Anaheim or Flagstaff?

Neither city is on the sand, but Anaheim has the coast close by. Huntington's long surf beach, Newport's harbour and the coves of Laguna Beach are about half an hour away by car. In late summer the Pacific is warm enough to swim without a wetsuit.

Flagstaff sits on a high plateau hours from any sea. Its nearest swimming is at Slide Rock and the creek pools of Oak Creek Canyon. Children enjoy them on hot days, but the water is cold, the rocks are slippery and the pools are crowded at weekends.

Anaheim has more to offer once you drive away from the resort chains. Little Arabia on Brookhurst Street has Lebanese, Palestinian and Yemeni grills and bakeries. Little Saigon, a few minutes west, is known for pho and banh mi, and the packing district has a food hall.

Flagstaff eats casually. Its strong point is the craft breweries downtown and on the Southside, along with diners, Mexican cooking and regional dishes such as Navajo tacos and green chile. It is good after a day on the trails, but there are no immigrant food districts like Orange County's to go looking for.

Flagstaff has the better short list of sights. Pluto was discovered at the Lowell Observatory, which still runs night viewings with its historic telescopes. The Museum of Northern Arizona holds serious Hopi, Navajo and Zuni collections, and the Riordan Mansion and the railroad-era Route 66 downtown add another afternoon.

In Anaheim, the main piece of cultural history is Disneyland itself, the only Disney park Walt Disney saw finished. Little remains of the German grape-growing town. For museums such as the Bowers or the Nixon Library you have to drive.

Both are quiet places at night, but in different ways. In Anaheim, evenings mostly mean bars along the resort promenade after the fireworks, a few brewpubs, and busier bars near the stadiums on game nights. A proper night out means driving to Long Beach or Los Angeles.

Flagstaff's evenings are easier to do on foot. Brewery taprooms, cocktail bars and old Route 66 saloons sit a few minutes apart downtown, and students liven up weekends in term time. Most places still close early.

This is Flagstaff's biggest advantage. The San Francisco Peaks rise above town, with alpine trails, aspen groves in autumn and a ski area. The lava flows of Sunset Crater lie just north, and Sedona's canyons and the Grand Canyon's South Rim make day outings. Dark skies over the pine forest complete the setting.

Anaheim's outdoors is gentler and needs a car. There are chaparral trails in the Santa Ana Mountains, tide pools at Crystal Cove, and whale-watching boats from Newport and Dana Point. It makes a good change from the parks, but nobody comes to Anaheim for it.

Anaheim's central position in Southern California gives it the stronger list. Hollywood, the Getty and Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles are about an hour away. Ferries cross to Catalina Island, Mission San Juan Capistrano lies to the south, and San Diego is about two hours down the coast. Traffic is the cost.

Flagstaff's outings are smaller and more rural. You can visit the hillside mining town of Jerome, the cliff dwellings at Montezuma Castle and the Sinagua ruins at Walnut Canyon, or take the historic train from Williams to the Grand Canyon. The Hopi mesas are about two hours east.

Anaheim is one of the easiest family destinations anywhere. The two Disney parks stand side by side with family hotels at their gates, and Knott's Berry Farm is ten minutes away. Discovery Cube and the Long Beach aquarium are there for days off from the rides, and rain rarely spoils a day.

Flagstaff works well for curious children rather than thrill-seekers, with dinosaurs at the museum, telescope evenings and winter sledding. Thin air tires small children at first, and the drives between outings are long.

Both towns are simple on foot in their centres and need a car for everything else. In Anaheim, that centre is the resort district, where hotels are walkable or linked by shuttle to the Disney gates. Trains run from the stadium transit centre to Los Angeles and San Diego, but the rest of Orange County is freeway country.

Flagstaff's walkable core is the historic downtown and Southside, with paved urban trails that make cycling easy. Everything beyond, from the peaks to the canyon, needs a car or a tour, and winter snow and ice can make the mountain roads hard going.

Anaheim has much more shopping, almost all of it in malls. There is Disney merchandise on the promenade, outlet centres for the mid-range, and the big luxury mall in Costa Mesa, home to most major fashion houses, about 20 minutes south.

Flagstaff is small-scale, with outdoor gear, bookshops and Route 66 souvenirs. Its real draw is Navajo rugs, Hopi kachina carvings and silver and turquoise jewellery from galleries and trading posts. These are worth buying from established dealers or directly from the artists, and you will find nothing like them in Orange County.

Flagstaff is the cheaper of the two. Chain motels along Route 66 keep a basic stay affordable, and brewery meals are reasonable, though summer weekends push room rates up and park entry fees add up.

Anaheim's costs come from the parks. Multi-day tickets, hotels within walking distance of the gates and food inside the parks all add up quickly. Motels a short drive away and the Vietnamese and Middle Eastern districts help, but you will need a hire car to reach them.

Anaheim, with Costa Mesa nearby, offers more evenings out. The Segerstrom Center hosts the Pacific Symphony in a fine concert hall, along with touring Broadway shows and ballet, and the city arena books major pop and rock tours. The polished parades and water shows in the parks are what most families will actually see.

Flagstaff's calendar is modest. It has the town symphony and university concerts, touring folk and indie acts at the restored Orpheum, and outdoor music in the pines in summer.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, but Flagstaff is the more restful stay. It is a slow mountain town with cool evenings, pine-scented air and bright stars, and Sedona's resort spas and yoga studios are about an hour away. The altitude can disturb sleep for the first night or two.

In Anaheim, early starts and park queues leave little room to unwind. Hotel pools and a few Korean-style day spas are what is close at hand. The clifftop spa resorts at Laguna Beach and Dana Point mean a drive to the coast.