Cebu or Coron?

Neither town has a beach of its own, so in both places swimming means leaving town. From Cebu City you cross the bridges to Mactan, where most of the sand belongs to resorts and you get in with a day pass. The better swimming is on boat trips to the Nalusuan, Hilutungan and Pandanon sandbars.

Coron is the stronger choice for a beach trip. Boats leave every morning for white-sand islets such as Malcapuya, Banana Island and Bulog Dos, and the same day can include swims in Kayangan Lake, the Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake. Cebu's postcard beaches at Malapascua and Bantayan are at least three hours away. In Coron the best swimming is within an hour of the pier.

Cebu has a food culture worth travelling for. Its lechon is widely thought to be the best in the country, and around it you find puso rice pouches, ngohiong rolls, evening skewer grills and the sutukil fish restaurants on Mactan. Carbon Market shows the everyday side.

Coron feeds you well enough but with little range. Expect grilled fish, adobo and kinilaw in town, plus pizza and smoothie bowls for travellers. The meal most visitors remember is the grilled-fish lunch served on the beach during a boat trip.

As the oldest Spanish settlement in the country, Cebu has a compact historic core. Magellan's Cross, the Basilica del Santo Niño, Fort San Pedro, the Parian ancestral houses and the hilltop Taoist Temple make a satisfying full day.

Coron has almost nothing to visit on land beyond a plain parish church and the view from Mount Tapyas. Its past is in the Japanese supply ships sunk in 1944 and in the Tagbanua ancestral lands on Coron Island, so you experience its history with a mask on rather than on foot.

Cebu has real nights out, if casual ones. The open-air bar strips and beer gardens of IT Park stay full into the early hours, and Mango Avenue has older clubs that keep going late. Karaoke, cheap beer and grilled snacks set the tone, and in January the Sinulog turns the whole city into a street party.

In Coron, evenings mean a beer or a cocktail at one of a few bars on the main road, perhaps with an acoustic set, while divers swap stories. The boats leave early, so the town goes to bed early too.

Coron is the more remarkable place for nature. Coron Island rises from the sea as a wall of black limestone, with lakes and lagoons you reach by kayak or outrigger. Beneath the bays lie about a dozen wartime wrecks, some shallow enough to snorkel. Further afield, Calauit has giraffes and zebras, and dugongs feed off northern Busuanga.

Cebu has more variety but spreads it out. The Busay and Sirao hills are cool and close to the city, and Mactan has reef diving. The headline experiences, canyoneering to Kawasan Falls, the sardine shoals at Moalboal and the whale sharks at Oslob, are around three hours south and work best with a night away.

Cebu offers far more day trips. Bohol is about two hours away by fast ferry, with the stone church at Baclayon and its old river towns. The road south passes colonial Carcar and a line of coral-stone churches at Argao and Boljoon. Closer in, the Lapu-Lapu shrine and Olango are easy half-days, although traffic stretches every road journey.

From Coron there is really only Culion, a boat ride away. The former leper colony has a fort church and a museum on its history. Every other outing goes to an island or a reef rather than a town, and El Nido is a next stop rather than a day trip.

Cebu is easier with children of any age. A Mactan resort gives you pools and calm water, Cebu Ocean Park and the big malls cover the hottest hours, and the Safari and Adventure Park makes a full day out. The city streets, with heavy traffic and few pavements, are the hard part.

Coron suits older children who swim confidently and are happy to spend long days on boats. With toddlers, the steep steps up to Kayangan Lake, the strong sun and the lack of playgrounds make it hard going. Medical care is basic too, and anything serious means a flight to Manila.

Getting around is awkward in both places, in different ways. In Cebu the problem is a large city with no rail and gridlocked bridges. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are cheap and easy to use, so at least a visitor can get anywhere, slowly.

Coron town is small enough to cross on foot or by tricycle, but almost everything you come for is out on the water. Days are planned around boats booked through tour desks and hotels, and the airport is forty minutes away by van over the island.

Cebu is a real place to shop, mostly in very large malls such as Ayala Center and SM Seaside. The local side is more distinctive: Carbon Market, the Taboan dried-fish stalls, dried mangoes and otap to take home, and the family workshops on Mactan that make guitars and ukuleles.

Coron has souvenir stalls, woven bags, pearl and shell jewellery and bags of Busuanga cashews, and that is about all.

Both are cheap by international standards, but Cebu goes further on a small budget. City hotels, street barbecue and taxis cost little, and most of the historic sights are free. Spending rises only if you base yourself in a Mactan resort or book private boats.

In Coron, guesthouses and shared island-hopping tours are good value. However, each lake and lagoon charges its own entrance and environmental fee, wreck diving and private boats add up, and getting there usually means a domestic flight.

Cebu at least has the Sinulog. In January, costumed groups dance the traditional prayer dance through the streets. For the rest of the year there are bar bands with strong singers and the occasional concert at a university venue.

Coron has nothing comparable. A guitarist in a bar or a resort cultural show is as much as you will find.

The two are about level for relaxation, and in both the town is noisy and a restful stay means an island or beach resort. The difference is in what you do. Cebu's speciality is the hilot, a warm-oil Filipino massage offered everywhere from neighbourhood houses to hotel spas, with full spas at the resorts on Mactan.

Coron has something Cebu lacks: the Maquinit hot spring, where you can soak in warm saltwater pools at the edge of the mangroves on an evening after a day on the boats.