Monterey or Tucson?

Monterey at least has a coastline, with the long sand of Del Monte Beach, the white sand and cypresses of Carmel Beach and the dunes at Asilomar. The cold water and rip currents make these beaches for walks and picnics rather than for swimming.

Tucson has no beach at all. The nearest sea is at Puerto Peñasco in Mexico, about four hours' drive away, so in Tucson swimming means the resort pool, plus the occasional seasonal pool in Sabino Canyon.

Tucson has the more distinctive table. Its Sonoran Mexican cooking, with mesquite-grilled carne asada, paper-thin flour tortillas and the bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dog, is done properly in family kitchens along South 12th Avenue and in the old barrios. Heritage desert ingredients such as tepary beans and cholla buds add something you will not find elsewhere.

Monterey cooks from the bay and the Salinas Valley: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs with excellent produce. But the wharf caters to day visitors, and the better meals are in Pacific Grove and Carmel at resort prices. Its real advantage is wine, with serious Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Both cities have Spanish colonial roots, and their sights are on a similar modest scale. Monterey's history is concentrated in a walkable cluster: the adobes of the old Alta California capital, the Custom House, Colton Hall, and the Carmel Mission ten minutes away. Steinbeck's Cannery Row adds a literary layer.

Tucson's single finest building, Mission San Xavier del Bac, may outshine anything on the peninsula. The city adds the Native American collections of the Arizona State Museum and the hundreds of aircraft at Pima. Its sights are spread out, so expect more driving between them.

Tucson offers a proper night out, though a casual one. Fourth Avenue's dive bars and patios and Congress Street's rooftops and cocktail bars are within walking distance of each other, and they fill with students and locals on term-time weekends.

Monterey rarely goes beyond dinner and a drink on Alvarado Street, and the town is quiet well before midnight. Neither city has clubs worth travelling for.

Both are superb for the outdoors in very different ways, and Monterey has a slight edge because its wildlife is so close. Humpbacks and orcas pass over the submarine canyon within boat range, and kelp diving, kayaking among otters, Point Lobos and the cliffs of Big Sur are all near town.

Tucson has desert and mountains: giant saguaro forests on both sides of the city, canyon trails at Sabino, and the drive up Mount Lemmon from cactus to pine. It is also serious road cycling and birding country. Its summer heat limits outings far more than Monterey's fog does.

The day trips are about equal in strength but differ in distance. Monterey's are the closer: Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pacific Grove are minutes away, Carmel Valley wineries and Steinbeck's Salinas are a short drive, and Santa Cruz is under an hour.

Tucson's take longer drives but have more character, heading into frontier country to Tombstone, the copper town of Bisbee, the artists' village of Tubac and the Tumacácori ruins, with Biosphere 2 to the north.

Monterey is the easier family base. The aquarium's kelp forest and otters are a highlight in themselves, and the tide pools, whale-watching boats and Dennis the Menace Park are close by. The waterfront is safe and walkable.

Tucson has plenty for children too: the Desert Museum's mountain lions and hummingbirds, the giant aircraft at Pima and the old western film set. But it works best from October to April, and nearly every outing involves a drive across the city.

On the ground, Monterey is easier to manage. The flat coastal trail links Fisherman's Wharf, downtown, Cannery Row and the aquarium, so the heart of a stay works on foot or by hired bike, even though Big Sur and Carmel Valley need a car.

In Tucson, a hire car is essential almost from the start. The streetcar covers only downtown, Fourth Avenue and the university. Traffic is light and parking easy, which helps.

Tucson has more worth bringing home. Native American jewellery, Tohono O'odham baskets and Mexican folk art fill the galleries in the old town and in Tubac, and the winter gem and mineral show draws collectors from around the world.

Monterey's own shops sell mostly taffy and sea-otter souvenirs. The better browsing is in Carmel's galleries and boutiques and in Pacific Grove's antique shops.

Tucson is clearly the cheaper trip. Hotels cost less than in the bigger Southwest cities, and Sonoran food stands keep meals inexpensive. Summer heat brings real bargains, though the winter gem show pushes rates up.

Monterey is expensive on almost every count, from waterfront and Carmel rooms to dinners on Cannery Row and the aquarium entry for a family. Rates peak on summer weekends and in Pebble Beach's car week. The usual savings are motels in Seaside or Marina and midweek winter stays.

Tucson has the steadier season. From autumn to spring there is the symphony, Arizona Opera, the Arizona Theatre Company and touring shows at Centennial Hall, with concerts at the restored Fox Theatre and a deep mariachi tradition.

Monterey's strengths are its festivals: the Monterey Jazz Festival each September and the Carmel Bach Festival in summer, in the place that hosted the 1967 Pop Festival. Outside those dates there is much less on.

Tucson takes wellness more seriously. Its long-established destination spas in the Catalina foothills and near Oracle are built around fitness, desert walks and meditation, and the big resorts have spas with mountain views.

Monterey offers calm more than treatment, with fog lifting off the bay, evening walks in Pacific Grove and vineyard resort spas in Carmel Valley. Neither city has public thermal baths.