Huntington Beach or Santa Barbara?

In Huntington Beach the beach is the whole point. About 14km of wide, flat sand comes with fire rings, volleyball nets and a long path, and in late summer the water is a couple of degrees warmer. The trade-off is steady surf and frequent rip currents, so swimmers stay near the lifeguard towers.

Santa Barbara faces south and the Channel Islands shelter it, so the shore is gentler, and Carpinteria's shallow beach suits toddlers better than anything in Huntington Beach. The sand comes in smaller stretches, though, and the water is cooler. The beach is a pleasant extra here rather than the reason to come.

Santa Barbara eats noticeably better. Its cooking draws on the harbour boats, well-stocked farmers' markets and the wineries over the mountains, and the Funk Zone tasting rooms let you try the local pinot noir on foot. The Milpas Street taquerias cover cheaper meals.

Huntington Beach is fish tacos, surfer breakfasts and ocean-view brewpubs, with plenty of chains in between. Its best eating is a short drive inland in Little Saigon, which has a depth of Vietnamese cooking that Santa Barbara cannot match.

The gap here is wide. Santa Barbara is a sight in itself, rebuilt in white stucco and red tile after the 1925 earthquake. It has the County Courthouse, the Old Mission and the restored Presidio, and its art and natural history museums round out two or three days.

Huntington Beach offers the pier, the International Surfing Museum and the Hall of Fame handprints, which take an hour or so unless you are devoted to surfing. For heritage, people drive to Los Angeles or the missions further down the coast.

Neither city is a place to go out late, and the difference is one of tone. Huntington Beach puts everything on Main Street near the pier: sports bars, rooftop decks and a few dance spots that get loud on summer weekends.

Santa Barbara's evenings lean towards wine bars and brewery taprooms in the Funk Zone, with student crowds on lower State Street. It suits a long dinner and a glass of local wine better than a late night.

Santa Barbara has much the stronger outdoors, because the Santa Ynez Mountains rise straight behind the town. Trails to Seven Falls, Inspiration Point and Rattlesnake Canyon start from residential streets, Los Padres National Forest lies beyond, and boats leave for whale watching and the Channel Islands.

In Huntington Beach the outdoors is the sea: consistent surf, paddling in the harbour channels and cycling along the beach path, with excellent birding at Bolsa Chica. For hills, you drive half an hour to Crystal Cove or the Laguna coast.

Huntington Beach sits in the middle of Southern California, so with a car it reaches more. Los Angeles is about an hour away, Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano are close, ferries run to Catalina, and San Diego works for a long day.

Santa Barbara has fewer outings but one clear favourite: the Santa Ynez Valley wineries and Danish-founded Solvang, over the mountains. Ojai and Ventura are quieter options, and Los Angeles is too far for a comfortable day trip.

Huntington Beach is the stronger family base, mostly because of what lies within half an hour. With Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm that close, a beach week can include big days out, which Santa Barbara cannot offer without a two-hour drive. At home, the beach is wide enough to fill whole days, and the pelicans along the Bolsa Chica boardwalks make an easy outing. The cost is a car for every trip, and waves better suited to confident older children than to toddlers.

Santa Barbara works the other way round: small, gentle and easy to manage. The sheltered water at East Beach and Carpinteria lets little ones paddle safely. The zoo, the Sea Center's touch tanks and the MOXI science museum are all near the waterfront, so short outings fit between naps and meals. Older children, though, may run out of things to do within a few days.

Santa Barbara is far easier without a car. The flat downtown runs along State Street to the waterfront, buses and a shuttle cover the centre, and the coastal train stops near the beach. The wine country and trailheads still need a car.

In Huntington Beach you can walk the pier and Main Street and cycle the beach path. Nearly everything else means freeways, slow buses or ride-hailing, and beach parking is tight on summer weekends.

Both are modest for shopping, but the style differs. Huntington Beach has surf shops and board makers along Main Street, and South Coast Plaza, a huge luxury mall, is about twenty minutes away for serious fashion.

Santa Barbara has galleries and boutiques tucked into Spanish-style courtyards such as La Arcada, upmarket shops in Montecito and design stores in the Funk Zone. The things worth taking home are wine and farmers' market produce rather than a surfboard.

Neither is cheap, but Huntington Beach is easier on a budget. Motels inland cost less than the beachfront hotels, and the Vietnamese and Mexican cooking in the surrounding county keeps meals modest, though a hire car is almost unavoidable.

Santa Barbara is among the most expensive places to stay on the California coast, and rooms in Montecito and by the beach, wine tastings and tours are all priced high. Staying in Goleta or Ventura, and coming midweek or in the cooler months, makes it more manageable.

Santa Barbara has a real stage life for its size. The restored Granada Theatre hosts symphony, opera and ballet, and the historic Lobero has chamber music and jazz. The outdoor Santa Barbara Bowl draws touring bands, and the Music Academy of the West fills the town with concerts each summer.

Huntington Beach itself has cover bands, concerts in the park and community theatre. Its serious options are twenty minutes away at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center and South Coast Repertory, which are close but mean driving out for the evening.

Santa Barbara is the more restful of the two. Quiet mornings, polished resort spas in Montecito, plenty of yoga studios and the hike up to the hot pools above Montecito make it easy to unwind. The Ojai Valley, with its long tradition of spa resorts, is about an hour away.

Huntington Beach offers simpler ways to relax: yoga on the sand, sunset on the pier and evenings round a beach fire, with ordinary day spas in the shopping centres. It suits doing very little rather than a proper retreat.