Honolulu or Ubud?

The gap here is large. Honolulu is built around its shore. Waikiki's reef-sheltered sand suits easy swimming and first surf lessons, and Kaimana and Ala Moana have quieter water. Lanikai, Kailua and Hanauma Bay are a short drive away, and in summer the North Shore is calm enough to swim.

Ubud sits inland among the hills. The nearest calm swim is at Sanur, the best part of an hour away, and the black-sand beaches of the Gianyar coast are for watching surfers rather than swimming. Most of your time in the water here will be in a villa pool.

Honolulu has more to eat because so many kitchens meet there. You'll find poke counters, plate lunch, kalua pig and laulau, and excellent Japanese ramen, izakaya and sushi in Kaimuki, Kapahulu and Chinatown.

Ubud's range is narrower but distinctly its own. There is babi guling at lunchtime counters, bebek betutu and nasi campur in family warungs, and a large plant-based café scene. In both places the main tourist strip is the weakest place to eat, and the best meals are the casual ones.

The two are evenly matched, and both towns can be seen properly in two or three days, but the kind of culture differs. Honolulu's is history held in buildings and collections: Iolani Palace, the Polynesian artefacts of the Bishop Museum and the memorials at Pearl Harbor.

In Ubud you see culture in everyday life: offerings on doorsteps, processions on temple feast days and the palace at Puri Saren. Add the painting collections of Neka, ARMA and Puri Lukisan and the carved Elephant Cave at Goa Gajah on the edge of town.

Honolulu's evenings are modest, but there is a real choice. You can have a mai tai on the beach at sunset, then go on to the cocktail and dive bars around Chinatown and Nuuanu Avenue or the breweries of Kakaako. Ubud offers much less, usually a long dinner, a garden bar and perhaps a band, and the town is quiet before midnight. For a late night, people drive to Seminyak or Canggu.

Both are excellent places to be outdoors, but Honolulu comes out ahead because it adds the ocean to the mountains. Snorkelling with turtles, surfing, paddleboarding and kayaking to the Kailua islets sit alongside the Diamond Head rim, Manoa Falls and the Koolau ridges, with whales offshore in winter.

Ubud's landscape is inland, and much of it starts at the edge of town. Rice terraces surround it, the Campuhan Ridge path and the paddies north of the centre are walks from your door, and the Monkey Forest's old jungle sits in the middle of town. The waterfalls, rafting on the Ayung and the dark climb up Mount Batur for sunrise are the parts that need a drive.

Ubud is much the better base for excursions. Tirta Empul and Gunung Kawi are close by. With a driver you can reach Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung, the old court town of Klungkung, Tanah Lot, Ulun Danu Bratan and the Jatiluwih terraces, though Bali's slow roads limit how many fit into one day.

Oahu has Haleiwa, Kailua, the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Byodo-In temple, and all of them fit into one loop of the island. Going further means flying to a neighbouring island and staying a few nights.

Honolulu is much easier with children. It has the calm lagoons at Ko Olina and Ala Moana, the zoo and aquarium at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, Hanauma Bay for a first snorkel and resort kids' clubs. Between them they cover most ages, and the main drawback is cost.

Ubud gives children a warm welcome, and villas with pools make the afternoons easy. But missing pavements, scooter traffic, macaques that grab at bags and long car rides make it better suited to older children who enjoy rafting and rice-field walks than to toddlers.

Honolulu is far simpler to get around. Waikiki is flat and easy to walk end to end, and TheBus reaches Pearl Harbor, Chinatown and the North Shore. A hire car for a day or two covers the rest of the island.

Ubud has no public transport you can rely on, and its pavements are broken and its roads climb steeply through the river valleys. Plan each day around a hired driver or ride-hailing, and stay near the centre if you want to walk to dinner.

Honolulu has the broader choice. There are luxury fashion houses along Kalakaua Avenue and the huge Ala Moana Center, and good local buys include aloha shirts, koa bowls, ukuleles and island coffee. Ubud has no fashion or department stores, but its craft trail is the more unusual hunt: haggling at the Art Market, woodcarving in Mas, silver in Celuk and paintings in Batuan.

The difference in cost is large. In Honolulu nearly everything is expensive, from the hotel room and resort fees to drinks and car hire. The savings come from plate lunches, the bus, and beaches and hikes that cost nothing.

In Ubud a homestay, warung meals, massages and a driver for the day all cost little. Only the luxury resorts above the gorges, the tasting menus and imported wine push the bill towards Western levels.

Each city's stage centres on its own island tradition, and Ubud's is easier to see. Legong, Barong and Kecak with a live gamelan are performed every evening in the palace courtyard, at Pura Taman Saraswati and in village temples.

Honolulu's hula and slack-key guitar are more scattered, with free shows at Kuhio Beach, music in hotel courtyards and festivals through the year. It does have what Ubud lacks: the Hawaii Theatre and short seasons from a symphony and an opera company.

Wellness is the main reason many people choose Ubud. It has yoga from dawn to dusk in open pavilions, retreats of a weekend or several weeks, flower baths, traditional healers and the purification springs at Tirta Empul.

Honolulu has lomilomi, good resort spas and yoga on the sand. Real quiet there means staying at Kahala, Ko Olina or on the windward side rather than in busy Waikiki.