Manila or Cebu?

Neither city has a beach in town, but Cebu gets you into clear water far more easily. Across the bridges on Mactan, resort day passes open onto small coral-sand beaches, and outrigger boats run out to the sandbars of Nalusuan, Hilutungan and Pandanon for snorkelling straight off the side. Moalboal, Malapascua and Bantayan are there for a longer stay.

Manila's bay is for watching the sunset from Roxas Boulevard, not for swimming. The nearest proper sand, at Nasugbu, Anilao or along the Bataan coast, means two to three hours on the road. Most beach-minded visitors simply fly on.

Manila has the wider table. Binondo, the old Chinese quarter, is made for eating on foot, from dumplings to hopia. Makati, Poblacion and Bonifacio Global City add chefs reworking Filipino classics, along with Japanese, Korean and Spanish kitchens.

Cebu goes deeper on fewer things. Its lechon is widely held to be the country's best, puso and ngohiong are local staples, and the sutukil grills on Mactan cook the fish you pick from the ice. Once you look past those, the choice narrows to malls and chains.

Manila has more to see. Intramuros alone has its stone walls, Fort Santiago and the UNESCO-listed San Agustin Church. Next door, the National Museum fills three neoclassical buildings, with Juan Luna's Spoliarium as the centrepiece. Add Quiapo, Binondo and Escolta and you need two or three days.

Cebu's history goes back further, as the first Spanish settlement in the islands, but less of it survives. Magellan's Cross, the Basilica del Santo Niño, Fort San Pedro and the ancestral houses of Parian sit close together downtown, and one full day covers them.

Manila gives a night out more variety and more polish. Poblacion's old grid is packed with small cocktail bars, rooftops and dive bars, while BGC has the large clubs and a dressed-up crowd. The drawback is that each district is cut off from the others by traffic, so you usually pick one area and stay there.

Cebu's evenings are simpler and cheaper. Think beer gardens and skewers in IT Park, the older clubs of Mango Avenue and karaoke with friends. It is pleasant rather than memorable, except during Sinulog in January, when the whole city becomes a street party.

Cebu puts the outdoors much closer. The Busay and Sirao hills rise right behind the city, Mactan's reefs are good for diving, and Olango draws migrating shorebirds. A few hours south you can go canyoneering down to Kawasan Falls, climb Osmeña Peak, swim with the sardine shoals off Moalboal or see the whale sharks at Oslob.

Manila has little green beyond Rizal Park, so every outing starts with a long drive. The rewards are real when you get there: Taal's volcano in a lake seen from Tagaytay, the limestone trails of Masungi and the reef life at Anilao.

The two are about even here, but the outings are of different kinds. From Cebu, the standout trip goes by sea: a fast ferry to Bohol for Baclayon's stone church and the old river towns. By road, Carcar and the coral-stone churches of Argao and Boljoon lie to the south.

Manila's outings lean towards history and food. Corregidor's wartime batteries and Malinta Tunnel are a ferry ride across the bay. Laguna has the old towns and the Rizal shrine, Pampanga has Kapampangan cooking, and Tagaytay serves bulalo with a view. Traffic stretches journey times out of both cities.

Children are warmly welcomed in both, and both cities are hard work with a pram in the heat. Family days look different, though. Cebu works best from a Mactan resort with a pool and calm water, plus a boat day to snorkel around the islets, with Cebu Ocean Park and the safari park in the hills as extras.

Manila keeps families mostly indoors. Malls have ice rinks and cinemas, Manila Ocean Park has its oceanarium and shows, and the free natural history museum suits curious older children. There is also the novelty of exploring Intramuros by calesa.

Getting around is a struggle in both cities, for different reasons. Cebu has no rail at all, and the bridges to Mactan and the airport are the usual bottleneck. The downtown sights sit close together, though, so you can see the heritage on foot in one go.

Manila is a far larger sprawl. A few elevated rail lines help on some routes, but they don't connect neatly, and the main districts are too far apart to walk between. The usual approach is ride-hailing cars and one area per day.

Manila wins on sheer scale. Its bayfront and Ortigas megamalls, the Ayala garden malls and the open-air streets of BGC include luxury wings and department stores. For bargains there is Divisoria's wholesale maze, Greenhills for pearls and gadgets, and the craft stalls under Quiapo's bridge.

Cebu's Ayala and SM malls cover the chains but have little at the top end. The souvenirs are where it stands out: guitars and ukuleles built in family workshops on Mactan, otap pastries and the dried fish of Taboan.

Both are cheap places to visit, and local food, taxis and sights cost little in either. The difference is where the money goes. In Cebu the bill rises once you move to a Mactan beach resort and add boat hire for island hopping or diving. In Manila it rises if you base yourself in Makati or BGC, where restaurants and hotels are priced for expats and the business crowd.

Manila has a real stage. The Cultural Center of the Philippines on the bay is home to the national orchestra and Ballet Philippines, folk companies perform the tinikling, and local casts stage Broadway and West End musicals.

Cebu's big show is Sinulog in January, when costumed contingents dance through the streets. For the rest of the year, live music means cover bands and acoustic sets in bars. The singers are often very good, but there is no season to plan a trip around.

Cebu is easier for a restful stay, mainly because Mactan's resorts are close by, with full spas, quiet pool decks and the sea a few steps away. Massage, including the warm-oil hilot, is part of daily life in both cities.

In Manila, rest means a long spa session at the end of a day in traffic, or a drive of a couple of hours to the hot-spring pools of Los Baños or the cooler air of Tagaytay.