Oaxaca or Valladolid, Mexico?

Neither city has a beach, but Valladolid offers far better swimming. Its cenotes, from Zací in the middle of town to X'keken, Suytun and Oxman a bike ride away, give clear, cool water under rock ceilings, and the Gulf and Caribbean coasts are about two hours off.

Oaxaca sits high in a mountain valley, so swimming there means a hotel pool. Its Pacific beaches at Puerto Escondido or Huatulco need several hours on the road or a flight, and are best treated as a separate stay at the end of the trip.

Oaxaca is one of the great eating cities of Mexico, and this is where the two differ most. Its many moles, tlayudas, quesillo and chapulines, the smoky grill aisle of the 20 de Noviembre market, mezcal from the valley distilleries and a group of chefs cooking with heirloom maize give it real depth at every price.

Valladolid eats well but more narrowly. Its own longaniza and lomitos, cochinita pibil and evening marquesitas outside the cathedral are worth seeking out, yet beyond good Yucatecan cooking in courtyard restaurants there is little else to try.

Oaxaca has far more to see in the city itself. The green-stone colonial centre, the gilded interior of Santo Domingo and the Museo de las Culturas, with the gold from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, are backed by the Tamayo and Textile museums and a printmaking tradition that still runs through its galleries. Monte Albán is only twenty minutes away.

Valladolid's town sights are pleasant rather than substantial: the painted streets along the Calzada de los Frailes, the Franciscan convent of San Bernardino and the folk art of the Casa de los Venados fill a day or two. Its major monuments are the Maya cities out in the forest.

Oaxaca has the livelier evenings. Mezcal tasting bars in the centre and Jalatlaco, rooftop terraces facing the domes of Santo Domingo and the pedestrian Alcalá keep people out late, with salsa and DJ nights running past midnight at weekends, though clubbing is limited.

Valladolid's night is mostly the main square: families strolling, marquesita carts and a lit church, with a few mezcal and craft-beer bars nearby. The town is quiet by late evening, and an early start for Chichén Itzá usually ends the night sooner still.

For anyone who wants to walk, Oaxaca has the richer outdoors. Mountains close in on every side of the valley, and in the Sierra Norte, an hour and a half away, Zapotec communities share the running of paths, simple cabins and local guides, so a trip can include several days hiking between villages through pine and cloud forest far above the city. Closer in, the mineral cliffs of Hierve el Agua make an easy half-day, guided bike rides cross the agave fields, and the Cerro del Fortín gives a short climb with a view.

Valladolid has no hills to climb, and its outdoor pleasures are gentler. Level bike paths through the low forest lead to cenotes sunk into the limestone, best reached early before the heat builds. A boat trip with local fishermen through the mangroves of Ría Lagartos brings you close to flamingos and pink salt flats. Birdwatchers will be busy, but walkers looking for a long day on foot will not find one.

This is Valladolid's strongest card. Chichén Itzá is close enough to reach before the coach tours arrive, Ek Balam's stucco-carved Acropolis is half an hour away and Cobá's forest pyramid about an hour, with yellow Izamal and the flamingo waters of Río Lagartos as further options. Few bases in Mexico put this many major Maya sites within such easy reach.

Oaxaca's outings are smaller but rich in variety: the Tule cypress, the weavers of Teotitlán and the stone fretwork of Mitla along one road, mezcal villages and pottery towns along others, and the lonely sixteenth-century monasteries of the Mixteca Alta for a longer day.

The two are much alike for families. Both welcome children warmly and both lack zoos, aquariums or theme parks. Oaxaca's appeal is hands-on: painting alebrijes, chocolate and tortilla sessions, festival parades and the evening zócalo, though cobbles defeat pushchairs and the ruins have little shade.

Valladolid wins older children over with water, through rope swings and ladders into the cenotes and ruins to clamber around, but the heat makes middays hard for little ones. A hotel with a pool helps a great deal there.

Oaxaca is easier to get around beyond the walk from your door. Its centre lies within twenty minutes on foot of the zócalo, cheap taxis fill the gaps, and colectivos and day tours make the valley villages and ruins simple to reach without driving.

Valladolid's flat little centre is just as easy on foot or by rented bicycle, with a cycle path out to the nearer cenotes. The trouble comes with the sights: buses serve Chichén Itzá, but combining Ek Balam, Cobá or Río Lagartos really calls for a hire car, a taxi or a tour.

For shoppers, Oaxaca is far ahead. Galleries and cooperatives around the Macedonio Alcalá sell textiles, barro negro and tin work, and the best buying is in the workshops themselves: rugs in Teotitlán, pottery in Coyotepec and Atzompa, and carvings in Arrazola and Tilcajete. Mole paste, chocolate and mezcal fill the rest of the bag.

Valladolid's shopping is a pleasant hour rather than a pastime: embroidered blouses, hammocks, locally made sandals, honey and Xtabentún liqueur from the craft market by the Zací cenote. Neither town has fashion brands or department stores.

Both are inexpensive, and a careful traveller will spend about the same in either. Market meals, street snacks, colectivos and simple guesthouses cost little in both towns, and each has pricier boutique hotels in restored colonial houses.

Where the bills differ is in the extras. In Oaxaca, the chef-led tasting menus and the festival weeks, when rooms cost much more, are the expensive part. In Valladolid it is the entrance fees: Chichén Itzá is the costliest, and each cenote charges separately, which adds up over several days.

Oaxaca offers much more, above all if you time a visit for the Guelaguetza in July, when the dance delegations of the state's regions perform on the hillside above the city, or for the Day of the Dead processions. The rest of the year brings marimba and the state band in the zócalo and concerts at the ornate Teatro Macedonio Alcalá.

Valladolid's performances are small and traditional: jarana dancers balancing trays during the vaquería on the square, light projections on the San Bernardino convent, and trova in restaurants. It has no theatre or concert hall.

The temazcal runs through Oaxaca's idea of rest. You can join a sweat-lodge ceremony led by a traditional healer in the city or in the valley villages, often followed by herbal rubs or massage. Small spas and yoga studios in the centre offer more treatments, and slow mornings over hot chocolate in shaded courtyards do the rest.

Valladolid restores you mainly through its slow pace: shuttered afternoons, hammocks and small pools in courtyard hotels, and cool evenings on the square. Massage and temazcal can be arranged nearby, but it is a calm base, not a place to plan a stay of treatments around.