Tulum or Ubud?

Tulum is by far the better beach destination. A long sweep of pale sand runs from the cliff-top ruins south towards Sian Ka'an, and the Caribbean is warm enough to swim in every month. The two things to plan around are sargassum, which arrives in some warmer seasons, and the few kilometres between the town and the shore.

Ubud has no coast at all. The nearest easy swim is at Sanur, the best part of an hour away by car, and the closer black-sand beaches of Gianyar are better for watching surfers. Most swimming happens in a villa pool above the rice fields, so anyone who wants sand most days should split the stay.

Ubud has the better food. Its Balinese cooking has real depth, from babi guling at lunchtime counters to duck slow-cooked in spice paste and nasi campur in family warungs. Plant-based cafés and a few ambitious tasting menus add a range you would not expect in a town this size.

Tulum's strength is the setting: candlelit dinners cooked over fire in the jungle strip, with Caribbean fish and mezcal. The food often falls short of the surroundings and the menus tend to repeat each other. Some of the best meals come from the al pastor and cochinita pibil stands in the town centre, along with Yucatecan dishes such as sopa de lima.

Ubud is the clear choice for culture. Ritual is part of everyday life, with offerings on doorsteps and processions on feast days. The town also has the old royal palace, the lotus-pond temple of Saraswati and three serious collections of Balinese painting at Puri Lukisan, Neka and ARMA, and the eleventh-century Elephant Cave sits on its edge.

Tulum has one sight of real weight: the walled Maya port on the cliff, with El Castillo above the sea, which takes a morning to see. The town itself is a modern strip along the highway with no museums, so anyone curious about the Maya ends up heading inland.

Tulum is the place for going out. Its electronic music nights draw a dressed-up international crowd, with DJ sets in jungle clearings, beach clubs that run into the night and full-moon parties. The busiest time is winter and around New Year. Away from those big events, the town's mezcal bars are a modest scene.

Ubud keeps early hours. A night out means dinner in a garden, perhaps a band in one of the few music bars, and quiet streets well before midnight. Anyone who wants clubs faces the long drive to Seminyak or Canggu.

Both have fine natural surroundings, but they could hardly be more different. Tulum is flat, and its best nature is in the water: cenotes and flooded caves for cavern snorkelling and cave diving, the lagoons and mangroves of Sian Ka'an and the reef off Akumal. There is nothing to climb, and the midday heat cuts outings short.

Ubud is all hills and valleys. There are rice terraces along the Campuhan Ridge and at Tegallalang, rafting in the Ayung gorge, jungle waterfalls and a pre-dawn climb of Mount Batur for sunrise over the crater lake. Walkers will prefer Ubud, while swimmers and divers will prefer Tulum.

From both places, most day trips lead to sacred sites. From Tulum they are Maya cities: Coba and its forest pyramid less than an hour away, and Chichen Itza about two hours off, combined with colonial Valladolid. Playa del Carmen and the ferry to Cozumel are along the coast.

From Ubud the trips go to Balinese temples that are still in use. Pilgrims bathe at Tirta Empul, Besakih stands on the slopes of Mount Agung, and Tanah Lot and the lake temple at Bratan lie to the west, as do the Jatiluwih terraces. Nearly every outing needs a hired driver on slow roads. Tulum's longer trips are easier to manage with a car, a tour or the Tren Maya.

Tulum works better with children, mainly because of the water. There is warm sea, turtles in the shallows at Akumal, cenotes with wooden steps down into calm pools, and the large eco-parks of Xel-Ha and Xcaret up the coast. Heat, mosquitoes and a beach strip aimed at couples and parties still need planning, and a pool and a hire car make things easier.

Ubud gives children a warm welcome, with dance shows, gentle rafting and walks through the rice fields. Narrow pavements, scooter traffic and macaques that grab bags make it hard going with toddlers, so it suits families with older children who like the outdoors.

Neither place is easy without your own transport, but Tulum is the simpler of the two. The land is flat, so you can cycle between the town, the ruins and the beach, and colectivo vans run along the highway to the cenotes and Playa del Carmen.

Ubud has no public transport worth relying on. Pavements are broken, scooter traffic is heavy and the roads climb steeply in and out of the river valleys. Days are planned around a hired driver or ride-hailing, and staying near the centre is the only way to walk to dinner.

Ubud gives shoppers much more to do. Haggling is expected at the Art Market opposite the palace. Each craft village on the road in has its own trade: woodcarving at Mas, silver and gold at Celuk and painting at Batuan, with furniture workshops along the road to Tegallalang.

Tulum's shopping is narrower and more expensive, mostly linen, macramé and woven bags in the boutiques along the beach road. Huipiles, hammocks and silver cost less on the town's main avenue. Neither place has department stores or luxury streets.

Ubud costs far less. Homestays with breakfast, meals at warungs, massages and a driver for the day are all cheap. The luxury resorts above the river valleys and imported drinks can still push a bill up quickly.

Tulum is one of the most expensive places to stay in Mexico. Boutique hotels, beach clubs, taxis and party tickets are all priced high, and each cenote charges its own entry. A tighter budget there means a guesthouse in town, food from taco stands and a bicycle to the beach.

Ubud offers real performances, though of one kind only. Every night, village troupes dance Legong, Barong and Kecak to live gamelan in the palace courtyard, at the Saraswati lotus pond and in temple grounds. If you come across a temple festival, you can see the same dances in their original setting. The town has no theatre or concert hall.

Tulum has nothing comparable. Live performance there means bands in bars on the main avenue, a saxophone or drums playing alongside a DJ, and staged ceremonial dance at the eco-parks.

Both are serious wellness destinations, but Ubud goes deeper. Yoga runs from dawn in open pavilions and retreats can last for weeks. Massage, flower baths and traditional healers are part of ordinary Balinese life, the purification ritual at Tirta Empul is close by, and the rice fields keep the place quiet.

Tulum has yoga shalas, open-air spas and sound baths along the beach road, plus the Maya temazcal sweat lodge, and it has the sea, which Ubud lacks. Party nights and highway traffic can disturb the calm, so choose somewhere well away from the clubs.