Newport Beach or Sedona?

This is where the two differ most. Newport Beach has ten kilometres of sand along the Balboa Peninsula, surf breaks by the piers, the calmer coves of Corona del Mar and sheltered harbour strips for small children, with volleyball, bikes and long beach days all summer. The Pacific stays cool, so this is a surf-and-sand coast more than a place to float in warm water.

Sedona is high desert with no coast at all. Its swimming means Oak Creek: riding the sandstone chute at Slide Rock or dipping in the cold pools at Grasshopper Point beneath red cliffs. It makes a fine way to cool off after a hike, but nobody chooses Sedona for it.

Newport Beach gives you more choice: seafood dining rooms with harbour views, brunch in Corona del Mar, fish tacos by the sand, and the frozen bananas on Balboa Island. The bigger draw lies just outside town, with the wider range in Costa Mesa and Little Saigon's Vietnamese cooking twenty minutes inland.

Sedona's eating is narrower. Resort terraces facing the red rocks, Southwestern chilli and grilled meat and plenty of health-minded menus soon run out of variety. Its extra is the Verde Valley wine country down the road, where tasting rooms make a good afternoon.

Neither town is a sightseeing destination, but the little each one has is very different. Newport's interest is architectural and seaside: the 1905 Balboa Pavilion, the harbour ferry, Schindler's Lovell Beach House and the gardens in Corona del Mar, with the region's serious art museum next door in Costa Mesa.

Sedona looks further back and further inland. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, set into a butte, is its one landmark, and the Sinagua cliff dwellings at Palatki and Honanki and the V Bar V petroglyphs give it ancient sites the coast lacks. The many galleries of Western and Native American art add a little more.

Newport Beach at least has a night out on offer. Beach and dive bars near the Newport and Balboa piers fill with a young crowd on summer weekends, and the harbour has wine bars and hotel lounges, though anyone wanting clubs heads to Costa Mesa or Los Angeles.

Sedona barely goes out at all. A few brewpubs and resort lounges in Uptown suit one drink after dinner, the town sleeps early ahead of dawn hikes, and the best evening entertainment is the star-filled sky over the canyon.

Sedona sits in one of the great landscapes of North America, and it shows at once. Red sandstone buttes and spires rise straight from the scrub, a dense trail network reaches Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon and Devil's Bridge, mountain bikers come for the slickrock, and jeep roads run into the backcountry. Oak Creek Canyon climbs through pines towards the cooler plateau.

Newport's outdoors is gentler and watery. The tidal estuary of Upper Newport Bay is full of wading birds in winter, Crystal Cove has bluff and canyon trails, and the harbour suits kayaks, paddleboards and whale-watching boats. Real mountains are an hour inland.

Newport Beach has the whole of Southern California within reach. Laguna Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano are close, the ferry from Balboa reaches Catalina Island and Avalon in a little over an hour, and Los Angeles and San Diego both work as day trips, as long as you allow for freeway traffic.

Sedona's outings are smaller but full of character. You can visit Jerome on its mountainside, the Verde Canyon Railroad, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot, and Flagstaff to the north. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon, about two hours away, is the outstanding trip, but a few days cover the rest.

Newport Beach is built for a family trip. Children get shallow water in the harbour and off Balboa Island, the ferris wheel and arcades of the Fun Zone, tide pools and bike paths. Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm are about half an hour inland, so families can stay by the sea and drive to the parks.

Sedona works only for families who love being outdoors. Slide Rock, short trails and jeep tours over the slickrock go down well, but there is no zoo or theme park. Summer heat and exposed trails call for care with small children.

You need a car in both, and neither has much public transport. In Newport the flat Balboa Peninsula, its boardwalk, Balboa Island and the little ferry between them give you a car-free corner, but everything else means freeways and hard beach parking on summer weekends.

Sedona's walkable part is Uptown. Trailheads, the chapel and the Verde Valley towns all need driving along two highways that meet at the Y, a shuttle serves only some busy trailheads, and most visitors fly into Phoenix and drive two hours north.

For shopping, Newport Beach is far stronger, as long as you want fashion. An open-air centre above the harbour holds designer names and department stores, and one of the country's biggest luxury malls is ten minutes away in Costa Mesa, with boutiques in Corona del Mar and surf shops on the peninsula.

Sedona sells art and crafts instead. The courtyards of Tlaquepaque and the galleries along the main road offer Western painting and Native American jewellery, pottery and rugs, alongside crystal and metaphysical shops. For clothes, people drive to Phoenix.

Both are expensive, and neither suits a tight budget. In Newport the cost is in harbour and beachfront hotels, restaurants that charge for the view, and car hire, fuel and parking. Staying in Costa Mesa or Irvine and eating tacos saves a little.

Sedona's resorts and lodges are dearest in spring and autumn, and jeep tours, balloon flights and spa treatments add up quickly. Its saving grace is that the main attraction, the trails, costs little more than a parking pass, and Cottonwood or Flagstaff offer cheaper rooms.

Newport Beach borrows a proper arts scene from next door. The Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, ten minutes away, has touring Broadway shows, ballet and the Pacific Symphony, and South Coast Repertory stages new American plays, with summer concerts by the water in town itself.

Sedona has occasions rather than a season. Chamber concerts, local theatre and the long-running Sedona International Film Festival in late winter are the highlights, with acoustic sets and Native American flute in resort bars. For anything bigger, you drive to Flagstaff or Phoenix.

Sedona is built around retreat. Destination spas look onto the red canyons, and yoga, meditation, breathwork and alternative therapies are everywhere. Sunrise walks to the vortexes, which many visitors believe carry special energy, are part of the routine, and the clear air and silent nights do the rest.

Newport's relaxation is simpler: bluff-top walks, harbour coffee, sunsets over the Pacific, and good spas at the hillside resorts and around Corona del Mar. Neither town has hot springs or a bathing tradition.