Puebla or Sayulita?

This is where the two differ most. Puebla is more than 2,000m up and several hours from the Gulf coast, so swimming means a hotel pool or a spring-fed balneario on the edge of the city.

Sayulita is a beach town first. Its curving bay has soft surf for beginners, the sheltered cove of Playa de los Muertos lies to the south, and there are longer stretches of sand at San Pancho and Punta de Mita, all with warm sea through the year.

Puebla is worth travelling to for the food alone. Mole poblano began in its convent kitchens, chiles en nogada appear in late summer, and everyday cemitas, chalupas and tacos árabes come from cheap fondas around the centre, with sweets on the Calle de los Dulces.

Sayulita eats well but simply: fish tacos, aguachile, whole grilled fish on the beach, and a layer of international cafés for the surf crowd. It is pleasant seaside eating rather than a cuisine you would plan a trip around.

Puebla offers days of sightseeing. There is the tiled colonial grid, the cathedral towering over the zócalo, the Capilla del Rosario, the Palafoxiana library and the Museo Amparo, plus the hilltop forts of the 1862 battle.

Sayulita has almost none of this. A small plaza, a modest church and the hillside cemetery take an hour, and its one real cultural thread is Huichol beadwork sold in the galleries.

Neither is a big night out, but Puebla has more range. It has mezcal bars and rooftop terraces near the Callejón de los Sapos, a student bar strip in Cholula from Thursday to Saturday, and clubs in Angelópolis.

Sayulita's scene is a few blocks around the plaza. Evenings start with sunset drinks on the sand and run late in the winter season, but quieten in summer, and for proper clubs you have to go to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita's outdoor life is on the water and close at hand. There is surfing in the bay and at Punta de Mita, snorkelling, humpback whales from December to March and boat trips to the Marietas Islands, with jungle paths over the headlands behind the village.

Puebla's nature is mostly mountain scenery seen from a distance. The snowy peaks of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl fill the skyline and La Malinche makes a serious hike above 4,400m, but every outing needs a car, a tour or an early bus.

Puebla is the better base for excursions. Cholula's Great Pyramid and the decorated village churches of Tonantzintla and Acatepec are half an hour away. The Huejotzingo convent, Tlaxcala and the Cacaxtla murals are not much further, and Mexico City is possible in a long day.

From Sayulita the outings are all along the coast: Puerto Vallarta's malecón and old town, quiet villages such as San Pancho and Chacala, and a longer day to San Blas for its ruins and mangrove rivers.

Puebla has more to keep children busy, above all the drive-through Africam Safari, plus the observation wheel at Angelópolis and the tunnels inside Cholula's pyramid. Even so, most sights are churches and museums, and the altitude tires small legs.

Sayulita has no zoo or theme park, and its streets are hard going with a pushchair. Surf schools and the sheltered cove still make it a good fit for older children who want to spend the day in the water.

Both are easy on foot at the core and awkward beyond it, in different ways. Puebla's centre is a flat, logical grid, but there is no metro and the buses are confusing, so reaching Angelópolis or Cholula means a taxi or ride-hailing.

Sayulita can be crossed in ten minutes, but its cobbles, dirt lanes and missing pavements make walking rougher. Reaching the neighbouring beaches means a golf cart, a taxi or a slow coastal bus.

Puebla has the better shopping. Talavera pottery comes from workshops where you can watch it being painted, El Parián sells onyx and textiles, antiques stalls fill the Callejón de los Sapos at weekends, and the Angelópolis malls have the big brands.

Sayulita is a short browse of linen boutiques, swimwear and surf shops, though its Huichol beadwork and yarn paintings make the more unusual souvenir.

Puebla is much the cheaper of the two, and cheap even for Mexico. Market lunches and taxis cost very little, and hotels in restored colonial houses cost far less than similar rooms in the capital.

Sayulita is priced for North American visitors, and in winter, over Christmas and at Semana Santa, rooms book up early and cost more. Taco stands and the regional bus stay cheap, and a summer visit brings down the cost of a room.

Puebla at least has proper stages. The Teatro Principal is one of the oldest theatres in the Americas, the university's cultural complex puts on dance and orchestral evenings, and the 5 de Mayo festivities bring concerts and folk dance into the streets.

Sayulita has no venue of its own. In high season there are bar bands, buskers and the occasional mariachi, and for anything more formal you go to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita is the place to unwind. It has daily yoga in open-air shalas, week-long retreats, massage and temazcal, and a rhythm of surf in the morning and sunset on the sand. The hillsides and San Pancho are calmer than the crowded centre.

Puebla has temazcal sweat lodges around Cholula and the sulphurous pools at Agua Azul. Beyond that, relaxing there mostly means a long lunch in a shaded courtyard, and traffic outside the old town spoils some of the calm.