Las Vegas or South Lake Tahoe?

Neither has the sea, but only South Lake Tahoe has proper beaches. Pope, Baldwin and Nevada Beach sit right by town on clear, turquoise water under the pines. The lake stays cold, though, and swimming is really a midsummer affair.

Las Vegas has only resort pools, some with sand and wave machines, and the gravel shore of Lake Mead in a desert basin with no shade. They are fine for cooling off, but nobody should choose the city for swimming.

Las Vegas eats far better. The Strip resorts hold steakhouses, French dining rooms and tasting menus from well-known chefs, and the long Chinatown strip on Spring Mountain Road serves Sichuan, Korean, Vietnamese and more until late. That counts for a lot when the evenings run long.

South Lake Tahoe's choice is brewpubs, pizza, taquerias and ski breakfasts, and local craft beer is the highlight. Many visitors end up cooking in their cabin, and here that is no hardship.

Neither is a destination for heritage, but Las Vegas has a little more to see. The Neon Museum's yard of retired signs and the Mob Museum in the old federal courthouse tell the city's story well, and the themed resorts and the light show over Fremont Street fill an evening.

South Lake Tahoe's sights are the lakeside summer estates at the Tallac Historic Site and Vikingsholm at Emerald Bay, and in both the setting matters more than the interiors. In either place a sightseer will be finished within a day.

Here the gap is wide. Las Vegas runs around the clock, with resort clubs hosting famous DJs, dayclub pool parties and casino bars that never shut. Around Fremont Street and the arts district there are cheaper dive bars and cocktail lounges.

South Lake Tahoe has the Stateline casino bars for a late drink and a lively après-ski hour at the gondola base. On the California side, though, most people go to bed early so they can be on the slopes at dawn, and anyone wanting a proper night out drives to Reno.

Las Vegas has impressive desert close by: the sandstone cliffs of Red Rock Canyon, the flame-coloured rock of Valley of Fire and the pine forests of Mount Charleston. All of it needs a car, and the summer heat rules out hiking except at dawn.

South Lake Tahoe is the stronger outdoor base by some way. The Desolation Wilderness and the Tahoe Rim Trail start minutes from town, and Emerald Bay is one of the great views of the West. The same place gives skiing in winter and paddling, mountain biking and hiking in summer.

South Lake Tahoe has more variety within an easy drive. Virginia City's boardwalks, Genoa, Carson City, the Gold Rush towns of Coloma and Placerville, the Amador vineyards and a loop round the lake to Truckee give a different outing for several days.

From Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Boulder City make one good half day. After that the choice is long trips to the Grand Canyon, Zion or Death Valley, which are landscapes rather than towns, and most of the day goes on the road.

South Lake Tahoe is far easier with children. It has shallow sandy beaches, bike paths through the pines, ski schools, sledding hills and the gondola ride, and cabins with kitchens make stays simple. Its weak spot is a snowbound day, because there is nothing built for children indoors.

Las Vegas has the opposite problem. It does have an indoor amusement park, a shark aquarium and the Discovery Children's Museum. But you have to cross casino floors to reach almost everything, and the late-night adult atmosphere is hard to avoid, so most families just stop there on a road trip to the national parks.

Neither works well without a car or taxi, though Las Vegas is the easier of the two. Its main sights line one 6km stretch with buses running day and night, a monorail and plenty of taxis and ride-hailing. The huge resorts and the summer heat make walking slower than it looks.

In South Lake Tahoe only the area around Stateline and the gondola is walkable, with free shuttles along the highway and up to the ski areas in winter. Beaches, trailheads and Emerald Bay need a car, and winter storms bring chain controls on the roads in.

Las Vegas is a real shopping destination, in the mall sense. The resort arcades hold the major fashion and jewellery houses, the Fashion Show mall has department stores, and there are two large outlet centres, all open late. What it lacks is anything local or handmade.

South Lake Tahoe's shops serve the trip itself: ski and outdoor gear, rentals, souvenirs by the gondola and a few galleries of lake photography. Nobody plans a day around them.

Both are expensive at the times people most want to go, and both reward flexible dates. In Las Vegas prices change with the day of the week: midweek rooms can be good value, weekends and convention weeks cost several times more, resort fees are added on top, and drinks, clubs and shows add up quickly.

At South Lake Tahoe prices change with the season. Christmas, peak ski weeks and high summer are dear and lift tickets are steep, while casino hotels on the Nevada side discount in spring and autumn. The saving here is that the lake, beaches and trails cost nothing and a cabin kitchen keeps meals cheap.

Las Vegas is one of the world's great stages for spectacle. Water-based acrobatics, aerial shows, magicians and comedians play every night, and pop and country stars take long residencies. The Smith Center downtown adds touring musicals, ballet and the Philharmonic.

South Lake Tahoe relies on casino showrooms for touring rock, country and tribute acts. Its best evenings come in summer, with Shakespeare on the beach at Sand Harbor and concerts at the Tallac estates, and on other weeknights there is a bar band at most.

The two are level here, but the calm comes from different places. In Las Vegas you find it indoors, in very large resort spas with thermal circuits, saunas and salt rooms. They are at their best on a weekday morning, ideally from a non-gaming hotel away from the constant casino noise.

South Lake Tahoe's spas are modest, so the setting does the work, with quiet mornings by the lake and cabins in the pines. The natural mineral pool at Grover Hot Springs and the hot springs of the Carson Valley offer an outdoor soak, and Las Vegas has nothing like it.