Arusha or Dar es Salaam?

There is no real contest here. Arusha is a highland town far inland. The nearest thing to a swim is the warm spring-fed pool at Chemka, about an hour and a half by road, or the pool at your lodge.

Dar es Salaam sits on a warm Indian Ocean, though the city's own Coco Beach is for strolling rather than swimming. The good beaches are half an hour away by boat on Bongoyo and Mbudya, or along the Kigamboni and Kunduchi coasts. The large tides decide when you can swim.

Both cities share the same grill culture of nyama choma, mishkaki and chipsi mayai, but Dar es Salaam has far more besides. The coast brings coconut curries, octopus and grilled fish, and the Indian community in Upanga and around Kariakoo adds biryani, bhajia and sweet shops. At the Kivukoni fish market the morning catch is fried on the spot.

Arusha's choice is much narrower, and most safari visitors eat at their lodge. What it offers that Dar es Salaam cannot is the coffee farms on Meru's lower slopes, where you can drink Arabica where it is grown.

Neither is a city of sights, but Dar es Salaam has a little more to see. The National Museum holds fossil finds from Olduvai Gorge, the Village Museum gathers traditional houses from across Tanzania, and a walk near the harbour takes in German-era churches and colonial buildings. A day or two is enough.

Arusha's museum in the old German boma and the Arusha Declaration Museum fill half a day. Its cultural interest lies mostly in Maasai and Meru village visits outside town.

Dar es Salaam has the fuller night out. Expatriates fill the beach lounges of Masaki and Oyster Bay, while the beer gardens and clubs of Sinza and Mwenge stay open into the early hours on Fridays and Saturdays. The venues are far apart, so every move is by taxi.

Arusha has local bars and a few clubs at weekends, but safaris leave at dawn, so most visitors are in bed early at their lodge.

Nature is Arusha's great strength. Mount Meru rises over the town, and Arusha National Park, with its giraffe, colobus monkeys and flamingos on the Momella Lakes, is under an hour away. Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Kilimanjaro gates are about two hours off, and walking safaris and canoe trips in the park are rare in Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam's outdoors is mostly at sea: snorkelling and diving around the marine reserve islands, dhow trips past the mangroves and kitesurfing on the northern beaches. On land there is little beyond the Pugu Hills, and a safari means a flight.

Dar es Salaam has the better day trips beyond the city. Stone Town on Zanzibar is about two hours by fast ferry. Bagamoyo, the old end of the caravan route with its fort and mission buildings and the Kaole ruins nearby, is about two hours by road.

Set the parks aside and Arusha has less: the town of Moshi under Kilimanjaro, the market village of Mto wa Mbu and community visits to Maasai bomas and Meru villages.

Neither city is built for children, and both call for malaria prevention and care with food and water. The difference is what a family comes for. Around Arusha it is the safari: elephants and giraffes seen from the vehicle, and lodges with gardens and pools. Some operators set minimum ages, though, and the long, bumpy drives suit school-age children best.

In Dar es Salaam the draw is water. There are boat trips to the islands, resort pools on Kigamboni and the northern beaches, and a water park north of the city. Against that, the heat and traffic make getting about tiring.

In Arusha, getting around mostly takes care of itself, because every park visit is made in a safari vehicle with a driver-guide. The town centre around the clock tower and the market is small, but the pavements are broken and the traffic is heavy, so walking is hard going. Dala-dalas and boda-bodas are difficult for a newcomer, so visitors use taxis and lodge transfers.

Dar es Salaam spreads much wider but is easier to manage on your own. The bus rapid transit runs quickly in its own lanes, though mostly on commuter routes, and ride-hailing covers the long distances between Masaki, the beaches and the museums. The old centre by the harbour is walkable, but traffic sets the pace everywhere else, so allow far more time than the map suggests.

Both are places for crafts rather than fashion, and the difference is in kind. Arusha is the curio market of northern Tanzania. It sells Maasai beadwork and the red shuka blankets, has fixed-price galleries on the edge of town, and has tanzanite dealers, since the gem is mined only in the nearby hills.

Dar es Salaam has Kariakoo, East Africa's great trading market, which is better for watching than buying. It also has the carvers' workshops at Mwenge, Tingatinga studios in the city where the style was born, and kanga and kitenge cloth that is cheap to have tailored.

Both cities are cheap at street level and expensive once you pay for visitor comfort, but Dar es Salaam goes further on a modest budget. A mid-range traveller who eats locally and uses ride-hailing gets good value there, though beach resorts and island boat trips cost more.

In Arusha the expense is the reason you came. Park fees, safari vehicles, mountain climbs and lodges all charge international prices, so a typical trip from here is not cheap, however little daily life in town costs.

Dar es Salaam is the home of bongo flava and of the coast's dance bands and taarab. On weekends there is live music in bars and open-air venues, and cultural centres hold concerts and traditional dance, so a visitor can find something, even if the programme is irregular.

Arusha has almost nothing formal. Visitors see Maasai jumping dances at cultural villages and lodge evenings, and the occasional band in a bar at weekends.

For a day of rest between a safari and a climb, Arusha has the edge. Lodges on the coffee estates towards Usa River and on Meru's lower slopes have spas, quiet lawns and mountain views, and the cool highland evenings make a welcome change from the loud town centre.

Dar es Salaam is hot, humid and loud, and has no spa tradition of its own. Relaxing there means a hotel spa in Masaki or a few slow days on the Kigamboni coast, and many visitors save their rest for Zanzibar.