Darwin or Perth?

This is where the two differ most. Darwin has long sandy beaches at Mindil, Casuarina and East Point, but box jellyfish and saltwater crocodiles keep people out of the sea. Swimming means the netted lagoon and wave pool at the Waterfront, a hotel pool, or the spring-fed waterholes of Litchfield.

In Perth the beach is a big part of daily life. Cottesloe, City Beach, Scarborough and Trigg are patrolled and a short ride from the centre, the Swan River has calm shallow spots, and Rottnest's sheltered bays are good for snorkelling. The only catch is the afternoon sea breeze, so swim in the morning.

Perth is the better place to eat, with more range and more depth, but Darwin offers something Perth can't. Darwin's best eating is outdoors and informal, and it shows how close the city is to Southeast Asia. On dry-season evenings you can eat Thai, Indonesian, Sri Lankan or Greek food from the Mindil Beach stalls on the sand at sunset, and on Saturdays you can have laksa at Parap. Once you have done the markets and eaten some barramundi or mud crab, though, a week's stay soon runs out of new places to try.

Perth gives a longer stay more to explore. Its seafood comes from the state's own waters, such as rock lobster, Shark Bay prawns and dhufish, and the vineyards to the south and east supply wine that Darwin has nothing to match. A half-hour drive to the Swan Valley turns lunch into a round of cellar doors and cheese makers. Northbridge's Asian cooking, Fremantle's breweries and good restaurants across the inner suburbs add variety, but kitchens close early, so plan to eat early.

Darwin's sights tell the story of two disasters, the bombing of 1942 and Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974. The museum at Fannie Bay pairs a gallery on the cyclone with a fine Aboriginal art collection, while the oil storage tunnels and the East Point gun emplacements recall the war. So little older building survived that Government House, the Old Court House and Brown's Mart fit into one afternoon.

Perth has more to fill the days, though its centre is also mostly modern. The WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, with its strong Indigenous collection, stand together beside Northbridge, and the convict-built Town Hall and the Perth Mint are close by. Fremantle's intact limestone port, with the UNESCO-listed prison and the Roundhouse, shows colonial history where it happened.

Neither is a late city, and the difference is mostly in layout. Darwin's nights happen on one short strip, Mitchell Street, with big open-air pubs and backpacker bars that get loud at weekends and in the dry season. There is almost nothing in the way of clubs.

Perth spreads its evenings around more. Northbridge has the clubs and late bars, the CBD laneways have small bars and rooftops after work, and Fremantle and Leederville have relaxed pubs and neighbourhood bars. Outside Northbridge most places are quiet by midnight.

Both are strong for the outdoors, but in very different ways. Around Darwin the landscape is wild and close to tropical: Litchfield's waterfalls and magnetic termite mounds, crocodile cruises on the Adelaide River, the birdlife of the Mary River wetlands, and Kakadu for those who stay overnight. All of it is best in the dry season.

Perth's nature is gentler and closer to hand. Kings Park's bushland sits above the city, the Swan River is good for kayaking, sailing and cycling, kitesurfers use the afternoon breeze, and Rottnest can be toured by bike among the quokkas. Humpback whales pass in spring and the Bibbulmun Track starts in the hills.

From Darwin, almost every outing heads into parks and wetlands rather than towns. The Tiwi Islands, with their art centres, are the one real cultural trip, and Adelaide River's war cemetery is a stop on the road south. Katherine is a long day away.

Perth has much more choice. Rottnest is a ferry ride away, the Swan Valley wineries are a short drive upriver, and Mandurah is about an hour by train. York's nineteenth-century wheatbelt streets and New Norcia, a Benedictine monastery town in the bush, add history. Margaret River is better done overnight.

Children have fun in both places, but Perth is much easier with them. Darwin's best moments involve crocodiles, either seen up close in the centre or jumping beside the boats on the Adelaide River, along with the fish feeding at Doctors Gully and the Waterfront lagoon. The heat wears small children out, and the sea is off limits.

Perth has Perth Zoo across the river by ferry, the Aquarium of Western Australia, Scitech, free playgrounds in Kings Park, and patrolled or sheltered water for swimming. A day cycling on Rottnest looking for quokkas suits every age.

Both have small centres you can walk, and both push you towards a car once you leave them. In Darwin the midday heat makes even short walks hard work, buses are too infrequent for a tight plan, there is no train, and the parks need a hire car or a tour.

Perth has suburban trains to Fremantle and Mandurah, free buses around the CBD and a ferry to South Perth, all on one smartcard. That puts Cottesloe and Fremantle within easy reach without driving, though the Swan Valley and the hills still need a car.

Aboriginal art is the best thing to buy in both cities. Darwin is closer to where it is made, with galleries selling work from Arnhem Land, the Tiwi Islands and the desert communities. Apart from that it has the Smith Street Mall, a suburban mall at Casuarina and market crafts.

Perth has more variety. There are department stores and old arcades between the Hay Street and Murray Street malls, a short run of luxury labels on King Street, boutiques in Claremont, and Fremantle Markets in a Victorian hall. South Sea pearls are the local thing to take home.

Both are expensive, and the difference lies in where the money goes. In Darwin the big cost is getting out of town, because you can hardly see the parks and wetlands without a hire car or a guided tour, and flights in are long. The markets and the free museum help, and rooms are cheaper in the wet season.

In Perth the free things matter more. The beaches, Kings Park, the CBD buses, the museum and the gallery cost nothing, and you can reach a lot by train. Extras such as the Rottnest ferry, wine tours and heavily taxed drinks are what push the bill up.

Darwin has one big moment, the Darwin Festival in August, with theatre, dance and Aboriginal performance on outdoor stages. The rest of the year you get touring shows at the Entertainment Centre, local theatre at Brown's Mart and cover bands on Mitchell Street.

Perth has a proper season. The state opera, ballet and symphony orchestra perform through the year, His Majesty's Theatre and the State Theatre Centre stage drama and musicals, and the Perth Festival and its fringe fill the parks in late summer. Fremantle and Northbridge pubs keep the local band scene going.

In Darwin, relaxing means a sunset on the foreshore with the locals and an afternoon that slows down in the heat. The spring-fed pools at Berry Springs, in shady monsoon forest about three quarters of an hour south, are the nearest thing to a soak in the dry season. From October to April, though, the humidity drains more than it restores, and spas are limited to a few hotels and massage studios.

Perth offers more choice, in a gentler climate. Day spas, yoga studios and retreats in the Perth Hills and the Swan Valley add to the hotel spas, and the city's early, quiet rhythm makes long walks by the river and in Kings Park easy. It is no spa destination, but it is the more restful stay.