Oaxaca or Puerto Escondido?

The two are far apart here. Oaxaca lies at about 1,550m in a valley, with mountain ranges between it and the Pacific. Swimming there means a hotel pool, and the coast is a separate journey of several hours.

Puerto Escondido is that coast. Swimmers go to the calm coves of Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo, where the water is clear enough to snorkel. Zicatela's long golden sand is for watching surfers rather than going in, and Mazunte and Zipolite, an hour along the shore, add more coves and sand.

Oaxaca is a place people travel to just to eat. It has moles in many colours, tlayudas crisped over charcoal, the smoky grill aisle of the 20 de Noviembre market and tasting rooms pouring dozens of mezcals. Serious chefs also cook tasting menus built on heirloom maize.

Puerto Escondido serves a simpler version of the same regional cooking, with the sea added: whole fish grilled a la talla and ceviche at beach palapas. La Punta has pizza and poke bowls for the long-stay surf crowd. You will eat well, but the depth and the great markets are inland.

Oaxaca offers two or three full days of sightseeing: the UNESCO-listed centre, the gilded interior of Santo Domingo, the Tomb 7 gold in the museum beside it and the Zapotec capital of Monte Albán twenty minutes away. Puerto Escondido has a small church, a lighthouse and the modest streets around El Adoquin, and the culture you meet there is in the fishing beach and the market rather than in anything to visit.

Neither is a clubbing town, and the two are about even, but the evenings feel quite different. In Oaxaca you sip village mezcal in small tasting bars in the centre and Jalatlaco, or on a rooftop facing the domes of Santo Domingo, and most nights end well before dawn.

Puerto Escondido is younger and more barefoot. La Punta has open-air bars with reggaeton and electronic nights that go on late in the winter high season, while Zicatela leans towards sunset drinks. The scene thins out once the rains arrive.

Oaxaca's outdoors is mountain country. In the Sierra Norte, an hour and a half away, Zapotec villages run trails and cabins through cloud forest, and the mineral cliffs of Hierve el Agua make a popular half-day. The walking is good, but you need a drive to reach it.

Puerto Escondido has more on its doorstep, and almost all of it is water. Zicatela is one of the world's famous big-wave breaks, with gentler surf for learners nearby. Boats go out for dolphins and winter whales, and the Manialtepec and Chacahua lagoons have mangroves, birds and water that glows on dark nights. Hiking is the one thing it does poorly.

Oaxaca has many short and varied outings within an hour. Along one road you can see the giant cypress at Tule, the weaving village of Teotitlán, the stone fretwork of Mitla and the earth-pit distilleries of Matatlán. For a longer day, the lonely monasteries of the Mixteca Alta are about two hours away. Colectivos and drivers make it easy to fit two or three stops into a day.

From Puerto Escondido, most day trips lead to more beach: the villages east around Mazunte, the bays of Huatulco and the lagoon village of Chacahua to the west. Oaxaca city and the mountains are too far for a day out and need an overnight stay.

Neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park, so both suit families who are happy with simple pleasures. The difference is the kind of day you have. In Oaxaca that means balloon sellers and music in the zócalo, painting alebrijes or making chocolate, and ruins with little shade that small children may find dull.

In Puerto Escondido it means paddling and snorkelling in the sheltered coves, hatchling releases and gentle surf lessons. Bear in mind that Zicatela's surf is no place for children and the heat is strong.

Oaxaca is the easier place to get around on foot. Almost everything lies within a twenty-minute walk of the zócalo on a simple grid, and taxis and colectivos cover the valley. Puerto Escondido is strung along the coast in separate pockets, from the centre and Rinconada down through Zicatela to La Punta. Steep hills and heat lie between them, so you need a taxi or a colectivo van every time you change neighbourhood.

Oaxaca is one of Mexico's great craft cities. You can buy rugs in the villages where they are woven, black pottery in San Bartolo Coyotepec and contemporary design in the galleries along the Macedonio Alcalá. The weekly markets at Tlacolula and Ocotlán are worth a morning on their own.

Puerto Escondido sells a small selection of the same crafts on El Adoquin, plus hammocks, surf gear and swimwear. A bottle of mezcal is the best thing to take home from the coast. Anything more serious is better bought inland.

Both are cheap if you eat and travel like a local, but Oaxaca stays cheaper across more of the trip. Market food, fondas, colectivos and entry to the ruins all cost little. Only the boutique hotels, the tasting menus and the festival weeks push costs up.

Puerto Escondido has cheap palapa lunches and almost no paid sights. The surf neighbourhoods, though, are priced for foreigners, with villas, design hotels and international restaurants well above the local norm. Rooms also get more expensive when Mexican families arrive at Christmas and Easter.

Oaxaca has a real calendar of music and dance. In July, the Guelaguetza brings dance groups from across the state to the hillside auditorium, and the Day of the Dead fills the streets with comparsas. The state band and marimba players perform in the zócalo on many evenings, and the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá hosts concerts and dance. Puerto Escondido offers bar bands and DJs in Zicatela and La Punta and a festival in November, but no theatre or concert hall.

Both offer the temazcal herbal sweat lodge, and neither has thermal baths or large spas. Oaxaca's calm comes from shaded courtyards, slow mornings over hot chocolate and quiet gardens in Jalatlaco, though festival weeks bring fireworks.

Puerto Escondido is the better place to switch off. The heat and the tides set a slow pace, and yoga studios and retreats are part of everyday life in Zicatela and nearby Mazunte. Massages on the beach are easy to find, but light sleepers should avoid La Punta.