Adelaide or Darwin?

This is where the two differ most on the ground. Adelaide has a long chain of sheltered, sandy beaches on Gulf St Vincent where swimming is the whole point. The tram runs to Glenelg, and Brighton and Semaphore are quieter, each with a jetty and cafés. The Fleurieu coast, with Port Noarlunga's reef, is within an hour.

Darwin has warmer water and fine sand at Mindil and Casuarina, but box jellyfish and saltwater crocodiles mean nobody swims in the sea. There you swim in the netted Waterfront lagoon, the wave pool and the pools at Litchfield, and you use the beaches for sunsets and picnics.

Adelaide is the stronger place to eat. The Central Market and Chinatown next to it, King George whiting, Spencer Gulf prawns, Hills cheeses and a wine list drawn from vineyards an hour away give it real depth. Gouger Street and the inner suburbs cover everything from Vietnamese to modern Australian tasting menus.

Darwin's best eating is outdoors and Asian-leaning: laksa at Parap on a Saturday and the Mindil sunset stalls in the dry season. Barramundi and mud crab are good, but there is little fine dining, and a week exhausts it.

Neither city is a great museum destination, but Adelaide offers more. North Terrace gathers the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum's Aboriginal collection and the State Library's Mortlock Wing on one boulevard. The 1830s grid holds sandstone churches and colonial landmarks such as Ayers House.

Darwin's sights are fewer but tell a story you won't find down south. Its museum at Fannie Bay has the Cyclone Tracy gallery, and the 1942 bombing is traced through the oil storage tunnels and East Point's gun emplacements. Little old architecture survived, so an afternoon covers the heritage centre.

Both cities go out early and modestly, so the difference is in mood. Adelaide's evenings are spent in small laneway wine bars around Peel and Leigh Streets and in pubs on Rundle Street, with Hindley Street for a louder late crowd. Festival weeks in late summer liven the city up considerably.

Darwin squeezes most of its night out into Mitchell Street, a loud strip of open-air pubs and backpacker bars that can stay noisy past midnight in the dry season. Beyond that, there are a few waterfront bars for a sunset drink.

Darwin pulls ahead here, because the landscape is the reason to come. Litchfield's waterfalls, magnetic termite mounds and forest pools lie about an hour and a half away. River cruises bring you close to big saltwater crocodiles, and Kakadu is within reach on an overnight trip, though all of it is best in the dry season.

Adelaide's nature is gentler and closer: eucalypt walks up Mount Lofty, Morialta's gorge, koalas in the Hills and dolphins by kayak in the Port River. It is easier to enjoy, but less memorable.

Adelaide wins easily. The Barossa's Lutheran villages, McLaren Vale's vineyards running down towards the sea, the Clare Valley's stone towns and Hahndorf's Prussian cottages are all within a short drive. Victor Harbor adds a seaside outing with its horse-drawn tram to Granite Island.

From Darwin, outings are almost all into parks and wetlands rather than towns. The Tiwi Islands' art centres and the war cemetery at Adelaide River are the main cultural stops, and Katherine Gorge is a long day.

Adelaide is the easier city with children. It is flat, compact and calm, with shallow beaches reached by tram and adventure playgrounds along the river. Cleland's kangaroos and koalas, the zoo and Monarto's open-range animals are all close by.

Darwin has the more thrilling animal moments: jumping-crocodile cruises, giant saltwater crocodiles seen up close in the centre and fish feeding at Doctors Gully. But the heat wears out small children, the sea is off limits, and most outings need a car.

In both cities the wine country or the national parks need a car, but Adelaide is easier in town. Its flat grid is easy on foot or by bike, the city loop and central tram are free, and the tram goes all the way to Glenelg.

Darwin's centre is just as compact, but the midday heat makes even short walks tiring. Buses to Mindil and East Point are infrequent, and there is nothing public to Litchfield or the wetlands, so a hire car or a tour is part of every plan.

Adelaide gives a shopper more ground to cover, while Darwin's shopping comes down to one thing done well. Rundle Mall's department stores and old arcades, the boutiques of King William Road and Burnside, and local finds such as cellar-door wine, opal and long-established Adelaide chocolates make for a pleasant afternoon or two, even if luxury labels are scarce.

Darwin is the place for Aboriginal art straight from Arnhem Land, the Tiwi Islands and the desert, and buying through galleries tied to community art centres means the artists benefit. Beyond that you have the Smith Street Mall and craft stalls at Mindil and Parap.

Adelaide is the cheaper of the two, although Australia is a costly country and neither makes a budget trip. A room usually costs less here than in Darwin, and Darwin's busy dry season falls in Adelaide's quiet winter, when beds are easy to find. Everyday meals around the Central Market and Chinatown are kind to the wallet. The wine country is close enough that one hire car or a single day tour gets you to the Barossa or McLaren Vale and back by evening.

Darwin's costs grow once you leave town. Litchfield, the river cruises and the wetlands are far enough out that a hire car or a run of guided tours is a fixed part of the budget rather than an optional extra, and a drink costs more than in Adelaide's wine bars. You can save at the free museum at Fannie Bay and the outdoor war sites, by eating laksa and market stalls instead of restaurant meals, and by coming in the wet season, when rooms are cheaper if you can put up with the storms.

Adelaide is the stronger stage city, especially in late summer. The Fringe fills parklands and pubs with comedy and cabaret, the Adelaide Festival brings international theatre and opera, and WOMADelaide is held in Botanic Park. The rest of the year, the Festival Centre and the symphony orchestra keep a regular programme going.

Darwin has one big moment, the Darwin Festival each August, with outdoor stages and Aboriginal performance. Otherwise there are touring shows at the Entertainment Centre, local theatre at Brown's Mart and cover bands on Mitchell Street.

Adelaide's calm comes from its pace rather than from any spa culture, and over a week that does more for rest than anything Darwin offers. Short distances, light traffic, garden walks through the parklands and day spas or vineyard retreats in the Hills make slowing down easy.

Darwin's best moment of rest is natural: a soak in the spring-fed pools at Berry Springs, shaded by monsoon forest and best in the dry season. In town there are only a few hotel spas and massage studios, and from October to April the heat and humidity tire you out more than they restore you.