Mombasa or Muscat?

Mombasa is the better beach destination. North of the island one long strip of white coral sand runs through Nyali, Bamburi and Shanzu behind a protective reef, and Diani to the south is the finest beach on the coast. The sea is warm in every month, although low tide drains the lagoons and leaves little depth for swimming.

Muscat's beaches are a pleasant extra rather than the reason to go: the long city sand at Qurum, quieter coves around Qantab and Al Bustan, and boat trips to the Daymaniyat Islands for the best snorkelling. In summer the heat confines the beach to early mornings and evenings.

Mombasa eats better. Swahili cooking, built on coconut, tamarind, cardamom and fresh fish, is everywhere in the Old Town and the market streets, from mahamri with spiced tea to roadside grills of cassava and maize after dark, with Indian thalis and sweet shops on the side.

Omani food in Muscat is mild and good, with slow-cooked shuwa, majboos and halwa with cardamom coffee, but few restaurants serve it. Day to day you eat in South Asian and Lebanese canteens around Ruwi and Mutrah, and wine is confined to the big hotels.

The two are evenly matched, but the experience differs. Mombasa's history is concentrated in one place: Fort Jesus, which you walk inside and whose museum tells the story of the coast, and the worn, lived-in lanes of the Old Town with carved Swahili doors, best taken with a guide.

Muscat offers polished set pieces spread along the coast: the marble Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the white stone Royal Opera House, the palace cove of Old Muscat and the merchants' houses of the Mutrah corniche. Its forts are seen from outside, so the National Museum and Bait al Zubair do the storytelling.

Mombasa has a real night out and Muscat largely does not. Beach bars and clubs in Nyali and Bamburi play Afrobeats and bongo flava, and Mtwapa stays loud until dawn at weekends, although it is rough rather than polished and best reached by taxi.

In Muscat alcohol is almost entirely limited to licensed hotels, so going out means a hotel lounge or a handful of hotel clubs. Evenings there are better spent the local way, strolling the Mutrah corniche or lingering in a shisha café.

Both are strong for outdoor trips, but in different elements. Mombasa's nature is mostly underwater and on safari: coral gardens in the marine national park, dolphins at Kisite-Mpunguti, mangrove creeks by dhow, elephants in the Shimba Hills and a long day out to Tsavo East.

Muscat is a land of rock and mountain. The bare Hajar range drops into fjord-like inlets, Wadi Shab means wading through emerald pools, and Jebel Akhdar has rim walks among terraced gardens. Muscat is the place for hiking in the cooler months, while Mombasa's humidity leaves little walking and gives you wildlife instead.

Muscat has much the better choice of excursions. The interior holds Oman's history: Nizwa's round fort and Friday livestock market, UNESCO-listed Bahla, the painted rooms of Jabrin Castle and the terraced village of Misfat al Abriyeen, with Sur's dhow yards down the coast. The roads are good, but you will need a car or a driver.

From Mombasa the choice is the medieval Swahili ruins of Jumba la Mtwana, Kilifi and Gede, plus a dhow trip to Wasini. They are pleasant outings, but the roads are slow, and Lamu, the one great historic town, is too far for a day.

Muscat is a little easier with children. It is safe, clean and unhurried, with dolphin-watching boats, Qurum's park with lakes and playgrounds, a children's science museum and an aquarium and snow park in Seeb for the hottest hours. The downside is long drives and a summer when children spend most of the day indoors.

Mombasa works well inside the big resorts, with kids' clubs, calm lagoons, rock-pooling and the giraffes and hippos of Haller Park. Beyond them, chaotic traffic, malaria precautions and care with food and water make it harder going.

Neither is easy without wheels, but Mombasa is slightly easier. Fort Jesus and the Old Town can be explored on foot, and tuk-tuks and ride-hailing cover the rest, though bridge traffic and Likoni ferry queues stretch short trips and boda-bodas are best avoided.

Muscat is a 50km chain of districts with no real centre, and walking only works on the Mutrah corniche and in Old Muscat. Buses are of little use for sightseeing, so most visitors hire a car, which at least is easy on its good, well-signed highways.

Muscat edges ahead thanks to Mutrah Souq, a calm, frankincense-scented maze where silver jewellery, khanjar daggers, perfume oils and dates are sold with little pressure. Suburban malls cover everything else.

Mombasa's shopping is more about textiles and crafts: kangas and kikois on Biashara Street, carved Swahili chests in the Old Town, Akamba woodcarvings and spices at Marikiti. Expect to bargain hard and fend off persistent curio sellers.

Mombasa is the cheaper trip by some way. Eat Swahili street food, ride tuk-tuks and matatus and stay in a town guesthouse, and costs stay very low. Beach resorts, safari tours and park fees for foreigners are what push a stay towards international prices.

Muscat's canteens and fuel are cheap and sights charge little, but rooms are the problem: resorts are priced like the Mediterranean and even mid-range hotels are expensive. Add a hire car and hotel-only alcohol, and the bill climbs quickly.

Muscat has something worth planning around in the Royal Opera House, which brings touring opera, ballet, orchestras, jazz and Arab music stars from autumn to spring. Outside that grand hall there is little.

Mombasa has no formal stage at all. Taarab, the coast's sung Swahili poetry, is mostly heard at weddings, and otherwise there are weekend bands playing benga and rumba in north-coast bars and dance shows in the resorts.

Muscat is the more restful of the two because the whole city is calm, low-rise and uncrowded. Its cove resorts offer hammam rituals and frankincense treatments, and the warm springs at Nakhal and Rustaq give a taste of local bathing.

Mombasa's calm stays inside the resorts, where open-air spa pavilions face the sea, and on the Diani side, where yoga is easy to find. The coast's slow pole pole rhythm helps, but the island town itself is hot, noisy and busy.