Abu Dhabi or Jeddah?

For a straightforward beach vacation, Abu Dhabi is better. The Corniche beach is right by downtown and has lifeguards, Saadiyat Island has a wide natural beach backed by dunes where turtles nest, and the resort beaches on Yas add more. Swimming is easy and safe in shallow, calm water.

Jeddah's sea is the better one, warmer in winter and full of coral, but getting into it takes more effort. The corniche is for walking and picnics, and most swimming happens at paid beach clubs and resorts in Obhur, with jetties out over the reef.

On food the two are broadly level, but they eat differently. Abu Dhabi is split between polished hotel dining, with Friday brunch as a social ritual, and the cheap Keralan, Pakistani, Lebanese and Iranian kitchens downtown. Emirati dishes take some hunting, and alcohol is served in licensed venues.

Jeddah has a stronger local cuisine of its own. Hejazi mandi, saleeg and mutabbaq sit alongside Yemeni and East African dishes, you can pick your fish at the market and have it grilled, and Al-Balad is the place for street snacks. There is no alcohol anywhere.

Abu Dhabi has the bigger individual sights. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre under its light-scattering dome and the halls of Qasr Al Watan are each worth a half-day, though the old city amounts to little more than Qasr Al Hosn.

Jeddah has the opposite strength: a real historic quarter. Al-Balad's lanes of coral-stone houses with carved wooden balconies are best walked in the late afternoon, but beyond them the museums are small, and two or three days cover everything.

Abu Dhabi at least has a nightlife, even if it stays inside licensed hotels: rooftop and beach bars, pubs and a few clubs, with the liveliest clusters on Yas and Al Maryah. Jeddah has no bars or clubs at all. A night out there means a speciality café, a dessert shop or shisha past midnight, and families strolling the corniche, which is pleasant but not a party.

Jeddah wins on nature, and almost all of it is in the water. Coral reefs line the coast to the north and south, and kitesurfing and sailing centre on the creek at Obhur. Inland, the mountain roads to Taif climb to cooler air and terraced slopes.

Abu Dhabi's landscape is flatter and quieter. Its best outing is kayaking or walking the boardwalks through the mangroves at Jubail, with dune drives and Jebel Hafeet near Al Ain as the other options.

Abu Dhabi offers more choice, and its three outings feel quite different from one another. Dubai is the big-city day, all towers and creekside trading streets. Al Ain is the green and quiet one, with date groves and old forts on the Omani border. Sharjah is for a slower day in museums and restored quarters. Dubai and Al Ain are each about an hour and a half by road and Sharjah is a little further, so three free days can be filled without repeating yourself.

From Jeddah, what you can do depends on your faith. A Muslim visitor has Mecca within an hour and many use the city as their base for umrah. A non-Muslim really has one easy outing, the two-hour climb to Taif for its rose farms, old palaces and cooler mountain air. Medina is possible by fast train but takes most of the day, and beyond those two the land around the city is mostly desert.

Abu Dhabi is one of the easiest places in the region to bring children. Yas Island packs a Ferrari-themed park, a Warner Bros world, a water park and a marine park into a small area, and many resorts are designed around young guests.

Jeddah is warm towards children, who are welcome late into the evening, and the corniche playgrounds, the aquarium and the mall play centres keep them busy. It has nothing on Yas Island's scale, though, and pavements away from the seafront are patchy.

Neither city is walkable, there is no metro in either, and in both you will be taking taxis or ride-hailing everywhere. Abu Dhabi is slightly easier, because its handful of major sights are linked by fast highways and the Corniche is pleasant to walk in the cool months.

Jeddah stretches for many kilometres along the coast and has heavy rush-hour traffic. Its one compact area to explore on foot is Al-Balad. The high-speed trains serve only Mecca and Medina.

Jeddah is the more rewarding place to shop. Al-Balad's souks sell gold by weight and perfume blended to order, and bargaining is expected. The northern districts add huge malls and fashionable abayas.

Abu Dhabi is mostly malls, with the luxury brands gathered on Al Maryah Island. Its souks at Qaryat al Beri, the Central Market and the Iranian souk by the port are pleasant for dates and oud, but they have less of the old trading atmosphere.

Jeddah is easier on the wallet. Local meals are cheap, and fares stay low because fuel is cheap. The main extra costs are entry to the Obhur beach clubs and dining in the smart northern districts.

Abu Dhabi's international hotels can be good value outside the winter peak, but drinks, brunches, theme park tickets and some museum entry fees make a family vacation there noticeably more expensive.

Neither city has an opera house or a regular season, but Abu Dhabi offers more. Its long-running spring festival brings orchestras and dance companies, the Yas arenas host big touring acts, and there are winter concerts at the Cultural Foundation. In Jeddah you need to check event programmes before you travel, though heritage nights in Al-Balad sometimes bring Hejazi oud music and the mizmar stick dance.

Abu Dhabi is the better place for a slow few days. Its palace-style hotels and the quiet Saadiyat beach resorts have large spas with hammam rooms and long pool days. Jeddah's spas, usually separated by gender, are also mostly inside hotels, and the city's traffic and heat are tiring, so the restful option there is a seafront resort in Obhur.