Ayutthaya or Hua Hin?

Ayutthaya has no beach at all. The rivers around the old island are working waterways, and the sea is more than two hours away, so swimming means the hotel pool.

Hua Hin is built around its main beach, several kilometres of pale sand from the fishing pier to Khao Takiab. There are quieter stretches at Khao Tao, towards Pranburi and in the pine shade of Suan Son Pradipat. The Gulf is warm and usually calm, though the water is milky rather than clear, and jellyfish appear in some seasons.

Both towns serve provincial Thai cooking rather than being food destinations, but Hua Hin has more range. Its seafood restaurants on stilts by the old pier, where you choose crab and whole fish by weight, and the night market on Dechanuchit Road give it the edge. There is also fine dining in the resorts and plenty of European cooking for long-staying visitors.

Ayutthaya's choice is narrower but has dishes of its own: boat noodles in small bowls, grilled giant river prawns by the water and roti sai mai, the spun-sugar pancake sold near the old Muslim quarter. There is almost nothing international.

This is where Ayutthaya is strongest. The Siamese capital the Burmese sacked in 1767 survives as ruins across the whole island. Highlights include the three chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the Buddha head held in tree roots at Wat Mahathat and Wat Chaiwatthanaram at sunset, while the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum holds the gold from the crypts.

Hua Hin's history is that of an early twentieth-century royal resort, seen in the red-and-cream railway station and the teak seaside palace of Maruekhathaiyawan. It makes a pleasant afternoon, but there are no museums of note.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but Hua Hin does have a nightlife of sorts. The lanes around Soi Bintabaht stay busy past midnight with beer bars and sports screens, though the crowd is mostly older Western men, and rooftop and beachfront bars are good for a sunset drink.

In Ayutthaya, evenings come down to a short strip of backpacker bars and drinks at a riverside restaurant looking out on the lit-up ruins. Most people are back at their guesthouse well before midnight.

Hua Hin has much more to offer outdoors. The limestone peaks, mangroves and Phraya Nakhon cave of Khao Sam Roi Yot are an hour south. Inland, Kaeng Krachan's rainforest is home to gibbons and hornbills, and from about February to May the bay is one of Thailand's best kitesurfing spots.

Around Ayutthaya the landscape is flat rice plain and river. You can cycle under big trees, take a long-tail boat at dusk and watch egrets over the paddies. The nearest forest is Khao Yai, about two hours away.

Ayutthaya is slightly better for day trips, mainly because the Grand Palace and markets of Bangkok are an easy hour and a half south and the Bang Pa-In summer palace is twenty minutes away. Lopburi, with its Khmer temples and macaques, makes a good second outing.

Hua Hin's best trip is to Phetchaburi, an hour north, with its hilltop palace, a cave temple and fine old murals. Damnoen Saduak and the canal town of Amphawa make a long day out, and Bangkok is too far to visit and return comfortably the same day.

Hua Hin is the easier choice with children. Resorts have big pools and kids' clubs right on the sand, the sea is gentle, and two water parks and pony rides on the beach fill the days. The busy highway and poor pavements mean most families get around by car.

Ayutthaya keeps children interested for a morning at the ruins, especially the Buddha head in the tree roots. Shade is scarce, though, climbing is not allowed on many of the ruins, and nothing is designed for young visitors.

Getting around is awkward in both towns, but for different reasons. Ayutthaya's ruins sit on a flat island a few kilometres across, which suits a bicycle on the quiet back lanes. Tuk-tuks do half-day circuits and small ferries cross the rivers.

Hua Hin stretches out along the Phetkasem highway, so green songthaews, taxis or a scooter take the place of a bicycle. For the national parks and Phetchaburi you really need a car and driver.

Hua Hin is the better place to browse, mainly thanks to its weekend art-and-craft markets selling handmade jewellery and ceramics, as well as modern malls and tailors. Neither suits a serious shopping trip.

In Ayutthaya, shopping means market stalls and souvenir stands outside the temples, and amulets are the most local thing on sale. The woven crafts at Bang Sai, downstream towards Bangkok, are the only real speciality.

Both are cheap, but Ayutthaya is cheaper. Riverside guesthouses and rooms with a pool cost little even by Thai standards, bicycle hire is close to free, and the main expense is the separate entrance fee at each major ruin.

Hua Hin is very affordable too, but costs rise on the beachfront, where the big resorts charge international rates. Imported drinks are heavily taxed, and Thai weekenders push room rates up on Fridays and Saturdays.

Neither town has much in the way of performance. Ayutthaya's big moment is the annual World Heritage fair, when light-and-sound shows are staged among the ruins. Hua Hin has cover bands in hotel lounges, dance shows for resort guests and a link with jazz through a beach festival held in some years.

Hua Hin is a place made for rest. Some of its residential spas are among the best known in Asia, offering yoga, detox programmes and traditional treatments in seafront gardens. Massage is everywhere, from resort spas to pavilions under the trees on the beach.

In Ayutthaya, wellness means a cheap Thai massage in a shophouse parlour after a day of cycling. After that comes a quiet evening on a riverside terrace once the tour buses have left.