Chiang Mai or Hoi An?

Here the two could hardly differ more. Chiang Mai has no coast within a day's reach. Swimming there means hotel pools, the Huay Tung Tao reservoir or the quarry lakes on the edge of town, and a beach has to be a separate trip south.

Hoi An has An Bang about 5km away through the paddies, and the sandy shore runs north towards Da Nang with quieter stretches easy to find. The catch is the autumn monsoon, when red flags go up and the beach is for walking rather than swimming.

Both cuisines are regional and cheap, but Chiang Mai's is broader. Northern dishes such as khao soi, sai ua sausage and chilli dips with sticky rice fill the morning markets, the evening stalls by the city gates and the weekend walking streets. Coffee from the surrounding hills supports a café culture that Hoi An cannot match.

Hoi An's list of dishes is shorter but entirely its own. Cao lau, white rose dumplings and Hoi An chicken rice are hard to find anywhere else, and a cooking class that starts at the market is one of the best things to do there. The riverfront restaurants all serve much the same menu, so the best food is at the plastic stools.

The two are evenly matched, but they offer different things. Chiang Mai's culture is a spread of temples across the moated old city, from the ruined chedi of Wat Chedi Luang to the Lanna wooden halls of Wat Phra Singh, with Doi Suthep looking down over it all.

Hoi An's is a single townscape: an old trading port of merchant houses, Chinese assembly halls and the Japanese Bridge, best walked as a whole at dawn or under the lanterns. In both towns the museums are small, and two days covers the highlights.

Chiang Mai is the livelier of the two, though neither is a clubbing city. Its evenings run until around midnight, with a choice of cocktail and craft beer bars in Nimmanhaemin, backpacker terraces around Tha Phae Gate and the louder strip along Loi Kroh Road.

Hoi An's nights are about the lantern-lit riverbank and a quiet drink. A few backpacker bars on An Hoi islet and some beach bars at An Bang stay open a little later, but for a late night you have to go to Da Nang.

Chiang Mai has the better outdoors. Forest trails and waterfalls begin at the edge of town in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, and Doi Inthanon rises to about 2,565m an hour and a half away. The nearby valleys add rafting, ziplines, treks and elephant sanctuaries where the animals are not ridden. The drawback is the smoky haze of the burning season.

Hoi An's landscape is flatter and gentler: paddies seen by bicycle, basket boats in the Cam Thanh palm waterways, and snorkelling over the coral at the Cham Islands, which Chiang Mai cannot offer. For mountain scenery you need to drive to Son Tra or the Hai Van Pass.

Neither is a great base for excursions, and the difference is in the kind of trip. From Chiang Mai the outings are to old northern towns: Lamphun with its gilded chedi, and Lampang with its horse-drawn carriages and teak houses. Craft villages close to the city make easy half days.

From Hoi An the one outing of real weight is My Son, the ruined Cham temples in a jungle valley. Da Nang's Cham sculpture museum and the Marble Mountains make a second day. In both places the best-known names further away, Chiang Rai and Pai or Hue, need an overnight stay.

Both are easy-going with children, in different ways. Chiang Mai's draw is animals and adventure: elephant sanctuaries, the zoo and the Night Safari, ziplines and quarry swimming parks. With young children, avoid the hazy burning season.

Hoi An offers crafts and the seaside: making lanterns, riding basket boats, cycling through rice fields and swimming from a gentle sandy shore in the calm months. Resort pools and a coastal theme park are close by. Broken pavements and motorbikes are a nuisance in both.

Hoi An is the easier of the two to get around. The old town is small and largely closed to motor traffic, and bicycles, which many hotels lend free, reach the beach, the paddies and outlying villages on flat lanes. Only the longer trips need a car.

Chiang Mai is more spread out. The moated old city is walkable, though its pavements are narrow. Beyond it you rely on the red songthaew trucks, tuk-tuks, ride-hailing or a hired scooter in heavy traffic, and you need a driver for the mountains.

Both are places for handmade things rather than brands, and the difference is in what is made. Chiang Mai's strength is its markets and craft villages: the Sunday Walking Street, the Saturday market on Wualai Road, painted umbrellas from Bo Sang, weaving from San Kamphaeng, and celadon and lacquerware.

Hoi An is about tailoring, with suits, dresses, shoes and bags made to measure over a few days of fittings. Beyond that, the lanterns and souvenirs are much the same from shop to shop.

Both are very cheap, and a comfortable stay costs little in either. In Chiang Mai the savings come from guesthouses in teak buildings, free temples and daily massages. The costs add up on sanctuary visits, treks and the hill resorts.

In Hoi An, homestays with pools, free bicycles and market meals keep costs down. Spending goes up with the old town's heritage ticket, the riverfront restaurants and the beach resorts.

Neither town has theatre or a concert season, but Chiang Mai has a little more to fill an evening. You can choose between the nightly jazz and blues jams near the north gate, bands in Nimmanhaemin, khantoke dinners with Lanna dance, and Muay Thai fights.

Hoi An's performances are mostly put on for visitors: bai choi sung card games in the old town, short folk shows, and a large outdoor spectacle on an island in the river. For live music, the nearest place is Da Nang.

Chiang Mai is made for slowing down. Thai massage is part of daily life and is taught at long-established schools. Temples such as Wat Umong and Wat Suan Dok run meditation retreats, and the San Kamphaeng hot springs offer bathing in natural spring water.

Hoi An's relaxation is simpler: massage rooms on every street, yoga classes, and resorts among the paddies or by the sea. It has no hot springs or bathhouses, so it is restful rather than a place for a wellness retreat.