Nairobi or Victoria Falls?

Neither city is anywhere near a beach, so for both, swimming mostly means a hotel or lodge pool. From Nairobi the Kenyan coast is a separate leg of the trip, a flight or a long train ride away.

Victoria Falls has one swim that Nairobi cannot match. At low water, guided groups from the Zambian side sit in Devil's Pool on the very lip of the falls. It is a brief thrill rather than a day of swimming, and the Zambezi itself is no place for a casual swim.

Nairobi is far more rewarding to eat in. It has slow-roasted goat with ugali, chapati and greens at roadside kiosks, a deep Indian food tradition from its South Asian community, Ethiopian restaurants and fresh Kenyan coffee in Westlands, Kilimani and Karen.

At Victoria Falls, meals mostly happen in lodges and hotels. Game-meat grills with drumming, sadza with stews and tea on the Victoria Falls Hotel terrace are memorable once. There is no street food or café life to explore beyond them.

Neither is a historic city, but Nairobi gives you more to see. The Nairobi National Museum and its early human fossils, the Karen Blixen farmhouse and the rooftop view from the convention centre easily fill a day or two.

Victoria Falls has the 1905 bridge across the gorge, the Edwardian hotel and a few small displays. For a proper museum you cross to Livingstone in Zambia.

The gap here is wide. Nairobi goes out late from Thursday to Saturday. Westlands has rooftop bars and clubs playing amapiano and gengetone until dawn, and Kilimani has calmer cocktail bars. Areas are spread out, so you need a ride-hailing car between them.

Victoria Falls is a place for a sundowner on a river boat or lodge deck, then a hotel bar or the backpacker crowd. Most people are asleep before an early game drive or a day on the rapids.

Both are outstanding, but the falls give Victoria Falls the edge. The Zambezi drops into its basalt gorge along a front of more than 1.7km. Below it are rafting, bungee jumps and flights over the spray, and upstream are a national park and canoe trips past hippos.

Nairobi's strength is wildlife right on the city's doorstep. You can see rhinos and lions with towers on the skyline, walk the trails of Karura Forest and the Ngong Hills, and within two hours cycle among zebras in Hell's Gate or hike the rim of Mount Longonot. Its milder climate also makes long days outside easier.

Neither is a good base for day trips to other towns, and in both places outings mostly mean wildlife. Nairobi has a little more variety close by: lunch among the Limuru tea estates and the prehistoric hand axes at Olorgesailie in the Rift Valley.

From Victoria Falls, the one real town visit is Livingstone across the border in Zambia, with its colonial main street and museum, paired with Mukuni village. Beyond that, Kasane is somewhere you pass through on the way to Chobe.

Nairobi's family attractions are some of the best anywhere. Children can feed Rothschild's giraffes at the Giraffe Centre, watch baby elephants at the Sheldrick orphanage and go on a short game drive in the national park. Staying in Karen or Langata avoids the worst of the traffic.

Victoria Falls thrills older children with river cruises and elephants crossing the road. But malaria precautions, minimum ages for most activities, lodges that turn away young children and basic medical care make it hard going with toddlers.

Victoria Falls is much simpler to get around. The falls entrance, the bridge and the main hotels are within walking distance of each other, operators collect you from your lodge, and you can cross to Zambia on foot. After dark you need a taxi because elephants and buffalo roam the streets.

Nairobi's sights are scattered across distant suburbs, linked by some of Africa's most congested roads. A short hop can take an hour, the matatu routes are hard to work out, and most visitors rely on ride-hailing apps or a driver.

In both places shopping centres on crafts, but Nairobi offers more. The Maasai Market moves around the city with beadwork, kiondo baskets and kikoy cloth. Karen's workshops make glass and ceramic beads, and Kenyan coffee and tea make good gifts.

Victoria Falls has one large curio market and a few gallery shops selling Shona-style stone carving. The carvings are mostly repeated pieces made for travellers, and there is little else to buy.

Nairobi is the easier city on the wallet. Local food, beer, coffee and rides are cheap, although international hotels and park fees for foreigners push the bill up.

At Victoria Falls almost everything is priced for visitors. That includes falls entry from each side, cruises, rafting, flights and river lodges, and much of the food is imported. Backpacker lodges and choosing just one or two activities help, but the activities make it costly.

Nairobi has a real local scene. Benga, rumba and jazz bands play garden venues at weekends, Bomas of Kenya stages the dances of Kenya's communities, and the National Theatre puts on plays in English and Swahili.

At Victoria Falls, performance means dance troupes and marimba bands at lodges and game-meat dinners. They can be enjoyable, but they are dinner entertainment and there is no venue beyond them.

Victoria Falls is the better place to unwind, provided you stay outside the busy town centre. Lodges in the private concessions upstream have spa rooms on decks above the Zambezi using marula oil, long afternoons by the pool and sunsets on the water.

In noisy Nairobi, rest means a hotel spa or the garden hotels of Karen and Langata, with verandas and cool highland mornings. Many visitors keep their real downtime for the safari lodges later in the trip.