Puebla or Tulum?

This is the widest gap between the two cities. Puebla stands on a plateau more than 2,000m high, several hours from the Gulf coast, so swimming means a hotel pool or one of the spring-fed balnearios on the edge of the city.

Tulum's pale sand runs south from the cliff-top ruins towards Sian Ka'an, with turquoise water and a sheltered turtle bay at Akumal. The drawbacks are sargassum, which covers the sand heavily in some warm seasons, and the few kilometres between town and the shore.

Puebla is a reason to travel in itself. Mole poblano comes from its convent kitchens, chiles en nogada appear in late summer, and cemitas, chalupas and tacos árabes fill the streets. The Calle de los Dulces sells sweets, and markets and fondas serve cheap set lunches.

Tulum's range is narrower. The beach and jungle restaurants sell candlelight and open-fire cooking at visitor prices, often with more setting than flavour. For good Yucatecan dishes such as cochinita pibil and sopa de lima, head to the taco stands and fondas in town.

Puebla has real depth here. Its UNESCO-listed centre is full of brick and Talavera house fronts and dozens of churches. Highlights include the gilded Capilla del Rosario, the seventeenth-century Biblioteca Palafoxiana and the collections of the Museo Amparo.

Tulum has one strong sight: the walled Maya port above the sea, which takes a couple of hours. Beyond it is a modern town with no museums of note. Its heritage lies inland, at sites you reach on day trips.

Tulum has the bigger night scene, built around electronic music. There are DJ sets in jungle clearings, beach clubs that run on past sunset and large events in winter, though these are expensive and you need to plan how to get home safely.

Puebla is quieter and cheaper. It has mezcal bars, cantinas and rooftop terraces with cathedral views around the Callejón de los Sapos, and its students head to the bars and small clubs of Cholula at the end of the week.

Tulum offers more time in nature, though the land is flat. Gran Cenote and Dos Ojos are close by for cavern snorkelling and diving, there is reef offshore, and boats and gentle floats take you through the mangroves and channels of Sian Ka'an.

Puebla has the one thing Tulum lacks, which is height. Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl fill the skyline, and La Malinche is a long climb through pine forest to over 4,400m. Every outing needs transport, though, and summer afternoons bring storms.

Both cities make good bases, but Puebla's excursions are closer together and more varied. Cholula's Great Pyramid and the tiled village churches of Tonantzintla and Acatepec are half an hour away. Tlaxcala with the Cacaxtla murals and flower-growing Atlixco are within about an hour, and even Mexico City fits into a long day.

Tulum's trips centre on the Maya. Coba is under an hour inland and Muyil is just to the south, while Playa del Carmen and the ferry to Cozumel's reefs are about 45 minutes up the coast. The biggest draws are further off, though. Chichen Itza with Valladolid is about two hours away and Bacalar a little more, and most trips need a car, a tour or the Tren Maya.

Tulum suits children a little better, thanks to its water. There are calm cenote pools with wooden steps, turtles at Akumal and the eco-parks of Xel-Ha and Xcaret. Much of the town is aimed at couples and parties, though, so families do best with a pool and a hire car.

In Puebla, the highlights for children are Africam Safari, where animals wander around the cars, and the tunnels inside Cholula's pyramid. Most other sights are churches and museums meant for adults, and traffic and the altitude wear out small legs.

Neither city is easy beyond its centre, but Puebla is the simpler of the two. Its flat colonial grid puts almost every sight within twenty minutes' walk of the zócalo, and cheap taxis and ride-hailing cover the rest.

Tulum is strung out along a highway, with the town, the beach and the hotel strip kilometres apart. Bicycles work for the ruins and the sea. Cenotes further out mean colectivos, taxis that are expensive for the distance, a hire car or tours.

Puebla has the better shopping, and its centrepiece is Talavera pottery, sold by workshops where you can watch it being painted. Add the El Parián craft market, weekend antiques stalls on the Callejón de los Sapos and the Angelópolis malls for brands.

Tulum sells one look: linen, macramé and woven bags in small, pricey boutiques on the beach road. Hammocks, silver and embroidered huipiles are cheaper on the main avenue in town.

The cost gap between the two is wide, and it shows most in what the main attraction costs you. In Puebla the thing you came for is the old town itself, which is free to wander, and a comfortable bed can be right in the middle of it without stretching the budget. A day of tiled streets, gilded chapels and a cemita at lunch costs very little.

In Tulum it works the other way round. The sea, the jungle and the wellness scene are what you pay for, so every step closer to them raises the cost of a night. Yoga classes, temazcal sessions and DJ nights are all paid extras, and the spread-out layout adds a hire car, tours or taxis to most days. Sleeping in town and cycling to the shore narrows the gap but never closes it, so a week in Tulum can cost as much as a far longer stay in Puebla.

Neither city is worth the trip for performance, but Puebla at least has proper stages. The historic Teatro Principal and the university's cultural complex host plays, dance and orchestral evenings, and the 5 de Mayo festivities bring folk dance into the streets. In Tulum, live music means bar bands on the main avenue and drummers playing over DJ sets, and ceremonial dance appears only in staged form at the eco-parks up the coast.

Wellness is central to Tulum. The beach road and the jungle behind it are full of yoga shalas, retreat hotels, sound baths, massage and Maya temazcal ceremonies, and the southern strip moves at a slow, barefoot pace as long as you stay away from the clubs.

Puebla has a few temazcal sessions around Cholula and the sulphurous pools at Agua Azul. Beyond those, relaxing there mostly means a shaded courtyard and a long lunch.