Amman or Sharm el-Sheikh?

There is no real contest here. Amman has no shoreline at all. Its nearest water is the Dead Sea down in the Jordan Valley, where you float and cover yourself in mud rather than swim, and proper Red Sea swimming means a separate trip south to Aqaba.

Sharm el-Sheikh lies further down that same Red Sea, with clear, calm water and reefs that begin at the edge of Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Ras Um Sid. The beaches are mostly hotel-owned and often small, and reef shoes help, but for snorkelling straight off the sand it is among the best anywhere.

Amman is the place to eat well. Downtown breakfasts of falafel, hummus and fuul, hot knafeh from the sweet shops, mansaf at a family-style table and the café terraces of Weibdeh and Jabal Amman all make meals part of the trip.

In Sharm el-Sheikh the hotel buffet sets the pattern, and Naama Bay's restaurants are built for tourists. The grilled fish, koshari and taameya of the Old Market are the honest exception, and a Bedouin dinner under the stars makes a pleasant evening, but few people come for the food.

Amman has real antiquity in the middle of town. The Temple of Hercules and the Umayyad Palace stand on the Citadel hill, the Roman Theatre is carved into the slope below, and the Jordan Museum holds Dead Sea Scrolls and the 'Ain Ghazal statues. A couple of days covers it, and beyond that the city is modern sprawl.

Sharm el-Sheikh is a resort built for the sea. Its sights stop at the Al Sahaba Mosque and the painted Heavenly Cathedral in the Old Market, and Egypt's ancient monuments are a long way off, so a culture-minded traveller will feel the gap within a day.

Neither is a party city, but Sharm el-Sheikh has the livelier nights. Naama Bay's promenade of bars, the DJ nights at beach bars and a few large clubs make for some evenings of dancing in the busy seasons, even if many guests never go further than the lobby bar.

Amman's evenings are about company: shisha and tea on Rainbow Street, a handful of rooftop bars in Jabal Amman and Weibdeh, and the hotel bars. Drinking stays discreet, and during Ramadan the nights are given over to iftar and suhoor instead.

Around Amman the outdoors is dry and modest. The steep descent to the Dead Sea is the most striking scenery, Wadi Mujib has wading hikes up a sandstone gorge in the warmer months, and Ajloun's oak and pine woods are green in spring. Jordan's best wild country, Dana and Wadi Rum, needs nights away.

Sharm el-Sheikh's nature is mostly underwater, and it is among the finest anywhere. The reefs of the Tiran Strait and Nabq are a short boat ride from town, while the sheer walls of Ras Mohammed, about 30km away, and the wreck of the Thistlegorm each make a full day at sea. On land, jeep trips and Bedouin camps lead into the red granite mountains of South Sinai.

Amman is one of the region's best bases for days out. The colonnaded Roman streets of Jerash are under an hour away. Madaba's mosaic map, Mount Nebo, the Baptism Site, Salt, Ajloun and the frescoed desert castles to the east can each fill a day.

From Sharm el-Sheikh the choice is Dahab, for a relaxed day on the Gulf of Aqaba, or the long trip to St Catherine's Monastery, often with a night climb of Mount Sinai. Coach trips to Cairo or Petra are sold, but they mean exhausting days.

Sharm el-Sheikh is built for the kind of resort week families want. The hotels have kids' clubs, family pools and water slides, the lagoons are calm for first snorkels, and glass-bottom boats suit children who would rather stay dry. Midsummer heat is hard on small children, and the choice of hotel matters more than the town.

Amman is fond of children and relaxed about late family dinners, but it has little made for them beyond the children's museum in King Hussein Park and the malls. Older children may enjoy the ruins and a float in the Dead Sea, while pushchairs struggle on the hills.

Neither city is easy without taxis, but Amman at least has a core you can walk. Downtown and the stone stairways up to Jabal Amman and Weibdeh can be explored on foot, slowly. Yellow taxis and ride-hailing apps cover the rest cheaply, as long as the traffic allows.

Sharm el-Sheikh is a 30km strip of resorts where only Naama Bay is pleasant to stroll. Shared minibuses run along the main road, but most people rely on hotel shuttles, taxis with fares agreed in advance and tour pick-ups, or simply stay in the resort.

Amman is the better place to shop. The downtown souks and the gold street are worth a wander. Around Rainbow Street, shops sell embroidered Palestinian textiles, Hebron glass and Dead Sea cosmetics, many from women's cooperatives, and Souk Jara adds stalls on summer Fridays.

Sharm el-Sheikh's Old Market and Naama Bay promenade stick to papyrus, perfume oils, alabaster and galabiyas, with hard haggling and persistent sales patter. It covers a few gifts and not much more.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the cheaper vacation for most people, mainly because its all-inclusive hotels undercut Mediterranean resorts and put meals and drinks on one bill. Once you step outside, taxis, Naama Bay restaurants, diving and excursions add up.

In Amman, street food, coffee and taxis cost little. Mid-range hotels and restaurants in the western districts cost close to what they would in Southern Europe, though, alcohol is expensive, and private drivers and the entry fees at the country's headline sites push up the cost of touring.

Amman has more to offer, though not much. The Royal Cultural Centre puts on occasional concerts and Arabic theatre, small stages in Weibdeh and downtown host oud recitals and Arab indie bands, and each summer the Jerash Festival fills the Roman theatres there.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, performance means hotel shows, with belly dancing and tanoura dancers at dinner spectacles. There is no concert hall and no local scene to look for.

The two are close here but offer different kinds of rest. Amman's wellness means a trip down the hill to the Dead Sea spas, with floating, mineral mud and pools, and to the Ma'in hot springs falling through a desert canyon. There are also a few hammams in town, but the city itself, with its traffic and car horns, is not restful.

In Sharm el-Sheikh the calm comes from the stay itself. Resort spas offer steam rooms and hammam-style scrubs, and the days pass between pool and sea in warm winter sun with nothing to hurry for.