brands. Valladolid's craft market by the Zací cenote and the shops on the Calzada de los Frailes cover huipiles, hammocks and sandals made in town, plus honey and Xtabentún liqueur, and little beyond that.

Both are inexpensive in much the same way: market meals and local transport cost little, and the real spending goes on boutique hotels in colonial houses and the entrance fees at the big archaeological sites. Valladolid comes out slightly cheaper day to day, with bike hire in place of taxis, though each cenote charges its own entry. Merida softens its costs with free cantina snacks and free cultural evenings.

Here Merida is far ahead. The city council stages free shows in its squares through the week, from jarana dancers performing the vaquería to the trova serenade in the Parque Santa Lucia and the Maya ballgame in front of the cathedral, and the Teatro Jose Peon Contreras hosts the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra and ballet.

Valladolid has jarana on the main square on some evenings, a light projection on the San Bernardino convent and some trova in restaurants, with no theatre or concert hall.

Neither has a bathing culture, and in both relaxation comes from the pace: shuttered afternoons, courtyard hotels with small pools and hammocks, and evenings on the square. Merida adds hacienda spas outside town, some with treatments drawing on Maya traditions, but its centre is noisier with traffic. Valladolid is quieter, and temazcal sweat-lodge ceremonies can be arranged nearby.