Kanchanaburi or Phuket?

There's no contest here. Kanchanaburi is a river town several hours from the coast. Swimming means the turquoise pools at Erawan or floating on the River Kwai from a raft house, which is refreshing but no substitute for the sea.

Phuket has a whole coast of sandy bays: crowded Patong, the calmer Kata and Karon, quiet Nai Harn and the long, empty beach at Mai Khao, plus boat trips to island beaches. Come between November and April, though. For the rest of the year monsoon rip currents make the west coast dangerous.

Kanchanaburi feeds you well and cheaply with ordinary central Thai cooking. There are noodle shops, the night market by the station and river fish eaten on floating restaurants at sunset, but little beyond that.

Phuket has a cooking style of its own, rooted in its Hokkien and Peranakan past. Try the yellow Hokkien noodles, peppery moo hong and dim sum breakfasts in Phuket Town, along with fiery southern curries and seafood sold by weight. The beach towns add resort dining and international food, so the choice is much wider.

Both give you a good day or two of sightseeing rather than a whole cultural trip, but what you see is very different. Kanchanaburi's sights tell one sobering story from the Second World War: the bridge, the cemeteries with their rows of Allied graves, and the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre.

Phuket's history comes from trade and tin mining. You'll find the pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses of Thalang Road and Soi Romanee, Chinese clan houses and shrines, as well as Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha. Choose Kanchanaburi for a moving lesson in history, or Phuket for a pretty old town to wander.

Evenings in Kanchanaburi mean a few beers on the riverside backpacker strip, perhaps with a cover band, and at weekends the noise of Thai party rafts drifting past. Most people are in bed early.

Phuket offers a proper night out, centred on Bangla Road in Patong, where neon-lit bars and big clubs stay open until dawn. If that is too rowdy, there are sunset beach clubs at Bang Tao and Kamala, and quieter bars in Kata, Rawai and the old shophouses of Phuket Town.

Both make good bases for the outdoors, with Phuket a step ahead, and the difference is land against sea. Kanchanaburi looks out over the forested limestone hills along the Burmese border. Its highlights are the seven-tier Erawan falls, the caves and falls at Sai Yok, kayaking on the reservoirs and cycling through paddy fields.

In Phuket the best outings are on the water. You can kayak among the limestone towers and lagoons of Phang Nga Bay, or snorkel and dive off the Racha islands, Phi Phi and, in the dry season, the Similans. On land there is less, mainly short rainforest trails at Khao Phra Thaeo and sunset viewpoints.

Kanchanaburi has more varied outings by land. The old railway runs north along river cliffs towards Nam Tok and Hellfire Pass, and the Khmer ruins of Prasat Muang Singh make a quiet half day. To the east, Nakhon Pathom's great chedi and the canal markets are within two hours.

From Phuket, nearly every day out is a boat trip to another island, such as busy Phi Phi or the quiet villages of Koh Yao, or a drive to Krabi and Ao Nang. These are pleasant trips, but there are few historic places within reach, so the days tend to feel alike.

Kanchanaburi has its moments for children: splashing in the Erawan pools, the slow train over wooden trestles and a night in a raft house. But the town's main sights are cemeteries and museums, the heat is tiring and most outings mean a minivan.

With children, Phuket is the easier choice. Resorts at Kata, Karon, Nai Harn and the northern bays have kids' clubs, big pools and shallow water in the dry season. There are also water parks, an aquarium and short snorkelling trips. Avoid Patong after dark and stay out of the west-coast sea in the monsoon months.

Neither is easy without your own transport, but Kanchanaburi is easier. The town stretches along a flat riverbank where a bicycle works well, and cheap songthaews, local buses and the slow train reach the main sights, though slowly.

Phuket is a big, hilly island. Its one bus down the west coast runs infrequently and stops early, and the songthaews don't link one beach to the next. Most visitors end up in taxis with high fixed fares, and riding a scooter on the steep roads is a real risk.

Phuket has much more for shoppers. There are malls near Phuket Town and in Patong, a big weekend night market, tailors and pearl shops, and small galleries and design shops in the old town, where Thalang Road becomes a walking-street market on Sundays.

In Kanchanaburi, shopping is limited to the markets, souvenir stalls by the bridge, a modest mall and some sapphire dealers, where you need to know what you are buying.

Your money goes further in Kanchanaburi. Raft rooms and guesthouses cost little, market and shophouse meals are cheap, and the train and buses are almost free. The main extra costs are the foreigner entry fees at national parks and hiring private drivers.

Phuket is still good value by Western standards, but beachfront rooms, tourist restaurants and above all taxis add up quickly. Room prices also climb sharply from December to February. You can keep costs down by staying in Phuket Town or by coming in the monsoon.

Neither is a place for theatre or concerts. Phuket at least has evening entertainment: big ladyboy cabaret shows, staged Thai cultural performances and reggae or cover bands in beach bars.

Kanchanaburi has little more than riverside cover bands for most of the year. The exception is River Kwai Bridge Week, when a sound-and-light show with fireworks restages the wartime bombing of the bridge. It's worth planning a visit around.

Kanchanaburi relaxes you through its slow pace, with hammocks at the raft houses on the upper River Kwai and cheap Thai massage in town. On the way north you can stop for a soak in the small hot springs at Hin Dat.

Phuket is set up for wellness. Massage is everywhere, from shopfronts on the beach roads to resort spas in the jungle, and there are retreats offering yoga, meditation and detox programmes. In Chalong, Muay Thai camps take visitors who want to train hard. For peace and quiet, stay at Nai Harn, Rawai, Mai Khao or on the east coast.