Aswan or Dahab?

Aswan has no sea, only the Nile. A boatman can drop you at a sandbank below the west-bank dunes for a cool river swim, but that is an hour's diversion, and most visitors rely on their hotel pool.

Dahab is a sea vacation through and through, though not a lie-on-the-sand one. Along the promenade and at the Lighthouse or Eel Garden you climb down from a jetty onto coral, so a day in the water is mostly snorkelling over drop-offs. The Lagoon to the south is where to go for sand and shallow, sheltered swimming.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, and the difference is in what you eat. Aswan's best meals are Nubian, clay-pot stews, Nile fish and hibiscus drinks on a riverside terrace or at a village table, with souk stalls for ful and taameya and alcohol largely confined to the hotels.

Dahab's signature is sea fish chosen from the ice and grilled for a low table on cushions by the water, with the honest Egyptian cooking in Assala as the better-value alternative. Elsewhere its menus drift towards pizza and traveller comfort food, though a beer with dinner is easier to find than in Aswan.

This is where the two part company most sharply. Aswan has Philae's Temple of Isis on its island, the ancient town of Yebu on Elephantine, cliff tombs above the west bank, the Unfinished Obelisk, the desert monastery of St Simeon and a fine museum of Nubian life, enough for two or three full days.

Dahab has nothing comparable. Its Bedouin roots show in Assala and in the tea stops around town, but they colour the place rather than give you anything to visit, and the nearest real heritage is St Catherine's Monastery, a full day away.

Dahab is the slightly livelier of two quiet places. It has a handful of promenade bars with music, a crowd of divers and instructors, and the occasional party that runs late, although early dives empty the town well before midnight.

Aswan's evenings are a stroll along the Corniche, a shisha in a riverside café or the lit-up souk, with a drink mostly limited to a hotel terrace over the Nile. Neither has clubs.

Dahab is far ahead outdoors. The Gulf of Aqaba falls into deep water metres from the shore, the Lagoon's steady wind draws windsurfers and kitesurfers, and the South Sinai mountains behind town lead to the Coloured Canyon, the protected coast at Ras Abu Galum and the sunrise climb of Mount Sinai.

Aswan's nature is beautiful but mostly something to look at from a boat: black granite boulders at the First Cataract, palms, dunes meeting the river, herons and kingfishers in the reeds and the garden on Kitchener's Island. There is little real hiking, and the summer heat confines outings to the early morning.

Aswan has the better excursions. Kom Ombo's double temple and Edfu, the most complete temple in Egypt, make one long and rewarding day north along the river, with the Daraw camel market or the Gebel el-Silsila quarries as stops, and Kalabsha sits on Lake Nasser close to town. Abu Simbel is the great extra, though it means a pre-dawn desert drive or a flight.

From Dahab, the one outing that really counts is St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, about two hours inland. Sharm el-Sheikh and Nuweiba offer little, so most time away from town goes into desert and sea trips instead.

Dahab is the easier of the two with children, provided they like water. The Lagoon has shallow, sheltered sea and sand, older children can snorkel from the shore, and a camel ride or desert dinner rounds things off, though reef shoes are essential and serious medical care is in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Aswan offers felucca rides, the boat to Philae, a camel up the dunes and a Nubian village with baby crocodiles, which suits school-age children for a few days. Ruins, persistent sellers and uneven pavements make it harder going, and in both places summer is too hot for little ones.

Aswan is the simpler base. Its centre is a compact strip along the Corniche with the souk parallel to it, public ferries cross cheaply to Elephantine and the west bank, and ride-hailing or hotel drivers cover Philae and the High Dam, even if boat fares mean haggling.

Dahab works on foot only along its 2km seafront promenade. With no public transport, the Lagoon, Assala and the northern dive sites all need a taxi, pickup or dive-centre transfer, and reaching the town itself usually means about an hour by road from Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Aswan has the more satisfying shopping, because its long souk street serves locals as well as visitors. Sacks of hibiscus, dates, henna and spices sit beside the souvenirs, and Nubian baskets, beadwork, pottery and textiles from the west-bank villages are worth bringing home.

Dahab's promenade stalls sell Bedouin embroidery, scarves, jewellery and beachwear, but the one genuinely good buy is dive and freediving gear. Bargaining is expected in both.

Both are very cheap places to stay, and the difference lies in where the money goes. In Aswan, meals, guesthouses and ferries cost little, but entry fees, chartered boats for Philae and the islands, and the Abu Simbel trip add up.

In Dahab, the main spending is on diving or freediving courses, inexpensive by international standards, which is why so many people stay for weeks. Alcohol and the waterfront restaurants are the costs to watch.

Aswan has a little more to hear. Nubian drumming, the tambour lyre and call-and-response singing turn up at village evenings, wedding processions and folklore troupes in hotels, and Philae has its evening sound-and-light show.

Dahab offers only the odd band or DJ in a promenade bar and Bedouin music around a fire at a desert camp. Neither has theatre or a concert programme.

Dahab is the better place to switch off on purpose. Yoga, breathwork and cheap massage are easy to find, and the freediving community treats calm and breath control as part of daily life, all set against sunsets over the Sinai mountains.

Aswan's restfulness is older and more passive: a winter retreat since the nineteenth century, it offers long felucca afternoons, terrace tea as the dunes turn gold and the Nubian hot-sand cure. Beyond that it has hotel spas, and the touts on the Corniche can break the spell.