Tulum or Playa del Carmen?

The sand is as good in one town as the other, but the setting differs. In Playa del Carmen the beach runs right along the town, so you can walk from your room to the water. It is crowded and narrow near the ferry pier, wider at Playacar and calmer around Punta Esmeralda, and Xpu-Ha and Akumal are a colectivo ride away.

Tulum's shore is longer and wilder, with palms and low dunes running south from the ruins towards Sian Ka'an. It sits a few kilometres from town, so the beach is a daily bike or taxi ride. Both coasts get sargassum in the warmer months.

Neither town is worth the trip for its food, and both reward walking away from the visitor strip towards the taco stands for al pastor and cochinita pibil. Playa del Carmen's long-settled Italian and Argentine community means reliable pizza, pasta and coffee, and the menus on Quinta Avenida are broad but uneven.

Tulum trades on atmosphere: candlelit, open-fire restaurants in the jungle along the beach road, plenty of mezcal, and Yucatecan dishes such as sopa de lima if you look for them. Its range is narrower, and many menus repeat the same ceviche and smoothie-bowl offering.

Tulum has the one sight that matters on this stretch of coast: the walled Maya city on the cliff, with El Castillo standing above the sea, seen in a couple of hours early in the day. Playa del Carmen offers far less, just the small Xaman Ha ruins among the Playacar villas and the white seafront chapel of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. In both towns the real Maya heritage means a day trip inland.

Playa del Carmen has the edge for going out on any night of the week. Its scene is concentrated on Calle 12 and Quinta Avenida, a short, loud strip of bars and clubs playing reggaeton and EDM to a young crowd, with quieter mezcal bars further north.

Tulum's nightlife comes in events rather than streets: DJ sets in jungle clearings, beach clubs running into the night and full-moon parties, peaking in winter and around New Year. It draws a dressed-up crowd and charges more, and between the big nights there is no bar district to wander.

The two share the same flat limestone jungle, the same cenotes and the same reef, and neither has hills for hiking. What changes is what lies closest. From Playa del Carmen the Ruta de los Cenotes is inland and Cozumel's well-known dive walls are a ferry ride away.

Tulum sits beside some of the world's best cavern snorkelling and cave diving at Gran Cenote and Dos Ojos, and the Sian Ka'an reserve, with its lagoons, mangroves and Maya channels, is just to the south.

Both make good bases for the Maya sites, but they point in different directions. Playa del Carmen sits mid-coast, with Tulum's ruins, Cozumel by ferry, and Cancun and Isla Mujeres to the north, much of it reachable by bus or colectivo.

Tulum is closer to Coba, Muyil and the south, and can reach the Bacalar lagoon in a long day. Chichen Itza and Valladolid are about two hours from either, but from Tulum almost every outing needs a car, a tour or the train.

Playa del Carmen is the easier town with children. Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Xplor are just outside town, the centre is compact and walkable, and the all-inclusive resorts of Playacar give families a quiet base away from Calle 12.

Tulum has the same warm sea, the turtles at Akumal and calm cenotes, and Xel-Ha is close. But its beach strip leans towards couples, retreats and parties, many hotels are adults-oriented, and with everything spread out, families really need a pool and a hire car.

Getting around is much simpler in Playa del Carmen. The small, flat centre and the beach are covered on foot, colectivos leave from the middle of town, and buses and the Cozumel ferry leave from close by.

Tulum is strung out along the highway, with the town, the beach and the southern hotel strip kilometres apart. Bicycles do much of the work, on roads that can be narrow and unlit at night, taxis are dear for the distance, and most visitors end up hiring a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but they sell different things. Playa del Carmen has quantity: kilometres of Quinta Avenida with silver, Talavera pottery and Huichol beadwork among the souvenirs, plus an open-air mall with international brands. Tulum has one curated look, linen, macramé and woven baskets in pricey boutiques along the beach road, with cheaper crafts and hammocks on the main avenue in town.

Both cost more than most of Mexico, but Tulum is the steeper of the two. Its beach-road boutique hotels, foreign-priced menus, costly taxis and separate fees for each cenote add up fast, and a cheaper stay means sleeping inland and riding to the sea every day.

Playa del Carmen gives more room to economise. Apartments a few blocks back are still a walk from free public beaches, the inland taco stands are close at hand, and colectivos replace taxis for most outings along the coast.

Neither has a theatre or concert season, so this matters little in choosing between them. Playa del Carmen offers slightly more: live salsa and mariachi in the bars on Quinta Avenida, fire dancers on the beach, and the Xcaret evening spectacle of Maya history and the ball game just outside town. Tulum's live music is mostly acoustic sets on the main avenue and sax and percussion over DJ nights.

Tulum is built around wellness in a way Playa del Carmen is not. Yoga shalas, retreat hotels and open-air spas fill the jungle and the beach road, with breathwork, sound baths and temazcal ceremonies every day, and the southern strip has a slow, hammock-and-sea pace, as long as you stay clear of the party venues.

Playa del Carmen covers the basics with resort spas, beach massages, yoga studios in the northern streets and its own temazcal sessions. For real quiet, though, you have to pick Playacar or the north end, away from the late music around Calle 12.