Sayulita or Zihuatanejo?

Both are true beach towns, and Zihuatanejo has a slight edge for swimming. The difference is mostly about the water. Sayulita's main bay has rolling waves made for surf lessons, gets crowded, and can carry runoff from the river after rain, so swimmers tend to walk to Playa de los Muertos or Carricitos.

Zihuatanejo's deep, sheltered bay keeps La Ropa calm and Las Gatas flat behind its stone reef, which suits people who want to float and snorkel rather than catch waves. Its open-ocean beaches at Ixtapa, such as El Palmar, need the same caution as any surf beach.

Zihuatanejo eats a little better and has more local identity. Tiritas, fish grilled a la talla on the sand and the Thursday pozole tradition of Guerrero give its cooking a regional character, and the municipal market adds cheap breakfasts and juices.

Sayulita's best meals are just as simple, with fish tacos, aguachile and al pastor from the plaza stands. Above that, though, it leans towards cafés, smoothie bowls and international menus for the surf crowd. For a serious dinner, people there drive to Puerto Vallarta.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Zihuatanejo has a little more to offer. Its waterfront archaeological museum explains the pre-Hispanic peoples of the Costa Grande, and the working fishing pier and whitewashed grid give the centre some substance. Sayulita's cultural interest is mostly the Wixárika beadwork and yarn paintings in its galleries, plus the hillside cemetery and the colourful plaza.

Both are low-key after dark, and they differ in where the action is. In Sayulita it is in the village: in high season a few blocks around the plaza fill with mezcal bars and DJ sets for a young surf and backpacker crowd, which you can walk to from your bed.

In Zihuatanejo evenings in town mean sunset drinks, a long dinner and small bars with a local or long-stay crowd. The louder beach bars and the few clubs are up the coast in Ixtapa and busiest on Mexican long weekends.

Sayulita has the richer outdoor life. Its jungle-covered hills run down to the sea, with footpaths across the headlands and mountain biking behind town. On the water you have surf breaks for every level, plus boat trips to the protected Marietas Islands and to the humpbacks calving in the Bay of Banderas.

Zihuatanejo is the stronger choice underwater and for wildlife on land. It has snorkelling and diving at Las Gatas and Isla Ixtapa, birdlife in the Barra de Potosí lagoon, crocodiles in the mangroves and nesting turtles. Its drier hills offer little hiking, though.

Sayulita is far better placed for days out. Puerto Vallarta is about an hour away for its malecón, old town and galleries. San Pancho, Bucerías and Punta de Mita are close by, and San Blas, with its colonial ruins and mangrove river trips, makes a long but worthwhile day.

From Zihuatanejo the outings are short and small: a beach day at Troncones, lunch at Barra de Potosí, or the ball court at Xihuacan. No larger city is within easy reach.

Zihuatanejo works better for families, and more so with small children. The calm water at La Ropa and Las Gatas is safe for paddling, the town is easy to handle, and Ixtapa's resorts provide pools and kids' clubs, with crocodile spotting and turtle releases as outings.

Sayulita suits families with older children who want surf lessons more than toddlers. Playa de los Muertos is a gentle cove, but the dusty, pavement-free streets and golf-cart traffic make pushchairs a struggle.

Getting around is much the same in both, with small walkable centres and steep, pavement-free roads beyond them. Sayulita is a single tiny village where everything is on foot, but you need a hired golf cart, a taxi or a car to reach the nearby coves, and the slow bus to the airport takes about an hour. Zihuatanejo spreads around its bay, so you rely on plentiful taxis and colectivos to reach La Ropa and Ixtapa, and on water taxis to get to Las Gatas.

Sayulita is the better place to browse. Its boutiques of linen, embroidered dresses and handmade jewellery, plus surf shops and Huichol galleries, give the village a recognisable style. Zihuatanejo's artisans' market is more of a souvenir stop, though it has good regional pieces such as Taxco silver and Olinalá lacquerware.

Zihuatanejo is clearly the cheaper stay. Guesthouses and small hotels in town are good value, and market meals, taquerías, buses and taxis cost little. Only the hillside boutique hotels and the Ixtapa resorts push prices up.

Sayulita is priced for a North American market, with villas, visitor restaurants, surf lessons and yoga classes all adding up. It also books up early over Christmas, New Year and Semana Santa. Coming in the summer low season and eating at the taco stands helps a lot.

Neither has a theatre or a concert season, so live music in both means bands, trova or mariachi in bars and restaurants on high-season evenings. Zihuatanejo has a long-running international guitar festival that brings concerts to the beach once a year. In Sayulita, anything formal means a trip to Puerto Vallarta.

Sayulita is the place to come for structured wellness. Open-air shalas run daily yoga, villas host week-long retreats, and temazcal, massage and sound healing are easy to find. The catch is a crowded, noisy centre in high season, which sends people looking for quiet out to the hillsides or San Pancho.

Zihuatanejo restores you more through its slow pace than through any programme. You swim, read in the shade and have no sights to rush between, with spas mostly limited to the hillside boutique hotels and the Ixtapa resorts.