Durban or Hermanus?

The real difference is the water. Durban's Indian Ocean is in the mid-20s through summer and only drops to about 21°C in the coolest months, so you can stay in for an afternoon, and the swimming areas along the city shore are patrolled and protected by shark nets. The Golden Mile gives you kilometres of sand right in front of the hotels, and Umhlanga, Ballito and the south coast offer quieter stretches nearby. The hazards are the rips, so keep to the patrolled zones, and the river mouths after a summer downpour.

Hermanus has beautiful beaches. Grotto is a broad white strand reaching east towards De Kelders, and Voëlklip and Kammabaai are smaller coves. What it lacks is warmth: Walker Bay stays several degrees cooler than Durban's water even in midsummer, and the wind can make it colder still. Here the beach is for walking, sunbathing and watching the surfers more than for swimming. Families with small children usually settle by the still lagoon behind Grotto.

Durban has the more distinctive cooking, built on Africa's largest Indian community. A bunny chow from a takeaway counter and a bag of masala from the Victoria Street Market are reasons to go in themselves. Outside curry and seafood the choice narrows.

Hermanus eats from the sea and the vineyards. There are line fish and abalone near the Old Harbour, and the Hemel-en-Aarde estates serve lunches with Pinot Noir and long views. It is pleasant rather than a place to explore a cuisine.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Durban gives you a full day's worth. The Edwardian City Hall and its gallery, the Juma Masjid on Grey Street, the KwaMuhle Museum on the pass laws and Gandhi's Phoenix Settlement tell the story of a mixed and divided city.

In Hermanus the sights are the stone slipways of the Old Harbour, a small museum and the Whale House Museum, which you can see in an afternoon before heading back to the coast.

Durban at least has places to go. Florida Road's terraces fill at weekends, Umhlanga has polished hotel lounges, and the township shisanyama scene is loud on Sunday afternoons, though it is best visited with a local. Expect to move between venues by car.

Hermanus has a few pubs and wine bars that fill for sundowners, and then it goes quiet. For a proper night out you would drive to Cape Town.

Hermanus is one of the best places in the world to watch whales from land. Southern right whales calve below the cliff path, and Fernkloof's fynbos trails, the lagoon and the coast road past the Kogelberg reserve and the Stony Point penguins are all close by.

Durban's strengths are under water. You can dive with ragged-tooth sharks on Aliwal Shoal, surf all year and watch the winter sardine run, and hike in the Valley of a Thousand Hills or Krantzkloof. The Drakensberg and the big game parks are too far for a day.

Hermanus makes the better base for outings by car. Cape Town is reached along a dramatic coastal road, and Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are under two hours away. Closer in are Stanford, thatched Greyton and Elim, and Cape Agulhas at Africa's southern tip.

From Durban the choices are gentler. You can visit Pietermaritzburg's Victorian streets, the craft studios of the Midlands Meander and the Mandela Capture Site sculpture. The Zulu War battlefields, the region's major heritage sites, need an overnight stay.

Durban has more that is built for children. uShaka Marine World puts an aquarium and water park on the beach, and the cable car over Moses Mabhida Stadium and the Umhlanga Sharks Board add more days, with warm, lifeguarded water in between. Parents need a car and should keep to busy, well-known areas.

Hermanus is calmer but has fewer attractions. Children can spot whales from the path, poke around rock pools and paddle in the shallow Grotto lagoon, but there is no aquarium or park, and the sea is too cold for long swims.

Both places expect you to drive. Durban is a spread-out city where visitors use ride-hailing every day, and the beachfront promenade and its small bus are the only easy stretch without a car. The airport is about 30km north.

Hermanus has a walkable village centre and cliff path, but the town runs for kilometres along the coast and has no public transport you can rely on.

Durban offers more, though little of it is stylish. The huge Umhlanga Ridge mall covers the brands. The better buys are spices from the Victoria Street Market and Zulu beadwork, baskets and telephone-wire bowls from the beachfront sellers.

In Hermanus there are a few galleries, boutiques and a weekend market. The best thing to take home is wine bought at the Hemel-en-Aarde cellar doors.

Both are good value for visitors from abroad, with cheap local wine and moderate rooms. In Durban, the cheap meal is a curry or bunny chow and the extra cost is daily ride-hailing. Umhlanga is the expensive pocket.

In Hermanus, self-catering cottages give you plenty of space for the money. Rates rise in the December and January vacation and in whale season, and a hire car and boat trips take a large share of the budget.

Durban has a real, if modest, calendar. There is theatre and dance at the Playhouse, the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic plays in the City Hall, and the Jomba dance festival and the film festival are the highlights. The local gqom and maskandi scenes are worth seeking out with a guide.

Hermanus offers a yearly arts festival, outdoor stages at the whale festival and the odd pub singer. For concerts or theatre, people go to Cape Town.

Hermanus is the more restful place, because of its pace rather than its spas. Days are spent walking the cliff path, watching the bay and lingering over wine-farm lunches, with a cold morning dip in a tidal pool. There are a few spas and some yoga.

Durban is noisy, and its wellness means good-value resort spas in Umhlanga and towards Ballito. People who really want to slow down go inland to the country spa hotels of the Midlands.