Monterey or San Diego?

Monterey's beaches are for looking at. Carmel Beach's white sand and cypresses and the dunes at Asilomar are beautiful, but the bay stays bitterly cold and rip currents are common, so a beach day there means a walk or a picnic, not a swim.

San Diego is a real beach destination. The broad strand at Coronado, the surf and boardwalk life of Mission and Pacific Beach and the gentle waves at La Jolla Shores give it variety along a long coastline. The sea warms enough for comfortable swimming in late summer, and Mission Bay's sheltered shore suits toddlers.

San Diego eats better and more cheaply, mainly because of the border. Baja fish tacos, carne asada and late-night taco shops are everywhere, and Convoy Street adds a long run of Asian kitchens. Craft beer is the local drink, with taprooms across North Park and Miramar.

Monterey's table is narrower but rooted in place: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs from the bay, artichokes and greens from the Salinas Valley, and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The best meals are away from the wharf's chowder stands, in Old Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel.

Both cities have Spanish and Mexican roots, but San Diego has more to see. Balboa Park puts art, natural history, anthropology and air and space museums in one grand exposition setting, and the USS Midway and the historic ships of the Maritime Museum add a full day on the waterfront.

Monterey's history is smaller but feels more like the real thing. The adobes of the State Historic Park, the Custom House and Colton Hall recall its years as the capital of Alta California, and the Carmel Mission is the loveliest of the chain that started in San Diego. Cannery Row adds Steinbeck. It is an easy half-day of walking rather than a museum trip.

San Diego offers an actual night out. The Gaslamp Quarter has rooftop bars and dance clubs, Pacific Beach has a rowdy beach-bar strip, and Hillcrest anchors the gay scene, with cocktail bars and taprooms in North Park for something quieter.

Monterey has a few pubs and wine bars on Alvarado Street and some hotel bars on Cannery Row, with no clubs, and the town is quiet well before midnight. Anyone after late nights would need to go to Santa Cruz.

Monterey has the more remarkable coast. The deep submarine canyon brings humpbacks, grey whales and orcas close to the harbour through much of the year, otters drift in the kelp beside the town's trail, and Point Lobos and Big Sur's redwood canyons and cliffs lie just to the south.

San Diego offers wider variety in a sunnier climate. Torrey Pines' bluffs, La Jolla Cove's seals and sea caves, and surf breaks all along the coast are close to town, and an hour inland the Cuyamaca mountains give way to the Anza-Borrego desert. Its whale season is mainly in winter, while Monterey's wildlife is on show year-round.

Monterey's best outings are all close to home. Carmel-by-the-Sea and Victorian Pacific Grove are next door, Carmel Valley's wineries and Steinbeck's Salinas are a short drive inland, and Santa Cruz's surf town and boardwalk are under an hour north. Beyond that the choice soon thins out, and San Francisco is really a trip of its own.

San Diego reaches further, and across a border. Tijuana is a trolley ride and a short walk away, and a longer drive into Mexico leads to Ensenada and the Valle de Guadalupe's vineyards. On the US side, Temecula's wine country, the hill town of Julian and the North County beach towns by train fill out a list that is varied rather than rich in heritage.

San Diego is one of the best family destinations in the country. The zoo, the Safari Park's open plains, SeaWorld on Mission Bay and Legoland in Carlsbad could each fill a day, the Birch Aquarium and science centre cover cooler days, and children can actually swim in the sea.

Monterey has one outstanding draw in its aquarium, and the otters, tide pools and whale-watching boats round it out nicely. Once those are done, though, there is less to keep children busy, and the cold water means beach days are for sandcastles rather than swimming.

Both are car destinations once you leave the centre, but the walkable part looks different. In Monterey it is a single flat waterfront path from the wharf past Cannery Row to the aquarium and Pacific Grove, easy on foot or by bike, while Point Lobos and Big Sur need a car.

San Diego has a compact downtown with a trolley to Old Town and the border and coastal trains to the beach towns. Its attractions are so spread out, though, that most visitors still end up hiring a car or using ride-hailing.

San Diego gives shoppers more choice: luxury brands and department stores at Fashion Valley, a large outlet centre by the border, vintage and design shops in North Park and Little Italy, and Mexican crafts in Old Town.

Monterey itself mostly sells taffy and sea-otter souvenirs. The better browsing is next door, in Carmel's galleries and boutiques and Pacific Grove's antique shops.

Neither is cheap, but San Diego is slightly easier on a budget. Taco shops and brewery taprooms keep meals affordable, and the beaches and Balboa Park's gardens are free, although the big theme parks and the zoo cost a lot.

Monterey's rooms are priced for the Californian weekend crowd and become much more expensive during Pebble Beach's car week in August. Even casual seafood costs more than you might expect. The usual way to save is to stay in Seaside or Marina, visit midweek and enjoy the free wildlife-watching along the shore.

San Diego has a year-round programme built on theatre. The Old Globe's outdoor Shakespeare stage in Balboa Park and the La Jolla Playhouse both produce shows that have gone on to Broadway, and the symphony's summer concerts play on an open-air stage by the bay.

Monterey's music depends on its festivals. The Monterey Jazz Festival has been held every September since 1958, and the Carmel Bach Festival fills the peninsula's churches in summer. Outside those dates there is little going on, so music lovers should plan around them.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and both rely on a slow pace and resort spas. Monterey's version is misty and quiet: fog lifting off the bay, evening walks along the shore at Pacific Grove, and vineyard spas in the sunnier Carmel Valley.

San Diego's version is sunnier and more active. There are resort spas in La Jolla and Coronado and Encinitas has a long yoga and meditation culture, but downtown and Pacific Beach are never quiet.