Huntington Beach or Monterey?

This is the widest gap between the two towns. Huntington Beach is a beach town in the full sense. It has long flat sand, surf breaks on either side of the pier, volleyball and bonfire rings, and by late summer the water is warm enough for a proper swim near the lifeguard towers.

Monterey's beaches are lovely to look at, from Del Monte Beach to the white sand of Carmel and the Asilomar dunes, but the bay stays cold all year. The shore here is for walks, picnics and kayaking in a wetsuit rather than days on a towel.

Neither town is a dining destination. Huntington Beach is a little ahead, mostly because of what lies around it: the pho houses and banh mi bakeries of Little Saigon a short drive inland, and good Mexican cooking across the county. In town itself the eating is casual, with tacos by the pier and brewpubs on the coast highway.

Monterey's strength is local produce: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs from the bay, artichokes from the Salinas Valley and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Skip the bread-bowl chowder on the wharf and eat in Old Monterey or Carmel, where prices are aimed at resort guests.

Monterey has a real story to tell, and Huntington Beach mostly does not. The adobes of the state historic park, among them the Custom House and Colton Hall, recall the town's years as capital of Spanish and Mexican California. The Royal Presidio Chapel, the Carmel Mission and Steinbeck's Cannery Row add to it.

Huntington Beach's sights are the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the Surfers' Hall of Fame, which fill a short morning for anyone curious about surf history. Beyond that it is postwar suburb, and museums mean a drive to Los Angeles.

Huntington Beach has the livelier evenings, though only on one strip. Main Street's sports bars, rooftop decks and dance spots fill with a young local crowd at weekends and can get rowdy in summer. Monterey winds down after dinner, with a few pubs and wine bars on Alvarado Street, hotel bars on Cannery Row and no clubs, which suits couples better than groups who want a late night.

Here Monterey is far ahead. The deep submarine canyon offshore brings whales close to the harbour, sea otters float in the kelp beside the shoreline path, and Point Lobos, the 17-Mile Drive and the cliffs and redwoods of Big Sur are all a short drive away.

In Huntington Beach the outdoor life is the ocean itself: reliable surf, paddling in the harbour channels and a flat path for cycling. The Bolsa Chica wetland is excellent for birds, but for hills you have to drive half an hour to Crystal Cove or Laguna through largely built-up country.

Huntington Beach has a slight edge for variety, as long as you drive. Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Long Beach and the Catalina ferry are all within about an hour, and San Diego is reachable on a longer day.

Monterey's best outings are small and close: Carmel-by-the-Sea, Victorian Pacific Grove, the tasting rooms of Carmel Valley and Steinbeck's Salinas. Santa Cruz is under an hour north, but after that the choice thins out, and San Francisco deserves a stay of its own.

Huntington Beach is the stronger family base. Disneyland, California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm are around half an hour away, and the wide sand and lifeguarded surf give children proper beach days on boogie boards.

Monterey's draw is one outstanding attraction, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, supported by tide pools, otters watched from the path and whale-watching boats. The town is calm and small, but the cold water limits beach time to sandcastles. In both places, anything beyond the waterfront needs a car.

You need a car to leave either town, but Monterey's centre is easier to explore without one. Its flat coastal trail links Fisherman's Wharf, downtown, Cannery Row, the aquarium and Pacific Grove, so a short stay can mostly be done on foot or by bike.

In Huntington Beach only the pier and Main Street are walkable. Cycling the beach path is pleasant, but the theme parks, Little Saigon and Los Angeles all mean driving on the freeways.

Huntington Beach offers more, mainly for surf style and big-name fashion. Main Street sells boards, swimwear and surf-brand clothing, and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, about twenty minutes away, has the major luxury houses under one roof. Monterey's own shops are mostly taffy and otter souvenirs, and the better browsing is in the galleries and boutiques of Carmel and the antique shops of Pacific Grove, which are smaller but more individual.

Both are expensive stretches of the Californian coast, and Huntington Beach is a little easier on the wallet. Its inland motels and the modestly priced Vietnamese and Mexican cooking of the surrounding county give budget travellers real options.

Monterey's rooms and dinners are priced for weekenders and resort guests, and rates peak around the August car week at Pebble Beach. To keep costs down, stay in Seaside or Marina, come midweek or in winter, and spend the days on the free coastal trail and at the tide pools.

Huntington Beach can reach a stage with a full season, while Monterey's music comes in festival weeks. In Huntington Beach itself there are only cover bands in the Main Street bars and summer concerts in the park. A short drive away in Costa Mesa, though, the Segerstrom Center hosts the Pacific Symphony, ballet, opera and touring Broadway shows, and South Coast Repertory runs a respected theatre season.

Monterey has the deeper musical history. The jazz festival has been held every September since 1958, the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival took place on the same fairgrounds, and the Carmel Bach Festival and the open-air Forest Theater fill the summer. Between those dates there is little on, so it pays to plan a visit around them.

Huntington Beach unwinds out in the open on the sand, while Monterey has a few calmer places to retreat to, which gives it the slight edge. In Huntington Beach, rest means yoga on the beach, a sunset stroll along the pier and an evening around a fire ring, with ordinary day spas in the shopping centres if you want a massage.\n\nMonterey offers fog lifting off the bay in the morning, quiet shoreline walks in Pacific Grove and resort spas among the vineyards and oaks of the sunnier Carmel Valley. What both lack is any bathing tradition, and the hot springs down the Big Sur coast are retreat centres rather than places to drop in.