Ha Long or Ho Chi Minh City?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Ha Long at least puts swimming within reach. The town beach at Bai Chay is shallow and often cloudy. The real swimming comes on cruises, with stops at island beaches such as Ti Top and dips off the boat in quiet coves, roughly from May to October.

Ho Chi Minh City has no swimming coast of its own, only the muddy mangrove shore at Can Gio. Vung Tau, two hours away, has warm but murky water and weekend crowds. In practice a swim here means a hotel or rooftop pool.

Ha Long is a good place for a seafood dinner, and Ho Chi Minh City is worth travelling to just to eat. In Ha Long the best things are cha muc squid cakes and crabs or mantis shrimp picked from the tanks near Ha Long market and along Bai Chay, plus northern breakfasts of pho and banh cuon. Beyond that, cruise menus are fixed and there is barely any café culture.

Saigon's sweeter, herb-heavy southern cooking runs from banh xeo and hu tieu on plastic stools to Cholon's Chinese-Vietnamese kitchens and snail streets after dark. Add a proper coffee culture, modern Vietnamese restaurants and the international dining in Thao Dien, and you could eat differently at every meal for a week.

Ha Long's great sight is natural, and there are few cultural stops in town. The black-glass Quang Ninh Museum in Hon Gai, Long Tien pagoda and the old floating village of Cua Van on the bay fill a day at most.

Ho Chi Minh City has far more, mostly from the twentieth century. The War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace bring the war close. The Dong Khoi quarter keeps the French-era cathedral, post office and Opera House, and Cholon's incense-filled assembly halls add an older layer. Two or three days cover it well.

Evenings in Ha Long are short and gentle. In Bai Chay that means beer halls, karaoke and seafood that wind down before midnight. On a cruise it means a drink on the sundeck and squid fishing off the stern.

Ho Chi Minh City goes out properly. Pavement beer leads to the neon noise of Bui Vien, rooftop and speakeasy-style bars around Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue, and clubs with a young local crowd. Thao Dien has a calmer expatriate scene, and many places stay open into the small hours.

Nature is Ha Long's whole case. Close to two thousand forested limestone islets rise from the bay. You can explore caves such as Sung Sot and paddle under rock arches into lagoons. For more, the quieter Lan Ha and Bai Tu Long bays have the same scenery, and Cat Ba adds trails and climbing.

Ho Chi Minh City is flat and built up. Its nature is the Can Gio mangroves, with boardwalks and macaques, and the canals and paddies of the Mekong Delta. These are pleasant by boat or bicycle but gentle next to the karst seascape.

Ha Long has one excellent outing, and Ho Chi Minh City has more range. From Ha Long the highlight is Yen Tu, the holy mountain of Truc Lam Zen, with pagodas climbing through old forest. Hai Phong's colonial streets and the Bach Dang battlefield are close too. The islands work better as overnight trips, and Hanoi is too far to go and come back in a day.

From Saigon there are several distinct days out. You can crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels, watch the midday ceremony at the Cao Dai temple in Tay Ninh, or take a boat through the coconut canals around My Tho and Ben Tre. Vung Tau's hilltop statue and lighthouse make another option.

Ha Long gives children more to remember. A day on the water, with caves full of odd rock shapes, kayaking and swimming off the deck, feels like an expedition. Sun World in Bai Chay adds a cable car over the bay, a Ferris wheel and a water park. On cheaper boats, check the railings and lifejackets, and save overnight cruises for older children.

Ho Chi Minh City is openly fond of children, but its attractions are modest: Dam Sen, the eccentric Suoi Tien park and the old zoo. Families manage best with a hotel pool, short trips by car and sightseeing in the mornings.

Both cities rely on cheap ride-hailing cars, but Ho Chi Minh City gives a visitor a little more to work with. Ha Long stretches along the bay in two halves joined by the Bai Chay bridge. The waterfront is easy to walk, but pavements are patchy beyond it and the buses are little use. Cruise transfers from Tuan Chau take care of the boat side.

Saigon's colonial core around Dong Khoi and Ben Thanh is compact enough to walk. A metro line runs east from Ben Thanh, and a river bus is a pleasant extra. Motorbike taxis are quick. Crossing the traffic takes nerve, and phones are best kept away from the kerb.

Ha Long has little to offer shoppers: the Bai Chay night market, pearl showrooms, and dried squid or fish sauce from Ha Long market in Hon Gai.

Ho Chi Minh City is a real shopping stop. Ben Thanh and the wholesale Binh Tay Market in Cholon are good for haggling, and tailors make suits and ao dai to measure. Lacquerware, embroidery and Song Be ceramics are worth packing. The malls on Dong Khoi and Le Loi carry international labels and Thao Dien has small design shops, though the tourist stalls are full of copies.

Both cities are very cheap, and Ho Chi Minh City comes out a little ahead because nothing forces a big spend. In Ha Long, hotels, street food and taxis cost little, but almost everyone books a cruise, and that becomes the largest single cost. At the waterfront seafood places, agree the weight and price before anything is cooked.

In Saigon, street food, coffee, draught beer and motorbike taxis barely touch a budget, and museum fees are low. Only the international layer of rooftop bars, imported wine and smart hotels comes close to Western prices, and it is easy to avoid.

Ha Long has almost nothing on stage, just staged shows in the Bai Chay entertainment complex and some folk singing on cruise boats.

Ho Chi Minh City has enough for an evening or two. The French-built Opera House is home to the city's ballet and symphony orchestra and stages acrobatic shows about southern village life. Water puppetry plays in the centre, cai luong reformed opera survives in a few theatres, and small jazz rooms add live music.

In Ha Long, rest comes from the water: a slow day among the karsts, tai chi on deck at dawn and the small spas on the better boats. The mineral springs at the Quang Hanh onsen resort, forty minutes east, are a proper bathing option. The town itself is noisy.

Ho Chi Minh City has the edge for being looked after, because massage is part of daily life. Foot massage parlours stay open late across the centre, and the signature ritual is the long reclining shampoo with a scalp massage and warm towels. Calm outside the treatment room is harder to find, but parks at dawn, temple courtyards and the quieter streets of Thao Dien help.