Cebu or Davao?

Neither city has a beach of its own, since both face working ports, so the difference is how you reach the sand. From Cebu you cross the bridges to Mactan, a slow road trip in traffic. The beaches there are small coral strips behind resorts, mostly used on a day pass, and the best swimming is on the sandbars of Nalusuan, Hilutungan and Pandanon, reached by outrigger.

From Davao a boat crosses to Samal in minutes. The island mixes resorts with simpler day-use beaches of white and golden sand, coral close to shore and very calm gulf water. Talikud is quieter still. Cebu's famous beaches at Moalboal, Malapascua and Bantayan are a long way out, so on a short stay Samal is the easier beach.

Both cities eat casually and cheaply, and neither has much fine dining, so the real choice is what you want to eat. Cebu is the place for meat. Its lechon is held to be the country's best, and there is puso rice, ngohiong rolls and evening skewer grills, plus sutukil seafood on Mactan.

Davao eats from its orchards and the gulf. Durian, mangosteen and marang are sold at late fruit stalls on Magsaysay Avenue, and tuna comes as grilled jaw or as kinilaw. Local cacao and highland coffee give Davao a flavour Cebu doesn't have.

Cebu has far more history to see. It was the first Spanish settlement in the islands, and Magellan's Cross, the Basilica del Santo Niño and Fort San Pedro are all within a short walk of each other downtown. In the Parian, Casa Gorordo and the Yap-Sandiego house show colonial home life, and together they make a full day.

Davao is a young commercial city with little old fabric, and its sights take an afternoon. Even so, the Museo Dabawenyo tells a story Cebu can't: how Lumad, Moro, Visayan and Japanese settlers shaped Mindanao. The wartime Japanese tunnels add another chapter.

Cebu stays up later. The IT Park beer gardens and open-air bars serve the night-shift call-centre crowd into the early hours, and Mango Avenue keeps its older, rougher clubs going.

Davao's nights are shaped by strict rules on drinking and smoking in public. They mean a band and a beer around Matina or Lanang, and most places wind down early. Neither city is worth travelling for its nightlife, but only Cebu really gives you a late night.

Davao has the wilder landscape close at hand. Mount Apo, the country's highest peak, takes two or three days to climb through mossy forest to sulphur vents. Nearer the city, the Malagos and Marilog highlands have trails and cacao farms, and the Monfort Bat Sanctuary, rafting on the Davao River and birding for hornbills fill out the list.

Cebu's own hills, Busay and Sirao, give viewpoints and cooler air, and Olango draws shorebirds in winter. Its best outdoor experiences, though, are Kawasan Falls, Osmeña Peak and the Moalboal sardine shoals, all about three hours south and best done with an overnight stay.

Cebu is the better base for excursions. Bohol is two hours away by fast ferry, with Baclayon church and the old river towns. On Cebu itself, the southern road reaches colonial Carcar and the coral-stone churches of Argao and Boljoon. Traffic can double any journey, though.

From Davao, Samal is the only easy outing, and it is about resorts rather than a town to explore. Digos and Tagum are ordinary provincial towns, and the Mati surf beaches and Mount Hamiguitan are really overnight trips.

Davao is gentler on parents. It is clean and calm, and children can see the Philippine eagle up close at Malagos, watch the shows at the Crocodile Park and ride zip lines at Eden Nature Park. Samal's shallow water suits small swimmers.

Cebu works best if you stay at a Mactan resort and add a snorkelling boat day. Cebu Ocean Park helps in town, but the safari park is about two hours away, and the city's traffic and missing pavements are hard work with a pushchair.

Neither city has a train or metro, but Davao is the less frustrating of the two. Its taxis have a long reputation for honesty and for using the meter, and the crossing to Samal is a short boat ride rather than a drive over the bridges.

In Cebu, gridlock on the bridges to Mactan and the airport is the main problem. The downtown sights are close enough to walk, but the patchy pavements and stressful crossings make it a short walk, not a pleasant stroll.

Cebu offers more to browse. Ayala Center and SM Seaside are big mall districts, Carbon Market is the city's oldest, and on Mactan family workshops make guitars and ukuleles from local wood, which is a souvenir you won't find in Davao.

Davao's malls in Lanang and Bajada are mostly for the air conditioning. Its best buys are crafts from Mindanao: malong and dagmay weaving, T'boli brass and beadwork, gulf pearls, and chocolate made from Davao cacao.

Both are very cheap places to stay, with low-cost hotels, local food and metered taxis, so the difference lies in what pushes the bill up. In Cebu it is the Mactan resorts, private boats for island hopping, trips south and imported wine. In Davao it is the better Samal resorts, guided climbs of Mount Apo and drivers for the highlands.

Formal theatre and concerts are scarce in both cities, so each depends on one big festival. Cebu's Sinulog in January fills the streets with the prayer dance in honour of the Santo Niño, and through the year its bars have good acoustic singers.

Davao's Kadayawan in August is a harvest festival led by indigenous and Muslim communities, with costumes and rhythms you are unlikely to see anywhere else in the country. Outside those weeks, both cities mostly offer cover bands.

Cebu has more to offer here. Massage, including hilot, is part of everyday life there, and the large Mactan resorts have full spas and quiet pool decks for a slow day. The city itself is loud and tiring.

Davao is the quieter city of the two, and massage is cheap there too. For real rest, though, you leave town, either for Samal's resort spas or for the cooler highland lodges around Malagos and Marilog.