Dunedin or Hobart?

Both cities treat their beaches as places to walk rather than swim, but the shoreline is quite different. Dunedin faces the open Pacific: St Clair and St Kilda form one long surf beach with swell and rips, and the water stays around 14-15°C even in midsummer, so most visitors use the heated saltwater pool at St Clair instead.

Hobart's beaches line the calm Derwent estuary and sheltered bays such as Sandy Bay and Kingston, with Seven Mile Beach for a longer stroll. The water is a few degrees warmer, so a short dip on a warm February day is realistic, which it rarely is in Dunedin.

Hobart is the stronger city for eating. Its meals are built on Tasmanian produce, from channel oysters and salmon to scallop pies and summer berries, and the fish punts at Constitution Dock and Salamanca Market make that produce easy to find. Cool-climate pinot noir, sparkling wine and whisky can be tasted in town or out in the Coal River Valley, and a few ambitious kitchens raise the standard.

Dunedin eats more simply. The Saturday farmers' market by the railway station is its high point, along with blue cod, Bluff oysters in season, the cheese roll and a long brewing tradition, but dinner around the Octagon offers little depth and fine dining is scarce.

These two are closely matched, and each takes two or three relaxed days, but they tell different colonial stories. Dunedin is a Scottish gold-rush city of Victorian and Edwardian stone, best seen in the railway station, First Church and the university clocktower, with Olveston and Larnach Castle showing private wealth from the inside.

Hobart is older and Georgian, with the sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place, the cottages of Battery Point and the convict history of the Female Factory. Its trump card is MONA, a provocative museum with nothing like it in Dunedin.

Neither is a place for a big night out, and they are quiet in similar measure. The difference is who sets the tone: in Dunedin it is the students, so George Street and the Octagon fill with late bars and DJs during term and go flat outside it. Hobart's evenings centre on pubs, wine and whisky bars at Salamanca and in North Hobart, at their liveliest around New Year, when yacht crews arrive.

Both cities have outstanding nature close by, and the choice comes down to what you want to see. Dunedin is about wildlife: albatross, yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions on the Otago Peninsula, forest birds at Orokonui, and coastal walks such as Tunnel Beach.

Hobart offers more variety of landscape. kunanyi/Mount Wellington has trails and bike descents straight from town, and within a couple of hours lie the Tasman Peninsula's huge sea cliffs and the Three Capes walk, the waterfalls of Mount Field and the edge of the southwest wilderness.

Hobart has the wider choice of outings. Port Arthur's convict ruins make a full and memorable day, Georgian Richmond and its cellar doors are only half an hour away, and the Huon Valley and the ferry to Bruny Island fill further days with orchards, oysters and coastal views.

From Dunedin, Oamaru is the standout, with its white limestone Victorian quarter and blue penguins, plus Moeraki on the way and Port Chalmers close by. Beyond those, the Central Otago gold towns and vineyards involve long drives through mostly empty country.

Both are small, safe and easy with children, and both lean on animals rather than theme parks. In Dunedin that means albatross, sea lions and penguin tours, plus the hands-on science centre and butterfly house at Otago Museum, though steep streets are hard going with a pushchair. Hobart's sanctuaries let children see Tasmanian devils and feed kangaroos, and Port Arthur's open grounds work well for older children.

Getting around works in much the same way in both: a walkable centre, a modest bus network and a hire car for almost everything outside town. Dunedin's flat valley floor gives way to some very steep streets, and its key sights on the Otago Peninsula sit along winding roads with little transport. Hobart adds a useful ferry up the river to MONA, but the bus up the mountain is limited.

Hobart has a little more to shop for, mostly thanks to Salamanca Market on Saturdays and the craft galleries in the waterfront warehouses, which sell Huon pine, glass, ceramics, gin and whisky. It is a place for local crafts rather than fashion.

Dunedin's shopping is smaller and quirkier: George Street for everyday needs, local designers in dark, practical clothes, second-hand bookshops, vintage stores and merino knitwear.

In Dunedin, most of the money goes on the wildlife you came to see. The guided albatross, penguin and harbour tours and a hire car for the peninsula are the biggest costs, and restaurant meals, drinks and groceries cost as much as anywhere in New Zealand, which is a lot. Rooms go up around graduation and big sports weekends, but the Botanic Garden and the coastal walks out to Tunnel Beach are free.

Hobart works out a touch dearer overall. Restaurant meals, wine and coffee are at Australian prices, and in summer and around the New Year yacht race the waterfront hotels fill up. Car hire and fuel are hard to avoid if Port Arthur or Bruny Island is on the list. Tasmanian produce is where you save: market stalls, pub meals and cooking for yourself keep a stay affordable.

Hobart has the fuller stage. The Theatre Royal, Australia's oldest working theatre, puts on drama and touring shows, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra plays a regular season on the waterfront, and the MONA festivals bring experimental music and performance, including a midwinter one that gives the cold months a reason to visit.

Dunedin's claim is the Dunedin Sound, the 1980s indie guitar tradition that still lives on in small venues and pubs, with touring shows at the Regent and orchestral concerts at the Town Hall. Its programme follows the university calendar and is thin outside term.

For rest, Dunedin has one thing of its own: the heated saltwater pool on the St Clair esplanade, where you swim in warm seawater facing the surf. Beyond that there are only a few day spas and massage studios, and the calm comes from empty streets and slow mornings in the Botanic Garden.

Hobart gives you more to book. Hotel spas and day spas cover the city, and anyone wanting proper time off can stay at a lodge or retreat in the countryside around it. The pace in town is gentle too, with mornings on the waterfront and long lunches.