Jerusalem or Sharm el-Sheikh?

Here the gap is as wide as it gets. Jerusalem has no swimming at all. A beach day means the train to Tel Aviv's long sandy shore, or a drive down to float in the Dead Sea, and either one takes up a whole day away from the sights.

Sharm el-Sheikh is built around the sea. The Red Sea is clear and calm, and at Sharks Bay, Ras Um Sid and along the Nabq coast you walk out on a jetty and snorkel the reef edge straight from the hotel beach. Most beaches belong to hotels and some are small, so pack reef shoes, but nothing within reach of Jerusalem comes close.

Jerusalem eats far better. Mahane Yehuda is worth a visit in its own right, and the city mixes Arab hummus counters, ka'ak carts and knafeh with Kurdish, Iraqi and Yemenite Jewish cooking, so each meal can be different. You do need to plan around kosher menus and the Shabbat closures in West Jerusalem.

In Sharm most meals come from a hotel buffet, and Naama Bay's restaurants are built for tourists. The Old Market's grilled fish, koshari and taameya and a Bedouin dinner in the desert are the best of it, good for an evening or two but not a reason to go.

There is barely a contest. Jerusalem's walled Old City holds the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock in about one square kilometre. The City of David and the Western Wall tunnels lie beneath it, and the Israel Museum and Yad Vashem stand beyond the walls. Several days barely cover it.

Sharm el-Sheikh is a modern resort. Its sights come down to the Al Sahaba Mosque and the painted Coptic Heavenly Cathedral in the Old Market, an hour's visit at most. For Egypt's history you have to travel a long way out.

Neither suits a big night out, but the evenings feel very different. Going out in Jerusalem is local and low-key: market stalls in Mahane Yehuda that turn into bars after closing, pubs around Nahalat Shiva and the German Colony, and quiet Friday nights under Shabbat.

Sharm's nightlife is made for visitors. Naama Bay has promenade bars, beach DJ nights and a few large clubs that stay open late in the peak months, though many guests never get further than the lobby bar and the hotel show.

Sharm el-Sheikh has the stronger outdoors, and most of it is underwater. The reef walls of Ras Mohammed, the wreck of the Thistlegorm and the reefs of the Tiran Strait make it a world-class base for diving and snorkelling. On land there is kiteboarding and there are jeep trips into the red granite of the Sinai.

Jerusalem's outdoors is mostly for walkers. The Judean Hills around Sataf and Ein Karem are green in spring, Wadi Qelt cuts down toward Jericho, and Ein Gedi and the dawn climb to Masada are about an hour away. It is varied country, but nothing in it matches Sharm's reefs.

Jerusalem is one of the best bases in the region. Bethlehem is next door, and Tel Aviv and Jaffa are half an hour away by train. Masada, Qumran and the Dead Sea make a classic day out, and Caesarea, Acre and the Baha'i gardens in Haifa are all within about two hours.

From Sharm the list is short. There is laid-back Dahab an hour to the north, and St Catherine's Monastery below Mount Sinai, often combined with a night climb for the sunrise. Tours to Cairo, Luxor or Petra are sold, but each makes for a very long day.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the easier choice for families, as long as you pick the hotel carefully. Kids' clubs, family pools, water slides and shallow lagoons for a first try at snorkelling cover most of a week, though the midsummer heat is hard on small children.

Jerusalem is very welcoming to children. The Biblical Zoo, the aquarium and the Bloomfield Science Museum make good outings, and Hezekiah's Tunnel is a highlight for older children. Still, the Old City's steps are no place for a stroller and the mood at the holy sites is serious, so the city works better with older, curious children.

Jerusalem is far easier to get around. The Old City, Jaffa Road and Mahane Yehuda are within walking distance of each other, the light rail runs out to Yad Vashem, and a fast train goes to Tel Aviv and the airport. The hills make for steep walking, and buses and trains stop for Shabbat.

Sharm stretches about 30km along the coast, and the only public transport is shared minibuses on the main road. Hotel shuttles and taxis, with the fare agreed before you get in, do most of the work, and Naama Bay is the only part worth exploring on foot.

Jerusalem has more worth buying, though neither city is a place for fashion. In Jerusalem you can buy olive-wood carvings and embroidery in the Old City souq, painted Armenian ceramics, silver Judaica around the Jewish Quarter and spices from Mahane Yehuda, all of which make distinctive gifts. Mamilla has the familiar international brands.

Sharm's Old Market and Naama Bay sell perfume oils, papyrus, alabaster and galabiyas, with a lot of sales talk along the way. That is fine for a few souvenirs, but there is no local craft worth seeking out.

Sharm el-Sheikh is much the cheaper trip. All-inclusive resorts often cost less than a simple room on the Mediterranean, and food in the Old Market is cheap. Outside the hotel, though, taxis, diving, excursions and imported drinks add up.

Jerusalem is expensive. Hotels, sit-down restaurants and alcohol cost well above the Mediterranean norm, especially around the Jewish festivals. Free holy sites, reasonably priced public transport and hummus or falafel lunches help, but the total stays high.

Of the two, only Jerusalem has a real stage. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Theatre, the Israel Festival and summer concerts at the Sultan's Pool below the walls make up a small but genuine programme, even though most plays are in Hebrew.

In Sharm, performance means hotel entertainment teams, belly dancing and tanoura dancers at dinner shows. There is no theatre or concert hall at all.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the more restful stay. Resort spas offer hammam-style scrubs, steam rooms and massage, and the long, warm days by the pool and the sea make it easy to switch off.

Jerusalem is crowded and emotionally charged, and its spas are mostly in hotels. It does have quiet of other kinds: the Dead Sea's mud and float about an hour away, the calm of a Saturday in West Jerusalem, and the gardens on the Mount of Olives and in the Armenian compound.