Da Lat or Ha Long?

Da Lat has no beach to speak of. Its lakes are for pedal boats, not swimming, and the nearest sea at Ninh Chu Bay or Nha Trang is hours away down mountain passes, which means moving on rather than going for the day.

Ha Long does not have a great beach either, but swimming fits naturally into a visit. The imported sand at Bai Chay is shallow and often murky, so the better swimming is off the cruise boats in quiet coves or at small island beaches such as Ti Top. Quan Lan has cleaner sand for anyone willing to stay overnight. In winter the water is too cool for most people.

Da Lat eats better day to day. The cool valleys supply avocados, artichokes, strawberries and greens, the evening market around the central market steps serves grilled rice paper and bánh căn from clay moulds, and arabica grown on the nearby slopes supports a proper café culture with terraces over the pines.

Ha Long does one thing well: seafood. You choose crabs, mantis shrimp and clams from the tanks in the halls near Ha Long market, and the springy squid cakes called cha muc are worth trying. Outside that, cruise set menus and big tourist restaurants make eating out here less varied, and there are few cafés.

Da Lat has more to see in town. Its French hill-station past is visible in hundreds of villas, the cathedral, the Domaine de Marie church and the Art Deco railway station. Bao Dai's Summer Palace, the Crazy House and the mosaic-covered Linh Phuoc pagoda add some character, and they fill two or three days.

Ha Long is a young city, and the bay is its main draw rather than any monument. The black-glass Quang Ninh Museum in Hon Gai and the floating fishing village of Cua Van are the highlights, and after those the town sights soon run out.

Neither is a place for a big night out, and both are quiet before midnight. In Da Lat, the cold sends people indoors early. The night market, a few backpacker bars near the centre (one of them a famous maze of rooms) and some karaoke make up the evening.

Ha Long's evenings are more local and beery: beer halls, karaoke rooms and noisy seafood dinners along Bai Chay. If you spend the night on a cruise, the evening is a drink on the sundeck and squid fishing off the stern.

Ha Long Bay is the more remarkable landscape. Close to two thousand forested limestone towers rise straight out of the water, with kayak routes under arches into hidden lagoons, caves such as Sung Sot, and quieter scenery in Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long. Cat Ba adds trails and rock climbing. On land around the town itself, though, there is little beyond a few viewpoints.

Da Lat's outdoors is gentler but more varied on foot. You can canyon down waterfalls at Datanla, ride mountain bikes through coffee farms, climb Langbiang, or trek through the montane forest of Bidoup-Nui Ba. The trails are best in the dry months, and greenhouses cover many of the valleys close to town.

Ha Long has much better day trips. Yen Tu, the holy mountain where the Truc Lam school of Zen began, is about an hour inland with pagodas climbing through old forest. Hai Phong's colonial streets and the Bach Dang battlefield are also close, and boats run to Cat Ba.

Da Lat is boxed in by its mountains. Most outings stay in the surrounding hills, at K'Ho villages, silk and coffee farms. The one strong excursion is down the Ngoan Muc pass to Phan Rang for the Cham towers and pottery villages, a long drive each way.

Both work well for children, but in different ways. Da Lat is a country outing in mild weather: strawberry picking, paddle boats in the Valley of Love, the mountain coaster to Datanla falls and the cable car over the pines. Steep streets and spread-out sights mean plenty of taxis, and teenagers may find the photo spots silly.

Ha Long is about water and excitement. Children love the caves, kayaks and boat decks, and Sun World adds a Ferris wheel and water park. The downsides are summer heat, railings and life jackets on budget boats that need checking, and overnight cruises that are hard with toddlers.

Both rely on taxis and ride-hailing, and neither has public transport a visitor would use. Da Lat's centre around Xuan Huong Lake is compact but hilly, and the waterfalls and pagodas are spread across the hills, which is why many people hire a scooter or a driver for the day.

Ha Long is long and flat instead, split between Bai Chay and Hon Gai by a long bridge, with an easy waterfront walk on the Bai Chay side. Cruises usually include transfers from Tuan Chau harbour, so the bay takes care of itself.

Neither is a reason to shop, but Da Lat has slightly better things to bring home. The central market sells local coffee beans, artichoke tea, strawberry jam and candied fruit, and you can buy embroidered silk pictures and wool scarves for the cold evenings.

Ha Long's options are narrower: cultured pearls in showrooms near the bay, souvenirs at the Bai Chay night market, and dried squid or fish sauce from Ha Long market in Hon Gai.

Both cost a fraction of what Western travellers are used to, but Da Lat is cheaper all round. Rooms with pine views, night-market dinners, coffee and scooter hire are all inexpensive, and there are no big-ticket extras. The only time to book early is Tet and the long national breaks.

Ha Long is cheap on land, but the cruise that most people come for is the largest single cost, and boats range from basic to luxurious. At the waterfront seafood places, agree the weight and price before anything is cooked.

Da Lat has a little more, and it feels more genuine. Small cafés host evening acoustic sets of Vietnamese ballads, many of them written about the city. Highland gong music and the Flower Festival's outdoor shows add a bit more.

Ha Long offers staged shows in the Bai Chay entertainment complex and folk singing on some cruise boats. Neither city has a theatre or concert season to plan around.

Da Lat offers a slower pace rather than treatments. Cool misty mornings, long coffees, cheap massages and a few spa resorts among the pines suit unhurried days, as long as you stay out of the centre at weekends and during the Tet and summer travel peaks.

Ha Long has the edge because it has proper bathing. The mineral hot springs at Quang Hanh, about forty minutes away, feed a large Japanese-style onsen resort. Out on the bay, a quiet night anchored in a cove with tai chi at dawn and a spa on board is the most relaxing part of a stay. The town itself is noisy with traffic.