Puerto Escondido or Tulum?

The coast is the reason to go to either, and the water is warm all year at both, but the two beaches work in different ways. Puerto Escondido's shoreline is a string of separate beaches. Zicatela is for watching surfers and walking at sunset rather than swimming, while the small coves of Carrizalillo, Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo have calm, clear water for swimming and snorkelling.

Tulum comes out slightly ahead as a beach destination: one long run of pale sand and turquoise water from the cliff-top ruins towards Sian Ka'an, with Akumal's turtle bay nearby. What you pay for that is sargassum seaweed in some warmer months and a ride out from the inland town to reach the sand.

Neither town is a dining destination, and both offer the narrow range of a small town. The difference is in the regional cooking. Puerto Escondido eats Oaxacan: fish grilled a la talla on the beach, tlayudas, moles and tamales at the market, plus the pizza and poke places of La Punta. Tulum cooks Yucatecan, with cochinita pibil, sopa de lima and fish with achiote, and its candlelit fire-cooking restaurants on the beach road often sell the setting more than the plate.

Tulum has the one sight that matters here: the walled Maya port on the cliff edge, with El Castillo standing above the sea. It takes a couple of hours, and beyond it the modern town has little else to see.

Puerto Escondido has no counterpart. The pedestrian street of El Adoquin, a small church and the lighthouse are pleasant, but the culture here is the fishing beach, the market and the festivals. For museums or architecture, you would have to go to Oaxaca city.

Tulum is the bigger draw after dark, famous for electronic music: DJ sets in jungle clearings, beach clubs that run into the night and large events around New Year, with a dressed-up crowd and prices to match.

Puerto Escondido is scruffier and cheaper. La Punta has open-air bars, reggaeton and late parties, and Zicatela has sunset mezcal bars. It is fun but has no real club culture, and it quietens noticeably in the rainy season.

Both are strong for the outdoors, but one faces the open ocean and the other looks underground. Puerto Escondido's nature is the Pacific: big surf, dolphin and turtle trips, passing humpbacks in winter, the bioluminescent Manialtepec lagoon and the mangroves and crocodiles of Chacahua.

Tulum's great feature is its cenotes, such as Gran Cenote and Dos Ojos, which are clear flooded caves for snorkelling and cave diving. Add the lagoons and reef of Sian Ka'an and the flat roads that are easy to cycle. Neither offers real hiking.

Tulum is far better placed. Coba's forest pyramid is under an hour away, and Chichen Itza with Valladolid or Ek Balam makes a full day out. Playa del Carmen and the ferry to Cozumel are up the coast, and Bacalar is just within reach.

From Puerto Escondido the options are mostly beach villages: Mazunte, San Agustinillo and Zipolite to the east, Huatulco's bays further on and Chacahua to the west. Oaxaca city and the mezcal valleys need an overnight stay.

Tulum works better with children, mainly because of the water: turtles in the shallows at Akumal, cenotes with wooden steps and the purpose-built eco-parks of Xel-Ha and Xcaret. The town itself leans towards couples and parties, so a rental with a pool and a hire car helps.

Puerto Escondido suits families who want simple beach days in the sheltered coves, with turtle releases and gentle surf lessons for older children. Zicatela is off limits for swimming, and there is nothing built for young visitors.

Puerto Escondido is the easier of the two without a car. Its pockets of town are hilly and hot to walk between, but taxis are plentiful and quick to flag down, and colectivos run along the main roads.

Tulum is flat, so cycling between the town, the ruins and the beach is the norm. Beyond that, taxis are costly, public transport is sparse and the train station sits outside town, so most visitors who want to see cenotes and ruins hire a car or book tours.

Neither is a shopping trip, but Tulum gives you more to browse. Its beach-road boutiques sell linen, woven bags and natural-dyed homewares to a well-off crowd, and the main avenue has silver jewellery and embroidered huipiles at better prices.

Puerto Escondido keeps to beach-town basics: craft stalls, alebrijes and hammocks on El Adoquin, surf shops in Zicatela, and mezcal as the best thing to take home.

Puerto Escondido is much the cheaper stay. Street tacos, market meals, taxis and simple guesthouses cost little, and only the design hotels and international restaurants of Zicatela and La Punta push prices up.

Tulum is among the most expensive places in Mexico. Beach-road hotels, beach clubs, taxis and the separate entry to each cenote all add up. A budget trip there means staying in town and cycling to the sea.

There is little to attend in either, and neither has a theatre or a concert hall. What differs is the flavour. Puerto Escondido has the occasional son jarocho or jazz night in its bars, plus traditional dances at the November festival. In Tulum, live music mostly means acoustic sets on the main avenue and sax players over the DJ nights, while ceremonial dance appears in staged form at the eco-parks.

Tulum is built around wellness, with yoga shalas, retreat hotels, open-air spas, sound baths and breathwork along the beach road and in the jungle behind it. The Maya temazcal is widely offered, though the tone can feel commercial and party nights can intrude.

Puerto Escondido is slower and less organised. There are open-air yoga studios in Zicatela and the hills, more in nearby Mazunte, temazcal sessions and cheap beach massages, but no large spas. As in Tulum, light sleepers should stay away from the party end of town, here La Punta.