Hua Hin or Pattaya?

Hua Hin's main beach is the better place to swim straight from the hotel: several kilometres of pale sand running south to Khao Takiab, calm water and no speedboat traffic, though the sea is milky and the sand narrows at high tide. Quieter stretches lie south at Khao Tao and towards Pranburi.

Pattaya's town beach is more for deckchairs than swimming, with jet skis and parasailing offshore, and Jomtien is the calmer place for a dip. Its trump card is Koh Larn, a ferry ride out, where the water is clearer than anything on Hua Hin's shore, at the cost of weekend crowds.

Both eat best on seafood chosen by weight and cooked to order, and at night markets, so the difference is in setting. Hua Hin has the stilted restaurants by the old pier and the leafy weekend craft markets, while Pattaya has the Naklua waterfront, the fishing villages to the south and far more international comfort food along its central strip, of uneven quality. In both, the best meals are Thai and found away from the tourist streets.

Neither is a culture destination, and a day or two covers each. Hua Hin's interest is its royal seaside past: the red-and-cream railway station with its royal waiting pavilion and the airy teak palace of Maruekhathaiyawan. Pattaya has no historic quarter, but the Sanctuary of Truth, a vast carved teak temple at Naklua, is a single sight of real quality, and the rest leans towards wax museums and illusion galleries.

Pattaya is the place for a big night out. Walking Street, the beer-bar sois off Second Road, large dance clubs, rooftop bars over the bay, Jomtien's beach bars and the gay quarter at Boyztown add up to far more choice, running late, with the sex trade a visible part of it.

Hua Hin's evenings are confined to a few lanes around Soi Bintabaht, mostly beer bars and sports screens, plus a few sunset bars. There are no real clubs, and most visitors end the night at a market or back at the resort.

Hua Hin has much the better countryside. Khao Sam Roi Yot's limestone peaks, mangroves and the light-filled Phraya Nakhon cave are an hour south, and Kaeng Krachan's rainforest, home to gibbons, hornbills and wild elephants, lies inland.

Pattaya's outdoors is on the sea instead: snorkelling around Koh Larn, Koh Sak and Koh Phai and dives to sunken naval ships, which Hua Hin does not offer. On land it has little beyond bay viewpoints and Nong Nooch's gardens. Both are good kitesurfing spots in the breezy dry months.

Both offer a fair handful of outings, of different kinds. From Hua Hin the pick is Phetchaburi, an hour away, with its hilltop palace, cave temple and fine old murals, while Amphawa and the Damnoen Saduak floating market make a longer day. Pattaya is the one close enough for a long day in Bangkok, and it adds island escapes to Koh Si Chang off Si Racha and the white beaches of Koh Samet.

Hua Hin is the easier family base. The sea off the main beach is gentle enough to swim from the hotel, resorts are built around pools and kids' clubs, and evenings are calm; water parks, sheep farms, pony rides and the Khao Takiab monkeys fill the days.

Pattaya has plenty for children too, including water parks, an aquarium with a walk-through tunnel and the night safari at Khao Kheow. But the central streets after dark are no place for them, so families settle in Jomtien, and heat and broken pavements weigh on pushchair days in both towns.

Getting around works much the same way in both: shared songthaews along the main coastal road, then taxis, ride-hailing or a scooter, with uneven pavements and heavy traffic making walking hard work. Hua Hin is a long ribbon along the Phetkasem highway with a small walkable old centre, while Pattaya's songthaews run a tighter loop of Beach Road and Second Road out to Jomtien and Naklua. In both, the sights out of town need a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but the emphasis differs. Pattaya has more of it, with several big malls on Beach Road and Second Road, themed shopping centres, quick tailors and night markets at Thepprasit and Jomtien, practical and cheap. Hua Hin's best browsing is its weekend art-and-craft markets under the trees, where handmade jewellery and ceramics make better keepsakes than the copies sold in either town.

Both are inexpensive by Western standards, with cheap street food, massages and songthaew rides. Pattaya has a slight edge thanks to its oversupply of rooms, especially in the wet season, and condos rented by the week. Hua Hin's room rates climb when Thai weekenders arrive, so a midweek stay pays there; in Pattaya, the costs to watch are jet skis, speedboat trips and unmetered taxis.

Pattaya at least has shows to go to: big-stage ladyboy cabaret every night, dinner shows with Thai dance and martial arts, and cover bands playing rock standards late along Walking Street.

Hua Hin offers less, mostly cover bands in hotel lounges and resort dance shows, though its long jazz connection brings a beach festival in some years. Neither has theatre or a classical season.

Hua Hin is the stronger choice for rest. It has some of Asia's best-known residential spas, with detox, yoga and traditional treatments in seafront gardens, and the whole town runs at an unhurried pace of early swims and quiet evenings.

Pattaya has massage on every street and full spas at the resorts in Naklua, Na Jomtien and on Pratamnak, but some parlours belong to the nightlife trade and the centre stays loud late. Rest there depends on choosing a quiet base.