Flagstaff or Monterey?

Neither is a beach destination, but Monterey at least has a coast. Carmel's white sand, the Asilomar dunes and Del Monte Beach are lovely for walks and picnics, even though the cold Pacific and its rip currents keep most people out of the water except in wetsuits.

Flagstaff sits high on a plateau, hours from any sea. Its swimming comes down to the chilly, crowded creek pools of Oak Creek Canyon on summer days and the hotel pool.

The two are about even here, but they eat very differently. Flagstaff is a beer town: you eat at brewery patios downtown and in the Southside, plus diners and New Mexican cooking with green chile and Navajo frybread.

Monterey's table is built on squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs, produce from the Salinas Valley and the Pinot Noir of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The best meals are in Old Monterey's side streets and Carmel rather than on the wharf.

Both have a short, compact list of sights, and the history is quite different. Flagstaff's highlights are science and Native heritage: the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was found, and the Museum of Northern Arizona's Hopi, Navajo and Zuni collections.

Monterey looks back to Spanish and Mexican California, with the adobes of the State Historic Park, Colton Hall, the Royal Presidio Chapel and the Carmel Mission close by, and Steinbeck's Cannery Row in between.

Flagstaff has the livelier evenings. The university keeps its taprooms, cocktail bars and Route 66 saloons busy on term-time weekends, and they sit close enough together to walk between. Neither place has clubs worth mentioning.

In Monterey a night out usually means dinner, then perhaps a wine bar or pub on Alvarado Street. By late evening most of the town has gone quiet.

Both are superb, and Flagstaff edges it on sheer range. It has volcanic peaks reaching 3,850m, a vast ponderosa forest, lava flows at Sunset Crater, a ski area and the Grand Canyon and Sedona within easy driving distance, all under some of the darkest skies anywhere.

Monterey's strength is the ocean and its wildlife. Whales off the submarine canyon, otters in the kelp, diving and kayaking from town, and the cliff paths of Point Lobos and Big Sur make it the place for marine life rather than mountains.

The outings are equally good, but they differ in distance and character. Flagstaff's trips are long drives across high desert to cliff dwellings, the old mining town of Jerome, the Hopi mesas and the railway to the Grand Canyon.

Monterey's are short and gentle: Carmel's cottages, Victorian Pacific Grove, wine tasting in Carmel Valley and Steinbeck's Salinas, with Santa Cruz's boardwalk under an hour north.

Monterey works better for families because so much is close together. The aquarium, the otters seen from the waterfront path, the tide pools and Dennis the Menace Park all fit into short, easy days.

Flagstaff also appeals to curious children, with telescope evenings, dinosaur displays and snow play in winter. But the altitude, cold nights and long drives between outings demand more of younger ones.

Monterey is the easier of the two without a car. The flat coastal trail connects the wharf, downtown, Cannery Row, the aquarium and Pacific Grove, so a bike or your own feet cover the core of a visit. You will still need to drive for Big Sur and Carmel Valley.

Flagstaff's downtown is walkable too, but the places people come for, from the Peaks to the Grand Canyon, lie far beyond any bus route. Winter ice can make the mountain roads difficult.

Monterey has slightly better browsing, mostly thanks to its neighbours: Carmel's galleries and independent boutiques and Pacific Grove's antique shops. In town itself it is mostly taffy and otter souvenirs.

Flagstaff's selection is smaller, but it has one real speciality in Navajo rugs, Hopi kachina carvings and silver and turquoise jewellery from galleries and trading posts.

Flagstaff is clearly the cheaper stay. Its Route 66 motels and brewery meals are moderately priced by American standards, though summer weekends push room rates up and park fees and a hire car add to the cost.

Monterey is costly from top to bottom. Peninsula hotels, Carmel dinners and even wharf seafood are aimed at well-off weekend visitors. The way to save there is to stay inland in Seaside or Marina and fill the days with the free coastal trail and tide pools.

The two are evenly matched, but the shape of the year differs. Flagstaff has a steady, modest calendar of symphony and university concerts, touring bands at the Orpheum and summer concerts in the pines.

Monterey's offer centres on its festivals: the long-running September jazz festival on the fairgrounds where Monterey Pop played in 1967, and the summer Carmel Bach Festival. Outside those weeks it is quieter.

Monterey is the better place to unwind. Carmel Valley's vineyard resorts and the Pebble Beach spas offer proper treatments, and the foggy mornings and shoreline evenings set a slow pace.

Flagstaff offers cool pine air, quiet nights and bright stars, but very few spas. Serious pampering means driving down to Sedona, and the altitude can disturb your sleep for the first night or two.