Puerto Vallarta or Playa del Carmen?

Both are true beach towns, and the difference is mostly in the look of the beaches. Playa del Carmen has the Caribbean picture, with white sand along the whole town and turquoise water kept gentle by the reef. The best stretches, Xpu-Ha and the Akumal bays, are a colectivo ride away. The town beaches are narrow near the centre, and sargassum can foul the water in some summers.

Puerto Vallarta's sand is golden and coarser, but the setting is more dramatic. South of town, jungle hills drop into small coves such as Mismaloya and Las Animas, reached by water taxi. Nuevo Vallarta has long, flat sand for easy swimming, and surfers find proper waves at Punta de Mita and Sayulita, which the reef-sheltered Caribbean side does not offer.

Puerto Vallarta is the better place to eat. Its strength is Pacific seafood: fish grilled zarandeado over wood on the sand, sharp aguachile, and marlin and birria tacos from evening carts in the Zona Romántica. There is also a layer of chef-run restaurants in the hills, and raicilla, the local mountain spirit, to try.

In Playa del Carmen the good eating is a few blocks inland from Quinta Avenida. There you find al pastor and cochinita pibil at taco stands and simple ceviche counters. The Italian and Argentine community keeps pizza and coffee reliable, but fine dining is thin.

Neither town is a sightseeing destination, but Puerto Vallarta gives you more to look at. Its red-tiled old streets climb the hill to the crowned tower of the Guadalupe church, and the Malecón's bronze sculptures and the small museums on the Cuale river island fill an afternoon.

Playa del Carmen grew up as a resort and has the small Xaman Ha ruins in Playacar, a seafront chapel and some galleries, which take about an hour. Its Maya heritage lies outside town.

Both towns stay out late, but the scenes are different. Playa del Carmen's nightlife is packed into Calle 12, a short strip of clubs playing reggaeton and EDM to a young international crowd, with beach-club day parties and the touts that come with them. Quieter mezcal and cocktail bars are further north.

Puerto Vallarta's clubs face the sea along the Malecón and fill with Mexican visitors in winter, at Christmas and New Year and over Semana Santa. The Zona Romántica adds rooftop and mezcal bars and one of Latin America's best-established gay scenes. Nights here thin out in the summer rains.

These two are about level, but the landscapes are opposites. Around Playa del Carmen the land is flat, and the best of it is underwater. Snorkellers and divers come for the cenotes along the Ruta de los Cenotes, the reef off Cozumel, the turtles at Akumal and the mangroves of Sian Ka'an, but there is no hiking.

Puerto Vallarta has the Sierra Madre rising behind the bay, so you can walk the coastal trails towards Yelapa or ride the jungle on a mountain bike. From December to March humpback whales calve offshore, and boats run to the arches of Los Arcos and the Marietas Islands.

Playa del Carmen is clearly the better base for day trips, because it sits in the middle of the Riviera Maya. Tulum's clifftop ruins are under an hour away, Coba and Cozumel are easy, and longer days reach Chichen Itza, Ek Balam and colonial Valladolid.

From Puerto Vallarta the outings are gentler: the surf villages of Sayulita and San Pancho, Yelapa by boat, and the old silver-mining town of San Sebastián del Oeste up in the pines. Guadalajara is too far to see in a day.

Playa del Carmen is the stronger family choice, mainly because of Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Xplor, eco-parks built around children with underground rivers, lagoons and zip lines. Add calm reef-sheltered water, shallow cenotes and the turtles at Akumal, and a week fills itself.

Puerto Vallarta works well if the beach is the plan. Nuevo Vallarta has family resorts on gentle sand, and there are whale trips in winter. But the steep cobbled streets are hard with a pushchair, and there are fewer big all-day outings.

Playa del Carmen is easier to get around. The centre is small and flat, and colectivo vans run along Highway 307 to beaches and cenotes. Buses, the Cozumel ferry and a Tren Maya station cover longer trips. Taxis are unmetered, so agree the fare before you get in.

In Puerto Vallarta the centre is walkable but steep, with narrow, uneven pavements. Beyond it the town spreads a long way along the bay. Local buses are hard to read, so most visitors use taxis or ride-hailing, and water taxis serve the south shore.

Both towns offer crafts and souvenirs rather than serious shopping, and neither has a luxury district. Playa del Carmen's shopping is one long pedestrian street, Quinta Avenida, mostly beachwear, silver and souvenirs, with a few linen boutiques further north and a mall by the pier.

Puerto Vallarta is closer to the source of Huichol yarn paintings and beadwork, from the nearby Sierra Madre. It also has the galleries of the old centre and a proper Mercado Municipal by the Cuale river, which Playa lacks.

Puerto Vallarta is the cheaper of the two. Its resorts and boat tours are priced for foreigners, especially in winter, but street food, local buses and old-centre guesthouses stay inexpensive.

Playa del Carmen is built more fully for international visitors. Its resorts, beach clubs, eco-parks and dive trips cost close to what they would in Western Europe or the United States. Staying back from the beach and eating inland brings the cost down a long way.

Puerto Vallarta has more live entertainment. In winter the Zona Romántica has a long-running cabaret scene with drag, comedy and revues. Mariachis play in the plazas, and the Papantla flyers perform their pole descent on the Malecón.

Playa del Carmen has bar bands, fire dancers on the beach and the big evening show at Xcaret, which tells Mexican history through music and dance. Neither town has opera or classical concerts.

The two are evenly matched, and both offer resort spas, beach massages and the Maya temazcal sweat-lodge ceremony. In Playa del Carmen, rest means a Playacar resort or the yoga studios on the quieter streets north of the centre, away from Calle 12.

Puerto Vallarta's quieter option is more remote. There are retreat centres in the roadless villages of the south shore, reached by boat, and the evenings are built around sunset over the bay.