Albuquerque or Newport Beach?

There is no real contest here. Albuquerque sits on a high desert plateau far from any coast, and the Rio Grande is not for swimming, so cooling off means a pool or a drive to Cochiti Lake.

Newport Beach has ten kilometres of sand along the Balboa Peninsula, surf by the piers, quieter coves at Corona del Mar and sheltered harbour beaches where small children can paddle. The Pacific stays cool, so expect wetsuits and boogie boards rather than long, lazy swims.

Albuquerque has the more distinctive food. New Mexican cooking means red or green chile on carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and stuffed sopaipillas, served in long-running family places in the valleys and along Route 66. The smell of chile roasting in late summer is part of the visit.

Newport eats well but has no cuisine of its own. Expect harbour seafood with boat views, brunch in Corona del Mar and fish tacos by the sand, all at higher prices. Its best detour is the Vietnamese food of Little Saigon, a short drive inland.

Albuquerque fills a couple of good days. There is the adobe plaza of Old Town around San Felipe de Neri, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the nuclear science museum and the carvings of Petroglyph National Monument. Newport offers an hour or two of seaside history at the Balboa Pavilion, plus Schindler's Lovell Beach House and the Sherman gardens, and leaves serious art to Costa Mesa next door.

Neither town is a reason to go out, and the difference is in tone. Albuquerque's evenings centre on brewery taprooms and patios on warm, dry nights. Downtown along Central Avenue has a strip of bars and a small handful of dance clubs that fill and get rowdy at weekends, while Nob Hill's cocktail bars are calmer, and midweek the city is quiet.

Newport is split between loud beach and dive bars near the piers, full of young locals in summer, and harbour wine bars and hotel lounges whose crowd is home before midnight. It has no real clubs, so anyone after a big night drives into Costa Mesa or up to Los Angeles.

Both are strong for the outdoors, but in very different ways. Albuquerque offers mountains and desert: the tramway to the Sandia crest above 3,000m, the steep La Luz Trail, the cottonwood bosque along the Rio Grande and the volcanic escarpments west of the river. Summer heat pushes the best walking into spring and autumn.

Newport offers the coast and the water. There are wading birds in the Upper Newport Bay estuary, bluff and canyon trails at Crystal Cove, kayaks and paddleboards in the harbour, and whale-watching boats all year. For pine forest and real height, it is an hour's drive inland.

Albuquerque has one outstanding day out in Santa Fe, which you can reach by commuter train as well as by car. Beyond that are remarkable but far-flung places such as Acoma's Sky City, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, Chimayo and the old mining villages on the Turquoise Trail.

Newport has more within easy reach. Laguna Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano are each within half an hour, a ferry crosses to Catalina, and Los Angeles and San Diego each make a full day. The catch is freeway traffic, which can double journey times.

Albuquerque does well for its size. It has the BioPark's zoo and aquarium, Explora and the dinosaur halls, the ride up the Sandia tramway and the dawn balloon launches of the October Fiesta. Long drives and strong summer sun at altitude make the days harder work, though.

Newport is the easier base with children. Shallow harbour water, the ferris wheel at the Balboa Fun Zone, the little car ferry, the tide pools and the bike paths fill the days. Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are only about half an hour away.

Both towns are built for the car, and most visitors rent one. Albuquerque at least has the Central Avenue bus linking Old Town, downtown and Nob Hill, plus the train to Santa Fe, and parking is easy. Newport's buses are of little use, but the flat Balboa Peninsula, its boardwalk and the short ferry to Balboa Island make one corner pleasant on foot or by bike, even if beach parking is scarce on summer weekends.

Albuquerque's shopping is specialised: silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving from Old Town and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, plus a short run of boutiques in Nob Hill. Newport is the stronger shopping trip, with designer names in the open-air centre above the harbour and one of the country's largest luxury malls ten minutes away in Costa Mesa, although crafts and independent design are thin.

Neither city is cheap, but Albuquerque is clearly easier on the wallet. Hotels are fairly priced for most of the year, New Mexican plates are generous, and Old Town and the foothills trails cost little or nothing. Balloon Fiesta week is the exception.

Newport is expensive even by Californian standards, with resort-priced hotels, restaurants that charge for the view and higher rates in summer. Staying inland in Costa Mesa or Irvine saves only a little, and in both places car hire and fuel add a large share.

Albuquerque has more character than its size suggests. There are touring musicals and the philharmonic at Popejoy Hall, the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre, a long flamenco tradition and weekend Pueblo dances. The open-air opera above Santa Fe is an evening drive away in summer.

Newport has little in town, but the Segerstrom Center ten minutes away gives it a slightly fuller programme. It hosts Broadway tours, ballet and the Pacific Symphony, and South Coast Repertory next door stages new American plays.

Albuquerque's restful side is its dry air, big skies and quiet evenings, with resort spas on Pueblo lands just outside town. The mineral pools at Jemez Springs and around Santa Fe mean a drive. Newport makes relaxing easier, with bluff walks, harbour sunsets, full spas at the hillside resorts and plenty of yoga and day spas around Corona del Mar, though neither has a bathing tradition of its own.