Bangkok or Phuket?

There is no contest here. Bangkok sits on a muddy river delta with no swimming beach of its own, so you swim in a hotel pool. The nearest sand, at Bang Saen or Pattaya, makes a long day out.

Phuket is built around its beaches. A run of west-coast bays goes from busy Patong through Kata and Karon to quiet Nai Harn and the open stretch of Mai Khao, and boats run out to clearer island water. The catch is the monsoon, when rip currents make the west coast dangerous and the sheltered east-coast bays are the safer choice.

Bangkok is one of the great eating cities of Asia, and the gap shows in its range. You can eat at night along Yaowarat, have boat noodles and som tam at pavement tables, shop the produce halls of Or Tor Kor, or book one of its serious restaurants reworking regional Thai cooking.

Phuket has a real cuisine of its own, with Hokkien noodles, peppery moo hong and morning dim sum from its Peranakan Chinese heritage. You find it in Phuket Town, though, rather than on the beaches. In the beach towns there is plenty of food but most of it is generic, and the seafood sold by weight is the highlight.

Bangkok's old city gives you several days of first-rate sights: the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho and Wat Arun across the river. The National Museum and the canal life of Thonburi add more.

Phuket's history is a smaller story, told in the Sino-Portuguese shophouses and clan houses of Phuket Town's tin-boom streets, with Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha further out. It fills a day or two between beach days rather than shaping the trip.

Both have a big night out, but Bangkok's comes in more forms. There are polished cocktail bars and clubs around Thonglor and Ekkamai, the cheap backpacker strip on Khao San, the gay scene in Silom and rooftop bars high above the river.

Phuket puts almost all of it on Bangla Road in Patong, which is loud, neon-lit and open until dawn. Away from there the island has sunset beach clubs at Bang Tao and Kamala and easy-going bars in Kata and Rawai. They are pleasant, but the range is narrow by comparison.

Outdoors, Phuket is far ahead. You can kayak among the limestone towers and lagoons of Phang Nga Bay, and boats reach Phi Phi, the Racha islands and, in the dry season, the Similans, which have some of Thailand's best diving and snorkelling. On land, Khao Phra Thaeo has rainforest trails and a gibbon project.

Bangkok's green space is its parks: Lumphini, with monitor lizards by the lake, and the raised cycling paths of Bang Krachao. Real landscape at Khao Yai or Kanchanaburi is too far away for a casual outing.

Bangkok has the better range of outings, led by the ruined temples of Ayutthaya. The floating and railway markets at Amphawa and Maeklong and the wartime history of Kanchanaburi are also within a long day.

From Phuket almost every trip goes by boat to another island, such as Phi Phi or the quieter Koh Yao islands, or by road to Krabi and Ao Nang. There are very few heritage sites within reach, so days out change the scenery more than the subject.

Phuket is the easier family trip, as long as you choose a resort in Kata, Karon or Nai Harn and stay there. Dry-season shallows, kids' clubs, water parks and short boat trips fill the days. Avoid the west-coast beaches in the monsoon, because of the rip currents, and Patong after dark.

Bangkok has its own attractions for children, from Sea Life Ocean World and KidZania to Dream World. But the heat, the crowded pavements and the slow traffic wear small children out, so keep days short and plan them around a pool.

Bangkok has a rail network that does most of the work. The Skytrain and MRT reach Siam, Sukhumvit, Silom and Chinatown, and express boats run up the river to the Grand Palace. Its weak points are the old city and the hot walks between stations.

Phuket has nothing like it. A single infrequent bus runs down the west coast and stops early in the evening, and songthaews do not link one beach to another. Most visitors end up paying for taxis or taking the risk of a scooter on steep, winding roads.

Bangkok is worth visiting for its shopping alone. It has the chain of malls around Siam and Ratchaprasong, the wholesale clothing of Pratunam and the thousands of stalls at Chatuchak Weekend Market, plus Thai silk, celadon and benjarong to take home.

Phuket's malls and night markets cover the basics, and the beach towns repeat the same tailors, pearl shops and souvenirs. The browsing worth your time is in Phuket Town's old quarter and at the Sunday market on Thalang Road.

Money goes further in Bangkok. Street food, cheap rail and river transport and well-priced hotels keep daily costs low. The main expenses are rooftop bars, imported drinks and the entry fee at the Grand Palace.

Phuket is still good value by Western standards, but taxis are a steady daily cost with no real alternative. Beachfront resorts push spending up, and room rates climb steeply in peak season. Staying in Phuket Town or travelling in the monsoon brings the bill down.

Bangkok has a modest stage life, but a real one. Khon, the masked dance drama of the Ramakien, plays in full costume at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre and the National Theatre. The symphony orchestra performs at the Thailand Cultural Centre, and small jazz and blues bars in the old city and Sukhumvit fill the evenings in between.

Phuket's evenings offer ladyboy cabaret revues, Thai cultural shows staged for tour groups and cover bands or reggae sets in beach bars, with no theatre or concert hall behind them. Muay Thai is the one thing both share. In Bangkok the fights take place at Rajadamnern and Lumpinee, the sport's best-known stadiums.

Massage is everywhere in both places, so the difference is the setting. Phuket is the place to slow down properly. It has spa pavilions in the jungle, detox and yoga retreats, the training camps of Chalong and quiet bases at Mai Khao, Nai Harn or on the east coast.

Bangkok's strength is its tradition, with the massage school at Wat Pho and some of Asia's most refined hotel spas. Its heat, noise and traffic, though, mean you relax in short breaks between sights.