Alta, Utah or Monterey?

Neither is a swimming destination, but only Monterey has a shore at all. In Alta, a swim means a lodge pool or hot tub, and the Great Salt Lake is no place for one.

Monterey's beaches are lovely to walk, from Del Monte Beach to Carmel's white sand and the dunes at Asilomar. The cold bay and rip currents mean paddling, kayaking and sandcastles rather than long swims.

Eating in Alta is functional. Dinner is usually the lodge's set meal at a communal table and lunch comes from a slopeside cafeteria. For any variety you have to drive down to Salt Lake City.

In Monterey, food becomes part of the trip. Squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs come from the bay, produce from the Salinas Valley and Pinot Noir from Carmel Valley. Skip the chowder stands on the wharf and eat in Old Monterey's side streets, Pacific Grove or Carmel.

Alta began as a silver-mining camp and became one of the West's oldest ski areas. That history now shows only in old workings on the slopes, there is nothing to tour, and the museums are in Salt Lake City.

Monterey was once the capital of Spanish and Mexican California. It keeps a walkable cluster of adobes, including the Custom House and Colton Hall, along with the Royal Presidio Chapel, and the Carmel Mission is ten minutes south. It is small-scale history rather than a city of major museums, but it fills a couple of good days.

Neither town is made for late nights, but Monterey at least gives you an evening out. In Alta the night ends with an après-ski drink in a lodge bar, which is how its regulars like it.

Monterey has the pubs, wine bars and brewpubs of Alvarado Street, plus hotel bars and a few livelier places on Cannery Row at weekends. There are still no clubs, and for those the nearest bet is Santa Cruz.

Both are superb, and Alta has the edge if mountains are what you travel for. Its powder, often over 12m in a winter, its steep terrain and its backcountry bowls are world-class. In summer come the wildflowers of Albion Basin, the walk to Cecret Lake and climbs to Sugarloaf.

Monterey's nature is the coast and its wildlife. Whales feed over the submarine canyon and otters float in the kelp, there is diving in the kelp forest, and Point Lobos and the redwood canyons of Big Sur are a short drive away. It offers wonderful variety, but nothing as singular as Alta's snow.

Day trips from Alta depend on the canyon road. Salt Lake City's Temple Square and museums are under an hour down and Park City's mining-era Main Street about an hour away, with Ogden further north. An avalanche closure can cancel any of them.

Monterey's outings are more numerous and closer. Pacific Grove is next door, Carmel-by-the-Sea fifteen minutes away and the Carmel Valley wineries a short drive inland. Steinbeck's Salinas and the mission at San Juan Bautista are also close, and the Santa Cruz boardwalk is under an hour north.

Alta suits families in which everyone skis. There is a children's ski school and gentle terrain near the base, but little else, and the altitude, the cold and storm days spent indoors are hard on young children.

Monterey makes a far easier family trip. The aquarium comes first, followed by tide pools, sea lions at the wharf, whale-watching and Dennis the Menace Park, all in a small, safe town. Only the cold sea holds it back.

Both are easy to get around on the ground and awkward beyond it, for different reasons. In Alta the lodges sit at the lifts and a winter shuttle links them, but everything hangs on one canyon road. It jams on powder mornings and closes after storms.

In Monterey the waterfront, from the wharf past the aquarium to Pacific Grove, is a flat walk or bike ride. Point Lobos, Carmel Valley and Big Sur really need a car, and parking near Cannery Row is tight on summer weekends.

In Alta, shopping stops at ski rental, tuning and outdoor gear. Monterey's own streets offer souvenirs and saltwater taffy, but Carmel's galleries and independent boutiques and the antique shops of Pacific Grove make for a pleasant afternoon of browsing.

Both are costly, and the costs come from different places. Alta has few beds, nearly all in ski lodges with dinner included, so the way to save is to sleep in the Salt Lake valley and ride up each day.

Monterey's hotels are priced for Californian weekenders and its restaurants for resort guests. There are more ways to economise, though: motels on the highway or in Seaside and Marina, midweek or winter stays, and free pleasures like the coastal trail and the tide pools.

Up in Alta, the lodge lounge after dinner is as close as you will get to an evening's entertainment. The neighbouring resort puts on the odd event in summer, but any band, show or orchestra means the drive down the canyon to Salt Lake City, if the road and the weather allow it.

Monterey is no arts capital either, but it has real musical pedigree. Its fairgrounds have hosted one of the world's longest-running jazz festivals since 1958, and Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin made their names there at the 1967 Pop Festival. Summer adds Bach in Carmel's churches and plays in an open-air theatre among the pines, while the rest of the year is quieter, with the local symphony and touring acts at a restored downtown theatre.

Alta's relaxation is the tired calm after a ski day. It means outdoor hot tubs in the snow, saunas, small lodge spas and nights with nothing to keep you up.

Monterey offers more for a deliberately restful trip. You can watch the fog lift off the bay, walk slowly along the shore at Pacific Grove, and book a resort spa among the vineyards of sunnier Carmel Valley or at Pebble Beach. Neither place has thermal baths, and Monterey is calmest midweek or out of season.