Havana or Salvador?

Havana's centre meets the sea with rock and the Malecón's wall, so swimming means a taxi out to the Playas del Este, white sand and clear warm water with simple stalls and local weekend crowds. It works as a day off from the city.

Salvador lives on its beaches. Porto da Barra's calm cove is a short walk from town, the ocean beaches grow wider and cleaner towards Stella Maris and Flamengo, and the reef pools of Praia do Forte and the islands across the bay add full beach days.

Salvador eats far better. Bahian cooking, built on dendê oil, coconut milk and dried shrimp, gives you acarajé from the baianas' stalls, moqueca in a clay pot and the São Joaquim market to wander, all of it cheap and casual.

Havana's table is narrower: ropa vieja, beans and roast pork, with the best meals in paladares and menus that depend on supply. Its strength is the glass, with daiquiris and mojitos in the bars that made them famous and aged rum everywhere.

The two are evenly matched, but in different ways. Havana's interest lies in its whole townscape: the colonial squares of Habana Vieja, the harbour fortresses, then whole streets of art deco and mid-century buildings in Centro and Vedado, some restored and some crumbling, with good museums of Cuban art and of the revolution.

Salvador's is more concentrated and more religious: the steep Pelourinho with its dozens of baroque churches, the gilded interior of São Francisco and the ribbon-hung Bonfim church. Its Afro-Brazilian heritage gives the sightseeing a living, spiritual side that Havana's architecture does not.

Salvador gives the fuller night out. Rio Vermelho's pavement tables and late acarajé stalls, Barra's beach crowd and the Pelourinho's busy squares make evenings easy to find, and Carnival week is one of the largest street parties anywhere.

Havana's nights centre on dancing. Salsa clubs in Vedado and Miramar fill with skilled local dancers, old town bars pour rum late and the Malecón becomes an open-air meeting place. It is more scattered, with taxis between districts.

Salvador has more outdoors on its doorstep: sailing on the Bay of All Saints, surf at Stella Maris, the dunes and dark lagoon of Abaeté inside the city, and humpback whales offshore in the southern winter. There are no mountains, though.

Havana's outdoor life is mainly walking or cycling the Malecón and the shade of the Almendares park. The forest trails and river pools of Las Terrazas lie about an hour west, and Viñales is too far for a casual outing.

Havana's easy outings are few and close to home: Hemingway's house at Finca Vigía and the fishing village of Cojímar on the outskirts, and Matanzas, with its bridges and rumba tradition, about an hour and a half east. Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Viñales are too far for a day, and with little public transport most trips mean a driver or a tour.

Salvador's list is not long either, but it gives a few more good days out. The colonial river town of Cachoeira in the Recôncavo is the best of them, Praia do Forte pairs a beach with the ruins of a castle, and ferries cross the bay to Itaparica's old town. Morro de São Paulo, reached by catamaran, is better kept for a night or two.

Neither city is built around children, but Salvador is somewhat easier. Porto da Barra's shallow water suits young swimmers, and the turtle centre and bay boat trips give days out, though families usually base themselves at a beach hotel.

Havana offers warmth towards children, the National Aquarium, classic-car rides and cannons on the fortresses, but shortages of baby supplies and medicines mean packing everything. It suits older children who like music and history.

Both rely on taxis beyond the centre, but the walking differs. Havana's old town is flat and compact, and the Malecón links it to Vedado on foot, while classic American cars and shared almendrones, with fares agreed first, handle the rest.

Salvador is a city of two levels joined by the Lacerda Elevator, with steep cobbles in the Pelourinho and a long spread north along the coast. Cheap ride-hailing makes it simpler to get about, and the metro helps for the airport.

Salvador offers more to browse. The Mercado Modelo and Pelourinho shops sell lace, carved wood, berimbaus and Bonfim ribbons, and air-conditioned malls cover everyday needs with Brazilian chains.

Havana's shopping is limited to what Cuba makes: cigars, aged rum, coffee and work from artists' studios in Habana Vieja and Vedado, plus the harbourside craft market. Fashion is essentially absent and shelves can be sparse.

Salvador is the cheaper stay. Street food, beach-shack meals, ride-hailing and modest sight entry keep daily costs low, with Carnival week as the one steep exception.

Havana can be inexpensive if you sleep in a casa particular with breakfast and eat simply, but state hotels, the better paladares and imported goods are priced at international rates, and you need to carry plenty of cash.

Havana is the stronger music city. Son, bolero and salsa are played well in old town bars from midday, Vedado's jazz clubs host top players, and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba at the Gran Teatro and the National Symphony give it a serious formal side.

Salvador's strength is percussion and dance: bloco drum rehearsals in the Pelourinho and Liberdade, capoeira in the squares and the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. Its concert and theatre programme beyond the Teatro Castro Alves is thin.

Neither is a place for spa breaks, but Salvador gives a little more, with hotel spas in town and resort spas along the coast to the north, plus a quiet base in Santo Antônio.

Havana has only a few hotel spas. Rest there means a rocking chair in a colonial courtyard, a leafy guesthouse in Vedado or Miramar, or a day at the beach away from the heat and fumes.