Jeddah or Muscat?

Both seas are warm, but Muscat makes swimming much simpler. Qurum and Shatti al Qurum give you a long sandy beach inside the city, the coves at Qantab, Al Bustan and Yiti have clear water below the headlands, and boats run out to the Daymaniyat Islands for snorkelling over coral.

Jeddah's reef starts almost at the shoreline and its winter sea is slightly warmer. But the corniche is for strolling rather than swimming, so getting into the water usually means paying for a beach club or resort at Obhur.

Jeddah is the better place to eat. Hejazi cooking blends mandi, saleeg and mutabbaq with dishes from Yemen, South Asia and East Africa. You can choose your fish at the market and have it grilled nearby, and Al-Balad fills with sweets and snacks on Ramadan evenings.

Omani food in Muscat is mild and good, but few restaurants serve it, so most meals come from cheap Keralan, Pakistani and Lebanese canteens in Ruwi and Mutrah. Muscat's hotels serve wine, while Jeddah has no alcohol at all.

Muscat has more landmarks spread along its coast. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the highlight. Old Muscat's palace sits between two Portuguese-era forts, and the National Museum and Bait al Zubair explain Oman's history well.

Jeddah relies almost entirely on Al-Balad. Its coral-stone houses with wooden rawasheen balconies, and the restored Nassif House, make a more complete old quarter to walk through than anything in Muscat, but the rest of the city is modern and its museums are slight.

Neither city is for going out in the usual sense. The difference is that Muscat serves alcohol in licensed hotels, where a few lounges and clubs fill with expatriates at the weekend. Jeddah has no alcohol anywhere, but its northern cafés, dessert shops and shisha lounges stay busy past midnight, and big music events now and then draw a party crowd.

Muscat is far ahead here. The bare Hajar mountains drop straight into the sea in cliffs and inlets. Wadi Shab and the Bimmah sinkhole are along the coast road, and the terraced gardens of Jebel Akhdar are about two hours inland, with dolphins and protected reefs offshore.

Jeddah's natural appeal is mostly below the water: fringing reefs with walls and wrecks, plus kitesurfing and sailing on the creek at Obhur. On land it is a flat, sandy plain, and the cooler mountain air near Taif is a long drive away.

From Muscat you can reach most of Oman's history by car. Nizwa's round fort and Friday livestock market, the mud-brick fort at Bahla, Jabrin Castle and the hanging village of Misfat al Abriyeen are all within a day, and the dhow builders of Sur are down the coast.

Jeddah offers much less. Taif's rose farms and souks are about two hours by road, and Medina is a long day by train. Mecca is the big draw for Muslim visitors, but non-Muslims cannot enter it.

Both cities welcome children and are equally manageable with them, but the days look different. In Jeddah, family life happens on the corniche late into the evening, with playgrounds, lawns and a seafront amusement park, plus reef-sheltered beach clubs for confident swimmers.

In Muscat, days centre on the sea: dolphin-watching boats, shallow coves, Qurum's lakeside park and a hands-on science museum. The aquarium and indoor snow park at the Seeb mall are useful in the heat.

Both are long coastal cities built for the car, with buses that are no help to visitors. In Jeddah, cheap ride-hailing is the easy answer, though rush-hour traffic is heavy, and high-speed trains run from the city to Mecca and Medina.

Muscat has no train at all, but its roads are good and well signed, so a hire car is easy to manage and opens up the interior. On foot, Jeddah has Al-Balad, and Muscat has the Mutrah corniche and the cove of Old Muscat.

Jeddah has more to buy and a wider range. Its northern malls run from international chains to luxury houses and fashionable abayas. In the Al-Balad souks you can buy gold by weight and perfume blended to order, and bargaining is expected.

Muscat's Mutrah Souq is calmer and smaller, scented with frankincense and selling silverwork, khanjar daggers and perfume oils. Beyond it there are only suburban malls of chains and no luxury street.

Costs come out roughly even, with a slight edge to Jeddah, but they fall in different places. In Jeddah, hotels are mid-range and taxis are cheap, but beach club entry and dinners in the northern districts add up, and rooms cost more around Ramadan and the pilgrimage seasons.

In Muscat, canteen meals cost very little, but the beach resorts are expensive and a hire car is part of the budget. Rates drop in the hot summer months.

Muscat has the stronger stage thanks to the Royal Opera House. From autumn to spring it hosts touring opera, ballet, orchestras and Arab music stars, though not every night.

Jeddah has no regular theatre or concert season. Its live shows come as events in the cooler months, with pop stars and comedy in arenas, and you might catch Hejazi oud music and the mizmar stick dance at heritage events in Al-Balad.

Muscat is much the better place to unwind. The city itself is calm and low-rise, the resort spas in the coves south of the centre offer hammam rituals and frankincense treatments, and the warm springs at Nakhal and Rustaq are within reach inland.

In Jeddah, wellness means hotel spas and gender-separated day spas, and the traffic and heat work against rest. A seafront resort at Obhur is the quietest option.