Laguna Beach or Santa Barbara?

Laguna Beach is the stronger beach town. Its coast is a chain of small coves, from Crescent Bay and Shaw's Cove in the north to Victoria Beach, Thousand Steps and Aliso in the south. The water is clear and the reefs make snorkelling part of an ordinary beach day. The price is the steep stairways down from the cliffs and coves that get crowded on summer weekends.

Santa Barbara's beaches are gentler and easier to reach. They face south, sheltered by the Channel Islands, with town beaches on either side of Stearns Wharf and the shallow state beach at Carpinteria. The water stays a few degrees cooler, though, so swims are short and wetsuits are common. Here the beach is a backdrop to the town rather than its centre.

Santa Barbara eats far better. Spot prawns and sea urchin come off the harbour boats and the farmers' markets are excellent. Wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills supply the Funk Zone tasting rooms, which you can walk between. The taquerias and Mexican bakeries of the Eastside and Milpas Street add a local layer.

Laguna's strength is the setting: clifftop dining rooms at sunset, fish tacos and breakfast cafés full of surfers. Beyond that the choice is thin and priced for the view. For variety, people drive inland to Orange County's Vietnamese, Mexican and Korean restaurants.

Santa Barbara has more to see, mainly because the town itself is the sight. After the 1925 earthquake it was rebuilt in Spanish Colonial Revival style, and its white stucco streets lead to the County Courthouse, the Old Mission and the Presidio. That is enough for two or three unhurried days.

Laguna's heritage is narrower: its history as a colony of plein air painters, remembered in the Laguna Art Museum and the galleries along Coast Highway and Forest Avenue. A morning covers it, and the nearest mission is outside town at San Juan Capistrano.

Neither town is made for late nights, but Santa Barbara has more going on. The Funk Zone's tasting rooms and breweries fill up in the early evening. Lower State Street has bars and a few small dance floors that students keep busy at weekends.

In Laguna, going out means a drink after dinner in a beach bar, wine bar or hotel lounge, and the village is quiet well before midnight. For anything more you have to drive to Newport Beach or Costa Mesa.

Both are good for the outdoors, and Santa Barbara has the edge on scale. The Santa Ynez Mountains rise straight behind the town, and trails such as Rattlesnake Canyon and Seven Falls start from residential streets. Los Padres National Forest lies beyond the ridge, and Channel Islands National Park is a boat ride from Ventura. Summer whale watching here can bring humpbacks and blue whales.

Laguna's great asset is the sea. Its whole coastline is a marine protected area, so tide pools, snorkelling and shore diving over kelp are right on the doorstep. Behind the town, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons have canyon trails, though the hills are lower and gentler than Santa Barbara's mountains.

Laguna Beach has more within a day's drive. Mission San Juan Capistrano is twenty minutes away, and Newport, Huntington Beach and Dana Point are just along the coast. A ferry crosses to Catalina, and San Diego and the Temecula wine country both make full days out. Los Angeles is possible too, if the traffic allows.

Santa Barbara has one outstanding outing: over the mountains to the Santa Ynez Valley for wineries, the Danish-founded town of Solvang and La Purisima mission. Ojai and Ventura are also within reach. After that the distances grow, and Los Angeles works better as a separate stay.

Both are relaxed, safe bases for children, and the difference is in kind. Laguna is all about the shore, with tide pools, lifeguarded beaches and easy snorkelling, and Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are about forty minutes away. The drawbacks are the long stairways down to the coves and the cost of family rooms.

Santa Barbara has more small attractions in town: the hillside zoo, the touch tanks at the Sea Center, the MOXI science museum and a flat waterfront bike path. Carpinteria has calm, shallow water for young children. For big rides, though, the nearest theme parks are two hours away in Los Angeles.

Santa Barbara is the easier place to manage without a car. Downtown is flat and compact, State Street runs straight to the water, and a shoreline path links the wharf, harbour and East Beach. Buses, a downtown shuttle and the coastal train mean you can arrive and get around the centre without driving.

Laguna has a walkable village and a free trolley along Coast Highway, but no train and only slow buses. That makes a car close to essential, and summer parking turns it into a chore. In both towns you need your own transport for trailheads and wine country.

Shopping is modest in both towns, and the difference is in what you take home. In Laguna it is art: gallery rows selling plein air landscapes and glass, and handmade crafts at the summer art festivals. The big luxury malls are half an hour away in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

Santa Barbara has chain stores on State Street, boutiques in tiled arcades such as La Arcada and upmarket shops in Montecito. Its best buys, though, are local wine and produce from the farmers' markets.

Both are among the most expensive places to stay on the California coast, so neither is a bargain. In Laguna even simple motels are costly and paid parking adds up, though the beaches, trails, tide pools and trolley are free. Santa Barbara offers a little more relief through its taquerias, farmers' markets and free hikes. Staying in Goleta or Ventura, or visiting midweek or in the cooler months, makes the biggest difference there.

Santa Barbara has the fuller programme. The Granada hosts the symphony, opera, ballet and touring shows, and the Lobero puts on chamber music and jazz. The Santa Barbara Bowl brings major touring bands between spring and autumn, and the Music Academy of the West fills the summer with concerts.

Laguna's main draw is a single, unusual event: the Pageant of the Masters, where live performers recreate famous paintings on summer evenings in Laguna Canyon. The Laguna Playhouse runs all year, and for opera and symphony you drive half an hour to Costa Mesa.

Both towns are restful because of their slow pace rather than any bathing culture, and both rely on resort spas, yoga studios and day spas. In Laguna the calm comes from the water, with clifftop walks and long sunsets. Santa Barbara has a little more nearby: a hike up to natural hot pools above Montecito, and the spa resorts of the Ojai Valley an hour's drive away.