Hua Hin or Krabi?

Krabi has the better beaches. Railay West and Phra Nang are framed by sheer limestone, and longtail boats reach island coves on Poda and Chicken Island, with clearer water in the dry season than anything on the Gulf.

Hua Hin's main beach is a long, pale stretch from the fishing pier to Khao Takiab with calm, warm water, but the sea is often milky and the sand narrows at high tide. Its advantage is reliability, as the Gulf stays calmer through the wet months while Krabi's sea turns rough and some boat routes stop.

Hua Hin eats slightly better, mostly thanks to its seafood restaurants on stilts by the old pier, where you choose crab and fish by weight, and the night market on Dechanuchit Road. Krabi's cooking is more distinctive, though: fiery southern curries, turmeric fish soups and roti shaped by the local Muslim communities.

To find it in Krabi you need to go to Krabi Town's walking-street market and riverside stalls, as Ao Nang's strip is mostly toned down for visitors. Neither is a food destination in its own right.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Hua Hin has more to show. Its history as a royal seaside retreat comes through in the red-and-cream railway station and the teak palace of Maruekhathaiyawan, with hilltop temples to round out a day or two.

Krabi has the Tiger Cave Temple, with its long climb and views over the karst, and a few Chinese shophouses in Krabi Town, and beyond that very little.

Both have only a small night scene, and the difference is in character. Hua Hin's evenings concentrate in the old-town lanes around Soi Bintabaht, with beer bars, sports screens and hostess bars for an older Western crowd, which stay open past midnight.

Krabi is more barefoot: cocktails on Ao Nang's beach road, and on Railay hammocks, reggae and fire-spinning on the sand, mostly quiet by midnight. Anyone who wants a real party night takes the ferry to Phi Phi.

Krabi's landscape is in a different league. Limestone towers rise straight out of the sea, and Railay and Tonsai are among the world's best-known climbing spots, with kayaking through mangroves and Phang Nga Bay's karst islands in reach by boat. Inland, the Emerald Pool and the Dragon Crest hike add rainforest.

Hua Hin's countryside is better than the town suggests, with Sam Roi Yot's peaks and the Phraya Nakhon cave an hour south, and gibbons and hornbills in Kaeng Krachan. It is also the stronger of the two for kitesurfing in the breezy months.

Hua Hin has better day trips by road. Phetchaburi, about an hour north, offers a hilltop palace, the light-filled Khao Luang cave temple and fine old murals, and the canal town of Amphawa and the Damnoen Saduak floating market make a longer day.

Krabi's outings are mostly by boat and mostly about scenery. Koh Lanta's stilted Old Town and the fishing villages of Koh Yao Noi are the main places to visit, but there are no major heritage sites within easy reach.

Hua Hin is the easier family base. Alongside the warm, gentle sea and resort kids' clubs, it has two big water parks, themed farms inland and pony rides on the beach, so there is a fallback when children tire of the sand.

Krabi's shallow coves at Klong Muang and Phra Nang are lovely for small children in the dry season, but there is nothing built for children, and open longtail boats and monsoon seas call for planning with young ones.

Both are hard work without a vehicle, for different reasons. Hua Hin is a long ribbon along the highway, with green songthaews running the strip, a walkable old centre and a main road that is hard to cross.

In Krabi the obstacle is water: Railay has no road at all, so every trip there is by longtail, which stops in heavy seas, while white songthaews link Ao Nang with Krabi Town. In either place, a car and driver is the simplest way to reach the national parks.

Hua Hin is the better place to browse, mainly because of its weekend art-and-craft markets on the south side of town, where ceramics, jewellery and clothing are sold under the trees, and a couple of large malls. Krabi offers little beyond the beachwear and souvenir stalls on Ao Nang's main road and Krabi Town's weekend walking street. Neither suits a serious shopping trip.

Both are cheap by Western standards, and what differs is where costs creep up. In Hua Hin it is the weekends, long weekends and national festivals, when Thai visitors fill the rooms, so a midweek stay is better value.

In Krabi the island tours, longtail fares and park fees for foreigners add up, and staying on Railay costs more because everything comes in by boat. Krabi Town is the cheapest base in either place.

Neither offers a real arts programme, so evenings out mean bar entertainment. Hua Hin has cover bands, Thai dance shows at the resorts and a long royal connection with jazz. In Krabi you get fire-spinning on the beaches and Muay Thai fights staged for visitors near Ao Nang, which is the more lively evening of the two.

Hua Hin is the stronger wellness destination. It is home to some of Asia's best-known residential spas, offering yoga, detox and fitness programmes in seafront gardens, and the whole town moves at a resting pace.

Krabi has good spas in the resorts along Klong Muang and Railay, plenty of yoga classes, and something Hua Hin lacks: the forest hot springs at Khlong Thom, where warm mineral water runs over limestone into pools. Ao Nang's busy main road can disturb the calm in high season.