Arusha or Mombasa?

There is no real contest here. Arusha is far inland. The nearest swim is the spring-fed Chemka pool among fig trees, an hour and a half away by road, or else your lodge pool. Mombasa is made for beach days, with white coral sand from Nyali to Shanzu, calm water inside the reef and Diani to the south.

The one thing to plan around in Mombasa is the tide. At low water it pulls far out and leaves rock pools, but not enough depth for a swim. Visitors to Arusha who want sand usually fly to the coast when their safari ends. In Mombasa it is right outside the hotel.

Mombasa has the better food. Its Swahili cooking was shaped by centuries of Arab and Indian trade. In the Old Town that means biryani, pilau, fish in coconut sauce and mahamri with spiced tea, and there are also Indian thalis and evening carts grilling cassava and maize.

Arusha's food is plainer and built around meat. Expect nyama choma with ugali, chipsi mayai from roadside stalls and mishkaki at dusk. Its highlight is coffee, which you can taste at the farms on Meru's lower slopes. Mombasa, where coconut water is the everyday drink, has nothing to match that.

Mombasa has a real historic centre. The Portuguese built Fort Jesus at the harbour mouth in the 1590s, and beside it lies the Old Town with its carved doors, merchant houses and mosques. Hindu and Jain temples add more, and together they fill a day or two.

Arusha's sights take about half a day: the Natural History Museum in the old German boma, the Arusha Declaration Museum and the craft galleries. Its real cultural interest is outside town, in visits to Maasai and Meru villages.

Neither city is a nightlife destination, but Mombasa gives you more to do after dark. There are beach bars in Nyali and Bamburi, and at weekends Mtwapa's strip of bars and clubs stays open until dawn. It is loud and rough at the edges rather than polished.

Arusha has local bars pouring Kilimanjaro lager and a few weekend clubs, filled mostly with residents and volunteers. Safaris leave at first light, so most visitors are in bed early anyway.

Both are strong, but in very different ways, and Arusha has the edge. On land it is hard to beat. Arusha National Park offers walking and canoe safaris, Meru has its crater rim and Kilimanjaro is two hours east. Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti make up the heart of the northern Tanzania safari circuit.

Mombasa's best nature is in the sea. There are coral gardens in the marine park off the north coast, dolphins at Kisite-Mpunguti and reef walls for divers. Shimba Hills and Tsavo East add land safaris, but the coastal heat makes hiking hard.

Mombasa has more outings that are not safaris. You can visit the medieval Swahili ruins at Jumba la Mtwana, Mnarani near Kilifi and Gede near Watamu, go on to Malindi, or take a dhow to Wasini island. The list is short but varied, though the roads are slow.

From Arusha, take away the parks and little is left. There is Moshi under Kilimanjaro, the market village of Mto wa Mbu, and community visits to Maasai and Meru villages.

Mombasa is easier with children, mostly because of its beach resorts in Nyali, Bamburi and Diani. They have kids' clubs and sheltered lagoons, and rock-pooling and Haller Park's giraffes and hippos keep younger children busy. Arusha's draw is seeing elephants from a safari vehicle. Minimum ages and long, bumpy days mean it suits school-age children better than toddlers.

Both need malaria precautions and care with food and water. Neither town centre is pleasant to walk with small children, with patchy pavements and heavy traffic in both.

Arusha's centre around the clock tower is small, but broken pavements, heavy traffic and crowded dala-dalas push most visitors into taxis and lodge transfers. In practice that matters less than it sounds, because every park day comes with a safari vehicle and a driver-guide.

Mombasa gives you more ways to get about on your own. Tuk-tuks and ride-hailing apps work alongside hotel taxis, and Fort Jesus and the Old Town are easy to cover on foot. The catch is distance. The resorts stretch along the coast, and the Nyali bridge and the Likoni ferry can turn a short trip into a long one.

Both are towns for crafts and markets, with no fashion or designer shopping. Arusha is the place for Maasai beadwork, red shukas, Tinga Tinga paintings and Makonde carving. It also has gem dealers selling tanzanite, which is mined only near Kilimanjaro airport.

Mombasa is stronger on textiles. Cloth merchants on Biashara Street sell kangas and kikois, the Old Town sells carved Swahili chests and brass, and Akamba carvers sell woodwork. Nyali also has modern malls for everyday needs.

Daily life in Arusha costs very little. Street grills, market produce, dala-dalas and simple guesthouses are all cheap. The bill goes up because of what most people come for. Park fees, safari vehicles with driver-guides and mountain climbs are charged at international rates, so a trip built around them is hard to keep cheap.

Mombasa is the easier place to travel on a small budget. Swahili street food, tuk-tuks and guesthouses in town cost little, and the public beaches cost nothing beyond getting there. Costs only climb with resort stays and safari tours, so you decide how much of the trip runs at package prices.

Neither has a theatre or concert season. Mombasa has a little more live music. Taarab, the coast's sung Swahili poetry, is heard at weddings and occasional concerts, and weekend bands play benga, rumba and reggae on the north coast. In Arusha, most visitors see Maasai jumping dances at cultural villages and lodges, and a few bars host Bongo Flava bands at weekends.

Arusha's calm is green and cool. Lodges on coffee estates towards Usa River and on the lower slopes of Meru have spas, massage rooms and quiet lawns facing the mountain. Most travellers use them for a rest day before or after a safari or a climb, not as the point of the trip.

Mombasa has a slight edge for a stay built around rest. Its resort spas give treatments in open-air pavilions by the sea, yoga is easy to find on the Diani side, and the slow coastal pace makes long lunches and afternoon naps the norm. In both places the quiet is outside town, on the lodge estates or along the beaches.