Hua Hin or Ubud?

Hua Hin has the beach on its doorstep: several kilometres of pale sand from the fishing pier to Khao Takiab, and a warm, calm Gulf for easy swimming. The water is often milky and the sand narrows at high tide, but quieter stretches at Khao Tao and towards Pranburi are a short drive away.

Ubud has no beach at all. The nearest easy swim is inside the reef at Sanur, and the closer black-sand Gianyar beaches are better for watching surfers. On most days the villa pool above the rice fields stands in for the sea.

The two eat equally well but in different ways. Hua Hin's food is seafood by the water: crab, squid and whole fish chosen by weight in the restaurants on stilts by the old pier, then satay and mango sticky rice at the Dechanuchit Road night market.

Ubud's best food is Balinese, such as babi guling at lunchtime counters and duck slow-cooked in spice paste, with a wide range of plant-based cafés and a few tasting-menu kitchens around it. Walk a lane or two off the main street for the better cooking.

Hua Hin's history is that of a royal seaside retreat, and it fills a day or two. You can see the red-and-cream railway station with its royal pavilion, the teak palace of Maruekhathaiyawan and the monkey-filled hill temple at Khao Takiab. There are no museums of note.

Ubud has far more to take in, and much of it is part of daily life: offerings on doorsteps, temple processions and the old palace of Puri Saren beside its lotus-pond temple. The Puri Lukisan, Neka and ARMA museums trace Balinese painting, and the eleventh-century Elephant Cave, Goa Gajah, lies on the edge of town.

Neither is a place for a night out, but Hua Hin at least stays up. The lanes around Soi Bintabaht run past midnight with beer bars and sports screens, and rooftop and beachfront bars serve a sunset drink, though the scene is small and caters largely to older Western men.

Ubud is quiet well before midnight. An evening there means dinner and a garden bar, because many guests are up at dawn for yoga or Mount Batur. For clubs, people make the long drive to Seminyak or Canggu.

Hua Hin's best landscapes are a drive away. Khao Sam Roi Yot has limestone peaks and the Phraya Nakhon cave with its royal pavilion, and the rainforest of Kaeng Krachan has gibbons and hornbills. From February to May the breezes make the bay good for kitesurfing.

In Ubud the scenery starts at the door. You can walk to the rice terraces along the Campuhan Ridge, raft the Ayung gorge or reach the waterfalls at Tibumana and Tegenungan in a short drive. The night climb of Mount Batur for sunrise over the crater lake is something the Thai coast has no answer to.

Hua Hin has one outstanding outing, Phetchaburi, with its hilltop palace, its cave temple lit from above and its fine old murals. A longer day reaches the floating market at Damnoen Saduak and the canal town of Amphawa.

From Ubud, a whole island of temples is in reach: Tirta Empul and Gunung Kawi close by, Besakih on Mount Agung, then Tanah Lot and the UNESCO-listed Jatiluwih terraces further west. The island's slow roads limit how many fit into one day.

Hua Hin is the simpler family base. It has a gentle, warm sea, resorts with kids' clubs and gardens on the sand, two big water parks and pony rides along the tideline. The midday heat and the busy highway are the things to plan around.

Ubud welcomes children just as warmly, and villa pools make the afternoons easy. Outside the villa, though, there are narrow pavements, scooter traffic, macaques that grab at bags and long car journeys. It suits older children who enjoy gentle rafting and rice-field walks more than toddlers.

Neither is easy, but Hua Hin has a backbone in its green shared songthaews, which run the length of the coastal strip. The old centre between the station, the night market and the pier can be walked, and trains and buses connect to Bangkok.

Ubud has no public transport worth relying on. Its pavements are broken and its roads climb steeply in and out of the river valleys, so visitors rely on ride-hailing, hotel shuttles or their own scooter. Staying near the centre is the only way to walk out to dinner.

In Hua Hin the pick is the weekend craft markets on the south side of town, with ceramics, jewellery and clothing under the trees. Beyond those it is souvenirs and copies, tailors, and malls with everyday brands.

Ubud is the better place to buy things made by hand. Carvings and sarongs fill the Art Market opposite the palace. Mas is known for woodcarving, Celuk for silver and Batuan for its paintings, and workshops on the road to Tegallalang sell furniture and homeware. Jalan Hanoman adds small boutiques for linen and yoga wear.

Both are cheap places to sleep, eat and get a massage, and both have an expensive top end. In Hua Hin the money goes on the big beachfront resorts and the restaurants aimed at long-staying foreigners, and Thai weekenders push room rates up, so a midweek stay pays off.

In Ubud the spending is in the jungle resorts above the river valleys and the visitor cafés, while homestays and warungs stay modest. Day-long drivers are inexpensive, which matters in a town where you will hire one often.

Hua Hin has little to attend beyond cover bands and dance shows staged for resort guests. Its link with jazz shows up only in a beach festival held in some years.

Ubud has Balinese dance with a live gamelan somewhere every evening, in the palace courtyard, on the lotus-pond stage at Pura Taman Saraswati and in village temple grounds. The programme moves between the Legong, the Barong and the chanted Kecak, and the shows are arranged for visitors but performed by long-established village troupes. There is still no theatre or concert hall.

Both are made for slowing down, in different ways. Hua Hin's strength is spa and rest: well-known residential retreats with detox and fitness programmes in seafront gardens, massage shops on every street and massages under the trees on the beach.

Ubud goes further. It has yoga from dawn to dusk in open pavilions, retreats lasting from a weekend to several weeks, flower baths, traditional healers and the purification ritual at Tirta Empul. For a yoga or retreat trip it is the clearer choice.