Laguna Beach or Napa?

Laguna Beach is a beach town through and through. Main Beach sits at the heart of the village, and coves such as Crescent Bay, Shaw's Cove, Victoria Beach and Thousand Steps line the cliffs on either side. The water is clear enough for snorkelling over the reefs, and it is warm enough for swimming in late summer.

Napa has nothing to compare. The nearest coast is the cold, rough Sonoma shore more than an hour away, where people walk rather than swim. Summer swimming there means a resort pool or a drive to Lake Berryessa in the eastern hills.

Napa is the far stronger food destination, because the meals grow out of the wine that brings people there. A day of Cabernet tastings along the Silverado Trail or Pinot Noir in Carneros can end at one of the celebrated kitchens in Yountville or St Helena. Back in town, the Oxbow Public Market has oysters, cheese and bakeries under one roof.

Laguna eats well but more simply. Fish tacos, poke, surfers' breakfasts and clifftop dining rooms where the sunset does much of the work are the norm. For variety, visitors drive inland to Orange County's Vietnamese, Mexican and Korean restaurants.

Neither town is a sightseeing destination, but Laguna Beach has the clearer cultural identity. Its history as a plein air painters' colony lives on in the Laguna Art Museum and the many galleries along Coast Highway and Forest Avenue.

Napa's culture is scattered. It has Victorian buildings on First Street, the 1880 Opera House, the di Rosa centre in Carneros and old stone wineries up the valley. These add character to a tasting day rather than giving a reason to come.

Both towns go quiet early, and neither has clubs. The difference is in the setting. Laguna's evenings mean an old beach bar, a dive bar or a hotel lounge with an ocean terrace, while Napa's mean a glass at a downtown wine bar or a cocktail on the riverfront after a long dinner.

For a proper night out, Laguna sends you up the coast to Newport Beach, Costa Mesa or Los Angeles, and Napa sends you to San Francisco.

Laguna Beach has more to offer outdoors because it has both land and sea. Its whole shoreline is a marine protected area, with tide pools, kelp reefs for shore diving, kayaking and dolphins offshore. Behind the town, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons have ridge trails for hiking and mountain biking.

Napa's outdoors is the valley's farmed landscape. Dawn balloon flights drift over the vineyards, and a paved trail runs along the valley floor for cycling. There are redwood groves in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park and a climb up Mount St Helena, but summer heat cuts the walking day short.

Napa has slightly more to do on day trips. Sonoma's plaza and mission, Healdsburg and the Russian River valley give a different wine day each time. San Francisco is about an hour away, and you can reach it by ferry from Vallejo as well as by road.

Laguna's outings are more varied in kind but need a car and patience with traffic. Mission San Juan Capistrano is close, a ferry runs to Catalina Island, and San Diego, Los Angeles and the Temecula vineyards are each a longer drive.

Laguna Beach is much easier with children. Tide pools full of crabs and anemones, lifeguarded beaches, the Main Beach playground and a safe village keep them busy. Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are about forty minutes away. The steep stairways down to many coves are the main nuisance.

Napa is built for adults. Tasting rooms bore children, the drives between wineries are long and summer is hot. The animal park in Vallejo and the geyser near Calistoga are useful fillers rather than reasons to bring a family.

Both need a car, but Laguna Beach is easier day to day. The free trolley along Coast Highway links the northern and southern beaches with the walkable village, though parking is a struggle on summer weekends.

Napa's wineries are spread along some 50km of valley road with infrequent buses. Because tasting and driving do not mix, many visitors pay for a driver or a tour, and cycling the valley trail only covers short stretches.

Laguna Beach is the better place to browse. Dozens of galleries sell plein air landscapes and glass, Forest Avenue has beachwear and jewellery, and the summer art festivals sell crafts straight from their makers. The big Newport Beach and Costa Mesa malls are half an hour away.

In Napa, shopping mostly means shipping cases of wine home. Beyond that, there are food gifts at the Oxbow Public Market, cookware on St Helena's main street and an outlet mall for familiar brands.

Both are among the most expensive places to stay in California, so neither suits a tight budget. They differ in what costs money. In Laguna Beach, the beaches, trails, tide pools and trolley are free, and budget visitors often sleep inland and come for the day.

In Napa, the costs come on top of the room: estate tastings, a driver for the day and special-occasion dinners. Staying in chain hotels further south and eating at taquerias softens the bill without making it cheap.

Laguna Beach has the stronger live programme, thanks to the Pageant of the Masters. It is a summer tradition since the 1930s, with performers recreating famous paintings on stage in a canyon amphitheatre. The Laguna Playhouse stages plays all year, and Costa Mesa's large arts centre is close for opera and symphony.

Napa's programme is thinner and more seasonal. It has concerts at the old Opera House and the Art Deco theatre, a summer classical festival in winery venues and a rock and pop festival each spring. For serious opera or orchestras, you need to go to San Francisco.

Napa is the more natural place to unwind. Calistoga has been a hot spring town since the nineteenth century, and its volcanic mud baths and mineral pools are a classic way to end a day of tastings. The resorts in Carneros and the hills add large spas using vineyard products.

Laguna's calm comes from clifftop walks, yoga studios and sunsets over the water. It has no thermal bathing, and its spas are mostly in expensive bluff-top resorts.