Colombo or Ubud?

Neither is a beach base, but Colombo at least lies on the sea. Mount Lavinia is a broad beach at the city's southern edge and Negombo's longer hotel strand is an hour north. The shore is open surf with strong currents, though, and in the southwest monsoon swimming is often unsafe.

Ubud is inland in the hills, so a swim means the best part of an hour's drive to Sanur's calm water inside the reef, and most afternoons end in a villa pool. Travellers who want a proper beach vacation move on from either one, to Bentota or the Bali coast.

Both eat well and cheaply, but Colombo has more local dishes to work through. Rice and curry comes as a spread of small dishes, hoppers are cooked with an egg inside, kottu is chopped on griddles late into the night and the Burgher lamprais is unique to the city. Lagoon crab and cuttlefish come from the sea, and the Tamil and Muslim quarters add dosa and biryani.

Ubud's strength is Balinese pork and duck: babi guling at lunch counters and slow-cooked bebek betutu. On top of that comes a large international layer of plant-based cafés and Kintamani coffee. It is the better town for a raw-food lunch, but Colombo's own cooking goes deeper.

Colombo is a port city first, and its sights fill a day or two. The National Museum beside Viharamahadevi Park holds the country's finest royal regalia and ancient sculpture. Fort and Pettah set Dutch and British buildings beside the striped Jami Ul-Alfar mosque and Hindu kovils, and Bawa's Seema Malaka pavilion sits on Beira Lake. The island's great ancient cities, though, lie deep in the interior.

Ubud gives a culture trip more, because its traditions are still part of daily life around you. Offerings sit on doorsteps, processions pass on temple feast days and the old palace, Puri Saren, stands at the centre of town. Ubud has been an artists' centre since the 1930s, and the Neka, ARMA and Puri Lukisan collections trace Balinese painting from its traditional styles to the work shaped by the Western painters who settled here. The rock-cut Elephant Cave of Goa Gajah lies at the edge of town.

Neither is a party destination, but Colombo has more going on after dark. There are rooftop lounges over the ocean, hotel bars, a few clubs in Colombo 3 and around Galle Face that fill at weekends, and casinos that stay open late. Many bars close on the monthly Poya full-moon days.

Ubud keeps early hours: a long dinner, a garden bar, perhaps a band, and quiet well before midnight. People who want clubs make the long drive to Seminyak or Canggu.

This is where the two differ most. Ubud is surrounded by rice terraces and river gorges. You can walk the Campuhan Ridge from the centre, raft the Ayung and reach waterfalls such as Tibumana in a short drive. Many visitors also climb Mount Batur before dawn.

Colombo is flat and urban. Beira Lake and Viharamahadevi Park give shade, and the Diyasaru and Beddagana wetlands are good for birdwatching. Sinharaja, the tea hills and whale watching all mean a long drive or a night away.

Ubud sits in the middle of Bali's temple country. Tirta Empul, Gunung Kawi, Besakih, the painted pavilions of Klungkung and the Jatiluwih terraces all make easy days out with a hired driver, though the slow roads limit how many fit into one day.

Colombo has one outstanding day trip: the walled Dutch fort town of Galle, about two hours south by the coastal railway or the expressway, with the Bawa gardens at Bentota on the way. Negombo's canal and fish markets are a lesser outing, and Kandy is really an overnight stop.

Both welcome children warmly, and neither is easy with a pushchair. Ubud gives families more to do: villas with private pools, dance performances, gentle rafting, rice-field walks and a safari park nearby. It suits older children best, because of the bag-grabbing macaques and the many outings by car.

Colombo has the zoo at Dehiwala, kites on Galle Face Green and a train ride along the coast. With the heat, the traffic and a rough sea, though, most families stay a night or two and then move on to calmer resorts.

Neither has a metro, but Colombo is far easier to get around. App-booked tuk-tuks and cars are quick to find, the coastal railway runs to Mount Lavinia and further south, and Galle Face and Beira Lake are pleasant on foot despite the peak-hour traffic.

Ubud has no public transport worth relying on. Its pavements are broken, the valley roads are steep and distances are longer than they look. Most days are planned around a driver or ride-hailing, so stay near the centre if you want to walk to dinner.

Ubud has the edge for handmade things. There are sarongs and baskets at the Art Market, woodcarving in Mas, silver in Celuk, paintings from Batuan, and linen and yoga wear on Jalan Hanoman.

Colombo's draw is Pettah, a bazaar where each street keeps to its own trade, worth walking even if you buy nothing. Colombo 3 and 7 add handloom and batik design shops, and tea, cinnamon and gems from a reputable dealer make the classic things to take home. Neither is a place for luxury brands.

Both are cheap for a visitor, with little to choose between them. A rice-and-curry lunch or a tuk-tuk ride in Colombo and a warung meal or a day with a driver in Ubud cost very little, and imported drink is heavily taxed in both.

The difference is where the money goes at the top end. In Colombo it is the seafront hotels, rooftop bars and seafood restaurants. In Ubud it is the jungle resorts above the river valleys and the tasting-menu cafés, while its homestays and massages help a small budget go a long way.

Ubud has dance every evening. Legong, Barong and Kecak are performed to live gamelan in the palace courtyard, at Pura Taman Saraswati and in village temples by troupes from the surrounding communities. If you happen on a temple festival, you can see the same dances in their own setting.

Colombo has the bigger stages, the Nelum Pokuna and Lionel Wendt theatres, along with occasional orchestral concerts, but nothing on a nightly round. Its tradition to look out for is Kandyan and low-country dance, with drumming and acrobatic leaps.

Ubud is built around wellness. Yoga starts at dawn in open pavilions, retreats run to every length, riverside spas look over the Ayung gorge and there are sound-healing sessions and the purification ritual at Tirta Empul.

Colombo's offer is Ayurveda, a genuine local medical tradition, with warm-oil massage and shirodhara in clinics across the city. The traffic and heat work against rest, though, and longer programmes mean moving to the retreats at Beruwala or Bentota.