Huntington Beach or Newport Beach?

On sand alone the two are evenly matched, but the shorelines are different. Huntington Beach is one long, straight run of about 14km of open beach, from the dog-friendly stretch past the pier to the state beaches. It has fire rings for evening bonfires and steady surf with frequent rips, so you swim near the lifeguard towers.

Newport has more variety. There are the surf breaks along the Balboa Peninsula and the notorious Wedge, the small rocky coves of Corona del Mar, and sheltered harbour beaches where the water stays calm. If you want to paddle rather than ride waves, Newport is the better choice. The sea temperature is the same in both.

Neither town has a cuisine of its own, and they come out roughly level. The difference is the setting. Huntington eats casually around the pier and Main Street, with fish tacos, surfers' breakfast spots and brewpubs, and plenty of chains. Its big advantage is that Little Saigon lies in the neighbouring towns.

Newport adds harbour dining rooms with boat views around Lido, brunch in Corona del Mar and the frozen banana on Balboa Island. When Huntington wants fine dining, it usually drives to Newport. The views come at a price, though.

Neither is a sightseeing town, but Newport has slightly more to look at. The 1905 Balboa Pavilion and the island ferry keep some old resort charm, and Schindler's Lovell Beach House is a real stop for anyone interested in modernist architecture.

Huntington's sights are about surfing: the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the handprints of the Surfers' Hall of Fame. It takes an hour or so, and beyond that you are among postwar suburbs.

Nights out are modest in both, and both stop at 2am. Huntington puts everything on one Main Street strip of sports bars, rooftop beach bars and a few dance spots. It gets loud on summer weekends, and you can walk between places.

Newport has no clubs and splits in two. There are rowdy dive bars by the Newport and Balboa piers, and wine bars and hotel lounges around the harbour for a quieter, dressier evening that ends before midnight.

Newport has the stronger outdoors. Upper Newport Bay, a tidal estuary inside the city, has a paved loop and marshes full of herons and shorebirds in winter. Crystal Cove's bluff paths and canyon trails start just south of town, and boats leave the harbour all year to watch grey and blue whales.

Huntington's outdoor life is mostly in the ocean, with consistent surf on both sides of the pier. Its standout on land is Bolsa Chica, a restored wetland with excellent birding. Otherwise the land around it is flat and built-up, and the hills are half an hour's drive away.

Both towns open up the same stretch of Southern California, but Newport sits a little better for it. Laguna Beach is about twenty minutes away, San Juan Capistrano half an hour, and the Catalina ferry leaves from Balboa itself.

Huntington is the handier base for the northern side: Long Beach with the Queen Mary, and Los Angeles at about the same hour. Wherever you go from either town, it is freeway driving, and rush hour can double the time.

Both work very well for families, with Disneyland about half an hour inland. Huntington is a touch nearer Knott's Berry Farm and gives children wide sand, pelicans at Bolsa Chica and the lakes of Central Park. Its waves, though, are better for boogie boarding than for toddlers.

Newport is better for the smallest children. Its harbour and Balboa Island beaches have shallow, calm water, and there is the Fun Zone's ferris wheel, the little car ferry and the whale-watching boats.

Both are car country, with slow buses and every outing on a freeway. What differs is the part you can manage without a car. In Huntington it is the compact downtown around Main Street and the pier, plus the flat beach path for bikes. In Newport it is the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island, which the little ferry links into one area you can walk or cycle.

Newport is the clear choice for shopping. Its open-air centre above the harbour has department stores and designer names. South Coast Plaza, with most of the big fashion houses, is ten minutes away, and there are boutiques in Corona del Mar and nautical gift shops on Marine Avenue.

Huntington's shopping is about surf style: board makers, swimwear and surf-brand clothing along Main Street. A locally made surfboard is the souvenir to bring home. For luxury you drive about twenty minutes to the same Costa Mesa mall.

Huntington Beach is the easier of the two on the wallet. Its beachfront hotels still charge high rates in summer and at weekends, but the motels along the inland boulevards give you a real way round them. The sand costs nothing, and the Vietnamese and Mexican kitchens of the surrounding county feed you well for modest sums.

Newport is expensive even by Californian standards. Its harbour hotels charge resort prices, restaurants charge for the view, and the usual way to save is to sleep inland in Costa Mesa or Irvine. In either town, budget for car hire and parking.

Both rely on Costa Mesa for serious performance, and Newport is closer to it. The Segerstrom Center, home of the Pacific Symphony and touring Broadway and ballet, is about ten minutes away, with South Coast Repertory next door. That makes an evening at the theatre easy to fit into a beach day.

In Huntington itself there are cover bands on Main Street, summer concerts in the park and a small community theatre. The same stages in Costa Mesa are a longer drive.

Huntington Beach relaxes in the simplest way: yoga on the sand, a slow walk out along the pier at sunset and an evening round a beach fire. Beyond that, a spa day means a resort hotel on the coast highway or a massage studio in a shopping centre.

Newport is better for a pampered stay. The resorts on the hills above the coast have full spas, Corona del Mar has yoga studios and day spas, and early mornings on the bluffs are quiet. Neither town has thermal springs or bathhouses. In Newport, the calmer areas to the south are the place to stay away from the summer weekend crowds on the peninsula.