Nuevo Vallarta or Puerto Escondido?

Both are true beach destinations, but the beaches work very differently. Nuevo Vallarta has one long, wide strand of soft sand where the bay is usually calm, so you can walk straight out of the resort and swim, although the water is rarely very clear.

Puerto Escondido has a string of different beaches. Zicatela is a powerful surf beach that is unsafe for swimming, so for a swim you head to the small coves of Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo, which have clearer water for snorkelling. The variety is greater, but it takes more effort to reach.

Puerto Escondido eats better day to day. Grilled fish, tlayudas and moles at the market, evening street stalls and the cafés of La Punta and Zicatela are all close to where you stay.

Nuevo Vallarta's own food is mostly resort buffets and marina terraces. The good coastal cooking of the area, such as pescado zarandeado and aguachile, is out in Bucerias or Puerto Vallarta, so you need to plan your best meals as evenings out.

Neither place is a destination for sightseeing. Nuevo Vallarta is a planned resort zone with no historic core, so its culture means a trip to Puerto Vallarta's cobbled old town. Puerto Escondido at least has a modest old centre around El Adoquin and the everyday life of a working Oaxacan town, but for museums you would have to go to Oaxaca city.

Puerto Escondido is clearly the place for going out. La Punta's open-air bars and reggaeton nights run late in season, and Zicatela has sunset bars and mezcal places, all close enough to walk between.

In Nuevo Vallarta, evenings mean a lobby bar or poolside show, and the strip is quiet by midnight. A real night out is in Puerto Vallarta's Zona Romantica, which is very good but always a taxi ride away.

Both have excellent outdoor life centred on the sea, with different strengths. Nuevo Vallarta has the calmer, more organised version: humpback whales calving inside Banderas Bay, snorkelling at the Marietas Islands, and jungle zip-lines in the Sierra Madre foothills.

Puerto Escondido is wilder. Zicatela is one of the world's great big-wave surf breaks, the Manialtepec lagoon glows with bioluminescence on dark nights, and the mangroves at Chacahua feel remote.

Nuevo Vallarta has much more within easy reach. Puerto Vallarta's old town is about half an hour away, the northern coast offers Bucerias, Sayulita and San Pancho, and the mountain village of San Sebastian del Oeste makes a longer outing.

From Puerto Escondido, the easy trips are the beach villages of Mazunte and Zipolite and the lagoon at Chacahua. The more interesting places inland, such as Oaxaca city and the mezcal valleys, are too far for a day and need an overnight stay.

Nuevo Vallarta is far easier with children. The resorts have water slides, kids' clubs and food all day, the enclave is quiet and safe, and there are water parks for a change of scene.

Puerto Escondido can work for families who are happy with simple beach days. The coves are safe for paddling, and older children love the surf lessons and turtle releases. But nothing is built for children, Zicatela is off-limits for swimming, and the steps up from Carrizalillo are hard work in the heat.

Puerto Escondido is easier to get around. Each district, from the centre and Rinconada to Zicatela and La Punta, is walkable on its own, taxis are easy to flag down between them, and colectivo vans run along the main roads.

Nuevo Vallarta stretches along a boulevard of gated resorts and golf courses, so beyond the beach you can walk to very little. Most people rely on taxis, shuttles or a hire car, though the airport is only about twenty minutes away.

Shopping is limited in both, and serious buyers go elsewhere. From Nuevo Vallarta that means Puerto Vallarta or Bucerias for Huichol beadwork and silver. In Puerto Escondido, the stalls on El Adoquin sell alebrijes, embroidered blouses and mezcal, though Oaxaca city has far better craft markets.

Puerto Escondido is clearly the cheaper of the two. Guesthouses, market meals and palapa lunches cost little, although the design hotels and international restaurants in Zicatela charge foreign prices, and rooms cost most during the Mexican vacation weeks.

In Nuevo Vallarta, almost all the accommodation is resorts and condominiums, priced to match. All-inclusive packages at least make costs predictable, and leaving the enclave for tacos in Bucerias saves a good deal.

Neither has a real arts scene, and Nuevo Vallarta just comes out ahead thanks to its resorts. There are mariachi and folkloric dinners and a permanent acrobatic dinner show, with cabaret and drag stages in Puerto Vallarta nearby. Puerto Escondido has bar bands, the odd son jarocho night and its November festival, with the real Oaxacan music and dance inland.

Nuevo Vallarta keeps its relaxation inside the resort gates. The larger hotels have spas with hydrotherapy circuits, several hold a temazcal ceremony on site, and beach yoga and massages under palapas are easy to arrange. Beyond the hotels there is nothing to speak of, so the quality depends entirely on where you book.

In Puerto Escondido, slowing down is part of everyday life in town rather than something your hotel provides. Open-air yoga studios and retreats are spread through Zicatela, La Punta and the hills behind, with more in Mazunte, and beach massages are cheap and easy to find. There are no large spas, and light sleepers should avoid staying near La Punta's late bars.