Huntington Beach or Page, Arizona?

Huntington Beach has the better beach: around 14km of continuous sand with lifeguard towers, volleyball nets and fire rings, all within walking distance of town. The drawbacks are a cool Pacific for much of the year and strong surf, so it suits surfers and sunbathers more than long, easy swims.

Page offers something quite different. Lake Powell is warmer in midsummer and calm, and the best swimming is done off boats into deep water in sandstone coves. But there are no lifeguards, the beaches shift with the lake level, and you need a vehicle or a boat to reach most of it.

Huntington Beach eats better, mostly through casual food: fish tacos by the pier, brewpubs on the coast highway and, above all, the pho and banh mi of Little Saigon a short drive inland. Newport and Costa Mesa fill the gap in fine dining.

Page cooks to feed road-trippers and tour groups, with diners, barbecue and chains. The one dish worth seeking out is the Navajo taco on frybread, and that is about the extent of its local food.

Neither town is a place for museums or old buildings, but what little each offers is quite different. Huntington Beach's sights are about surfing: the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the handprints of the Surfers' Hall of Fame. Page's are about engineering and exploration, with the Glen Canyon Dam visitor centre and a small museum devoted to John Wesley Powell, plus the deeper presence of the surrounding Navajo Nation.

Huntington Beach has a real night out, though a narrow one: the bars, rooftop decks and a few dance spots on Main Street, busy and loud on summer weekends. Page has a few bars and a brewpub, no clubs, and a town that goes quiet early because everyone is up before dawn for the canyons. Its best evening is the dark, star-filled desert sky.

Page is surrounded by extraordinary landscape. Antelope Canyon's glowing slot walls and the river loop at Horseshoe Bend are minutes away. Rainbow Bridge is reached across Lake Powell, and the Wave, Buckskin Gulch and Grand Canyon rafting from Lees Ferry are all within reach.

Huntington Beach's outdoors centres on the ocean: consistent surf breaks, paddling in the harbour channels and a long cycle path, plus fine birding at Bolsa Chica. It is pleasant, but the land around it is flat suburb, and the trails start half an hour south.

Huntington Beach makes a much richer base for day trips, provided you drive outside rush hour. Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Long Beach's Queen Mary and the ferry to Catalina Island are all within easy reach, and San Diego is a longer day.

From Page the drives are long and the destinations sparse: the pioneer buildings at Lees Ferry, the cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument, and Kanab's Western film history. Most of what lies beyond the town is landscape rather than places to visit.

Huntington Beach is by far the stronger family choice. Disneyland, California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm are close by, the Aquarium of the Pacific makes an easy morning, and the sand, the pelicans and the park lakes fill the days in between. The waves suit boogie boarding more than toddlers paddling.

Page suits older children who enjoy the outdoors: a lake day at Lone Rock and a short Antelope Canyon tour go down well. But there is nothing built for children, the summer sun is harsh, and the unfenced cliff edges and canyon ladders need close watching.

Both places depend on a car, but Huntington Beach is a little easier: the pier, Main Street and downtown are walkable, and the flat beachfront path makes a hired bike genuinely useful. Page's sights lie well outside its small strip, buses are no use, and the nearest major airports are hours away, so most visitors arrive with their own wheels and keep them.

Huntington Beach has far more to shop for. Main Street's surf shops and board makers sell the most characteristic souvenirs, and South Coast Plaza, a major luxury mall, is about twenty minutes away.

Page's shopping is mostly supplies for the lake and the road. Its one real draw is Navajo craft, such as silver and turquoise jewellery, rugs and pottery, bought at trading posts or directly from the makers.

Neither is cheap, but Page is the more manageable of the two. Its everyday meals and fuel cost what they would in any small town, and camping at Lone Rock or visiting in winter brings costs down further, although guided canyon tours and boat hire add up.

Huntington Beach costs more day to day, with beachfront hotel rates, restaurant bills that grow with tax and tip, and a hire car and parking. Inland motels and the county's Vietnamese and Mexican cooking are the ways to save.

Huntington Beach itself offers only bar bands and summer park concerts, but the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa is close. It brings the Pacific Symphony, ballet, opera and touring Broadway shows, and South Coast Repertory runs a respected theatre season. Page has essentially nothing to plan around beyond the occasional Navajo dance presentation for visitors.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Huntington Beach is the easier place to slow down. It has resort and day spas, yoga on the sand and sunset evenings by a beach fire. Page is restful mainly in its desert silence and night skies, and most stays there revolve around early starts and long drives rather than lazy days.