Moab or Scottsdale?

Neither city has a coast, and in both the water is something to cool off in, not a day on the sand. The difference is where you swim. In Moab it means Mill Creek's shallow pools, Ken's Lake or a careful dip from a sandbar in the cold, silty Colorado.

In Scottsdale the resort pool is central to the stay. Saguaro and Canyon Lakes have small sandy coves and boat hire, and in summer you can tube down the Salt River.

Scottsdale eats noticeably better. Its Old Town and resort corridors have steakhouses, sushi, smart brunches and long happy hours, and the Sonoran-style Mexican cooking of the wider Phoenix area gives it real local flavour, with Phoenix's more characterful tables a short drive away.

Moab's Main Street is for refuelling: burgers, tacos, pizza and a couple of breweries, with big portions and dusty boots. Utah's alcohol rules make a drink with dinner more formal, and in winter the choice thins.

Scottsdale has much more to see. Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's desert studio with its UNESCO listing, deserves a guided tour. Add the western art at Western Spirit and the contemporary art museum, and with Phoenix's Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum close by you can fill several days.

Moab's culture is older and lies outside town: Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont petroglyphs along Potash Road and Kane Creek, plus dinosaur trackways. The small Museum of Moab and Main Street take a morning at most.

For going out, the two are far apart. Scottsdale's Old Town packs patio bars, sports bars, dance clubs and rooftop lounges into a few blocks. It is loud and party-minded on weekends and in spring, with dress codes and bottle service.

Moab has a couple of brewpubs full of bikers and rafters, no clubs, and a town that goes quiet by eleven because everyone is up for sunrise. Its best night-time sight is the star-filled sky.

Moab is the stronger outdoor base by a wide margin. More than two thousand arches lie a few minutes from town, the canyon maze cut by the Colorado and Green rivers is seen from Island in the Sky, and the Whole Enchilada descends from the snow-capped La Sal Mountains. Rafting, canyoneering and jeep trails fill whatever days are left.

Scottsdale's desert is easier to reach and gentler. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve's saguaro trails, the short climbs up Camelback and Pinnacle Peak, and the Superstition Mountains make good outings, with balloon flights and golf alongside.

Scottsdale has far more places to visit within a day. Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle, the hillside mining town of Jerome and Prescott's courthouse square are all to the north, while Tucson and the San Xavier mission lie to the south.

From Moab, the outings beyond the parks lead to small towns such as Bluff and Monticello. The more rewarding drive is south to the Ancestral Puebloan sites at Edge of the Cedars and Hovenweep, which takes a long day.

Scottsdale is easier with children. Resort lazy rivers and kids' clubs, the miniature trains at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, the aquarium and butterfly house, and relaxed spring training games all work for a wide range of ages.

Moab rewards active, school-age children who like scrambling to Sand Dune Arch, finding dinosaur tracks, joining Junior Ranger programmes and floating calm stretches of river. Unfenced drops, summer heat and long drives make it hard work with toddlers.

You need a car in both, but Scottsdale makes going without one a little easier. Its Old Town is linked to the shopping areas by a free trolley, ride-hailing covers the rest, and the grid of wide roads is simple to drive.

In Moab, Main Street is walkable and a paved path runs to the Arches entrance, but there is no useful public transport. Trailheads are often down dirt tracks, so without a vehicle, ideally a high-clearance one, you depend on outfitters' shuttles.

Scottsdale is a real shopping destination, with a luxury mall full of fashion houses and department stores and open-air centres to the north. Its Old Town galleries deal seriously in southwestern art, Navajo and Hopi silver and Pueblo pottery.

Moab's shops are practical: bike, climbing and camping gear, rock shops selling geodes and fossils, and a few galleries with Navajo jewellery and weavings.

Both cost about the same, and neither is cheap: Moab charges resort prices for simple motel rooms, and Scottsdale is an upmarket resort city. The savings come differently. Moab's are camping on public land, free hikes and one park pass for the week. Scottsdale's are motels and Mexican food across the metro area.

The cheap seasons fall at opposite ends of the year. Moab is much cheaper in its cold winter, while Scottsdale's resorts cut their rates in the summer heat.

Scottsdale can fill several evenings. Its performing arts centre programmes chamber music, jazz and dance, the Musical Instrument Museum's theatre hosts world music, and Phoenix's symphony, opera and ballet are about half an hour away.

Moab's one real event is the Moab Music Festival at the end of summer, when chamber concerts are held in canyon grottoes reached by boat. The rest of the year there is little more than a weekend band in a brewpub.

Rest is one of Scottsdale's main purposes. It has a dense cluster of large resort spas with desert-inspired treatments and steam rooms, dry air, mountain views and an easy pace, and yoga and retreats are easy to find.

Moab is built for energetic days, and its few massage studios mostly treat sore legs. The calm it offers is quieter: desert evenings, red cliffs at sunset and, for real seclusion, a ranch or cabin in the La Sal Mountains.