Huntington Beach or San Diego?

These are equally good beach destinations that are shaped differently. Huntington Beach is one continuous strip of about 14km of wide, flat sand, with the pier in the middle, fire rings for bonfires and volleyball nets along the way. The whole town faces it. The surf is steady and rip currents are common, though, so swimmers stay close to the lifeguard towers.

San Diego spreads its sand along a far longer and more varied coast. It runs from Coronado's broad strand and the Mission and Pacific Beach boardwalk to the cliff-backed beaches of North County. San Diego also has calm, sheltered water at Mission Bay and La Jolla Shores, which suits beginners and small children much better.

Huntington Beach eats casually and not especially well in town. Fish tacos by the pier, surfers' breakfasts and brewpubs along the coast highway share Main Street with plenty of chains. The best meals are a drive inland, in the pho houses and banh mi bakeries of Little Saigon.

San Diego has more good food within the city itself. Baja-style fish tacos and late taco shops are in every neighbourhood, and Convoy Street has a long run of Korean, Japanese and Chinese kitchens. The craft-beer taprooms of North Park and Miramar are a reason to visit on their own.

The gap here is wide. In Huntington Beach, sightseeing means the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the handprints of the Surfers' Hall of Fame, which together fill an afternoon. Beyond that it is postwar suburb.

San Diego has full days of sightseeing. Balboa Park's Spanish Colonial Revival buildings hold the art, natural history and Air and Space museums. The USS Midway and the Maritime Museum's sailing ships line the waterfront, and Old Town, Mission San Diego de Alcalá and Cabrillo National Monument tell the story of the region's beginnings.

A night out in Huntington Beach means one strip on and around Main Street. Its sports bars and rooftop beach bars fill with a young local crowd at weekends, and weeknights are quiet.

San Diego offers more choice of scene. There are dance clubs and rooftop bars in the Gaslamp Quarter and a rowdier beach-bar strip in Pacific Beach much like Huntington's. North Park and South Park have cocktail bars and brewery taprooms, and Hillcrest is the centre of the city's gay nightlife. Both cities close at 2am.

In Huntington Beach the outdoors is mostly the ocean. There are consistent surf breaks by the pier, paddling in the harbour channels and a paved beach path for cycling. Bolsa Chica's wetland is an excellent place to watch herons, terns and pelicans. Beyond that the land is flat suburb, and hills mean driving half an hour south.

San Diego has much more variety close at hand. Within the city are the sandstone bluffs of Torrey Pines, sea lions and kayak routes into the sea caves at La Jolla Cove, and the tide pools at Cabrillo. Grey whales pass offshore in winter. About an hour inland are pine-forested mountains above 1,800m, and beyond them the canyons of Anza-Borrego.

Both make good bases, but they lead in different directions. From Huntington Beach the trips run north and offshore: Los Angeles's museums and Hollywood about an hour away, the Queen Mary at Long Beach, Laguna's arts town, and the ferry to Catalina Island.

San Diego's best day trips run south, across the border. Tijuana is a trolley ride and a walk away, and the Valle de Guadalupe vineyards beyond Ensenada are Mexico's best-known wine country. Julian and Temecula lie inland. Coastal trains to Carlsbad and Encinitas give San Diego some outings that don't need a car.

Huntington Beach has a real advantage in its closeness to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. The Aquarium of the Pacific is also an easy outing, and Bolsa Chica's pelicans and the lakes of Central Park are in town. However, every trip needs a car, and the waves suit boogie boarding better than toddlers.

San Diego is better set up for children overall. The zoo, the Safari Park, SeaWorld and Legoland are all within its own county. Mission Bay gives little ones calm water, and Balboa Park's lawns and fountains make easy breaks between museums. The big parks are spread out, so most days go to one attraction.

Neither is easy without a car, but Huntington Beach depends on one more. Main Street and the pier are walkable and the flat beach path is good by bike. There is no rail, though, and the theme parks, Little Saigon and Laguna all mean the freeway.

San Diego at least links its compact downtown, Little Italy and the waterfront by trolley to Old Town and the border. Coastal trains also run up to the North County beach towns. La Jolla, the Safari Park and Legoland still need a hire car or ride-hailing.

For shopping the two are level, with different specialities. Huntington Beach is the place for surf gear. Main Street's board makers and surf shops sell the most characteristic thing to take home, and South Coast Plaza, about twenty minutes away, has the major luxury houses under one roof.

San Diego's shopping is more spread out. Fashion Valley has the luxury brands, there is an outlet centre at the border, and Little Italy and North Park have independent boutiques and vintage shops. Old Town sells Mexican crafts and pottery.

Both are expensive coastal stays. The ways to save differ. In Huntington Beach, cheaper motels on the inland boulevards and the Vietnamese and Mexican places around the county ease the bill, but a rental car and beach parking are hard to avoid.

San Diego's high costs come partly from its headline attractions, where the zoo, Safari Park, SeaWorld and Legoland all charge high admission. Taco shops, brewery taprooms and the free gardens of Balboa Park help balance that.

Huntington Beach has little on stage beyond cover bands in the Main Street bars and summer concerts in the park. For more, you drive to Costa Mesa, where the Segerstrom Center hosts the Pacific Symphony, ballet and touring Broadway shows, and South Coast Repertory runs a respected theatre season.

San Diego's theatre is in the city itself. The Old Globe in Balboa Park and the La Jolla Playhouse both produce shows that have gone on to Broadway. There are also the symphony's summer concerts on the bay, a short opera season, and free concerts at the outdoor organ pavilion.

Neither has a bathing tradition. Huntington Beach is a place to unwind by doing little, with yoga on the sand, sunset walks on the pier and evenings around a fire. Spa options are mostly resort hotels and ordinary day spas in the shopping centres.

San Diego has more to offer here. There are resort spas in La Jolla, Coronado and Carlsbad, and Encinitas has a long-standing yoga and meditation culture centred on its clifftop gardens.