Sayulita or Puerto Vallarta?

Both are first-rate beach towns on the same warm water, so the difference lies in the shape of the shore. Puerto Vallarta offers range. In town there are the loungers and grills of Los Muertos and the rock pools of Conchas Chinas. To the south, coves such as Yelapa are reached by water taxi, and to the north lie the wide, gentle sands of Nuevo Vallarta.

Sayulita is one curving bay of soft, rolling waves where many people take their first surf lesson. It gets crowded, but the calmer cove of Playa de los Muertos and the jungle path to Carricitos are a short walk away.

Puerto Vallarta eats better and more widely. Alongside pescado zarandeado grilled on the beach, aguachile and evening carts selling birria and marlin tacos, it has a real restaurant tier, from palapa seafood places to chef-run dining rooms with sea views. It also has raicilla to try.

Sayulita shares the coast's strengths in fish tacos, ceviche and whole grilled fish from beach shacks. Above that, though, it mostly offers smoothie bowls, pizza and international menus for the surf crowd, and for a serious dinner people drive to Puerto Vallarta.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Puerto Vallarta at least fills an afternoon. It has the crown-topped tower of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the bronze sculptures along the Malecón, the whitewashed hill streets, the little museum on the Cuale river island and the galleries of the old centre.

Sayulita has a small plaza, a modest church and the hillside cemetery above Playa de los Muertos. Its one real cultural thread is Huichol beadwork and yarn painting, which you find for sale in its galleries rather than in any museum.

Puerto Vallarta has a proper night out. Open-fronted dance clubs on the Malecón fill after midnight, the Zona Romántica has rooftop and mezcal bars, and the town has one of the best-established gay scenes in Latin America.

Sayulita's evenings start with sunset drinks on the beach and carry on in a few blocks of cocktail and mezcal bars around the plaza, with the odd DJ and a young surf and backpacker crowd. It is good fun in winter, but anyone wanting a club takes the hour's drive south.

Both towns share the same jungle hills meeting the Pacific, the winter humpback whales and the boat trips to the Marietas Islands, so the difference is in how you spend the day. Puerto Vallarta leans towards boat and trail: snorkelling at Los Arcos, the coastal path along the roadless south shore, a large botanical garden, river canyons and zip-lines.

Sayulita's outdoor life happens in the water. Surfing comes first, from beginner waves in its own bay to stronger reef breaks around Punta de Mita, with paddleboarding, sportfishing and headland footpaths to neighbouring coves.

Puerto Vallarta has the wider choice. Beach villages lie north along the coast, Sayulita among them, and boat-only Yelapa sits to the south. Inland, a winding drive climbs to the old silver-mining town of San Sebastián del Oeste, with its hacienda and coffee farms, which makes a real change of scene.

From Sayulita, the obvious outing is Puerto Vallarta itself, along with easy hops to fishing villages such as Chacala and a long day to San Blas for colonial ruins and mangrove boat trips. Most of it is more coastline.

Puerto Vallarta is the easier choice with children. The calm, flat sands and family resorts of Nuevo Vallarta, with shallow pools and kids' clubs, are backed up by a jungle zoo at Mismaloya, water parks, turtle releases and evening strolls on the Malecón.

Sayulita works best for older children who love the water, with surf schools on gentle waves and the sheltered cove at Playa de los Muertos. It has no attractions built for children, though, and its dusty lanes full of golf carts are hard work with a pushchair.

Neither is easy underfoot, but the problem is different in each. Puerto Vallarta has a walkable old centre and Zona Romántica joined by the Malecón, but the town then stretches a long way along the bay. Taxis or ride-hailing take over between districts, and water taxis serve the south shore.

Sayulita is tiny and you can cross it on foot in minutes. Its cobbles and dirt lanes have almost no pavements, though, and they jam with golf carts in season. Reaching other beaches usually means a taxi, a rented golf cart or a hire car.

In both towns the best buy is Huichol beadwork and yarn painting rather than fashion, but Puerto Vallarta offers more. It has galleries across the old centre, the Mercado Municipal and the river-island stalls for silver, textiles and hammocks, and malls by the marina for everyday needs.

Sayulita is good for an hour or two among small boutiques selling linen, embroidered dresses, swimwear and surf gear. It is pleasant browsing, but there is no market of any size.

Puerto Vallarta is the cheaper of the two. Its beachfront hotels and Malecón restaurants are priced for visitors, but it is a real town with guesthouses in the old centre, family restaurants inland and cheap local buses, so paying local prices is easy.

Sayulita's rooms and villas are priced for a North American market. The good ones book up early over Christmas, New Year and Semana Santa, and surf lessons and yoga classes add up. Taco stands, fondas and free beaches help, and the summer low season brings room costs down.

Neither has opera or serious theatre, but Puerto Vallarta has a lively informal scene. The Zona Romántica's long-running cabaret puts on drag, comedy and revues through the winter, bars have Latin jazz and live bands, and the Malecón has folkloric dance and the Papantla flyers. Sayulita has no stage at all, only high-season bands in bars, buskers by the plaza and the odd mariachi, so people drive south for a show.

Sayulita is the better place to slow down on purpose. Yoga is part of village life, with hillside shalas, daily classes, week-long retreats in villas, sound healing and temazcal, and the days fall into an easy rhythm of surf in the morning and yoga after.

In Puerto Vallarta, wellness mostly means resort and hotel spas and beachside massage, with the retreats tucked away in the south-shore villages. In both places the centre gets loud at night, so for real quiet stay on the hillsides or outside town.