Page, Arizona or Phoenix?

Neither city has a coast, but Page has Lake Powell on its doorstep, and in summer that makes it a real swimming destination. There is open sand at Lone Rock and there are coves around Wahweap, and the best water is reached by boat or kayak, where you jump off sandstone into deep water. There are no lifeguards, and the shoreline moves with the lake level.

Phoenix has small reservoir beaches at Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake, a drive east of the city, and tubing on the lower Salt River. Most visitors, though, swim in resort pools with slides and lazy rivers. If water is a reason for the trip, Page is the clear winner.

Phoenix eats far better. Sonoran cooking gives it a real regional identity: carne asada, flour tortillas thin enough to see through, and bacon-wrapped hot dogs from evening carts. Central Phoenix and Roosevelt Row add independent places, and Scottsdale has steakhouses and resort dining.

Page feeds road-trippers with diners, barbecue and chains, and its one distinctive dish is the Navajo taco on frybread. Meals there fill the gaps between outings rather than being part of the pleasure.

Neither city has an old centre to wander, but Phoenix has museums worth a day of their own. The Heard Museum holds outstanding Native American collections, and the Musical Instrument Museum and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West are close behind. The Hohokam site at Pueblo Grande adds a much older layer.

In Page the sights are the Glen Canyon Dam with its visitor centre and a small museum devoted to John Wesley Powell. Its deeper cultural interest lies out in the Navajo Nation, not in anything you visit indoors.

Phoenix has a proper night out, split between the clubs and rooftop bars of Old Town Scottsdale, the student bars on Tempe's Mill Avenue, and the craft beer and cocktail places downtown. The districts are far apart, so each one makes a separate evening, with a ride-hail home.

Page has a few bars and a brewpub and goes quiet before midnight, partly because canyon tours start at dawn. Its best evening is spent outdoors under a very dark desert sky.

Both are superb for desert scenery, but Page is the more extraordinary base. Antelope Canyon's glowing slot walls, Horseshoe Bend, the flooded canyons of Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge by boat and rafting from Lees Ferry are all close at hand. The Vermilion Cliffs and the Wave are within a couple of hours.

Phoenix's strength is convenience. Camelback Mountain, South Mountain and the saguaro trails of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve rise right out of the suburbs and are ideal for early hikes in the cooler months, with Sedona and the Superstitions further out. Phoenix is a city with great hiking, while Page sits in landscape known around the world.

Phoenix has many more towns within reach. Jerome clings to its hillside, Prescott has its courthouse square, and Sedona lies in red rock country with Montezuma Castle on the way. Tucson, with Mission San Xavier del Bac, is under two hours south.

Around Page the outings are mostly landscape. The places to visit are Lees Ferry's pioneer buildings, the Betatakin cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument, and Kanab, with Pipe Spring nearby. Distances are long and the towns small.

With children, Page's appeal is the outdoors itself. A beach day at Lone Rock, a boat among the coves and a short Antelope Canyon tour suit most ages, and the small town is easy to manage. Nothing is built for children, though. Viewpoints such as Horseshoe Bend have sheer, mostly unfenced edges, and some canyon tours climb steep ladders.

Phoenix is the easier family destination overall. It has a zoo, an aquarium in Scottsdale, the Arizona Science Center, a children's museum and water parks to fall back on, plus spring training baseball in March. It works best in the cooler months, when outdoor time is safe, and families should expect long drives across the metro area.

Both need a car, and in neither does walking get a visitor very far. Phoenix at least has a light rail line linking the airport, downtown and Tempe, plus ride-hailing everywhere and a major airport in the city. Its sights, however, are scattered across a vast grid of roads.

Page is small enough to walk along the main strip, but everything worth seeing lies outside town. The nearest major airports are hours away, so most people arrive by road.

Both are good places to buy Navajo silver and turquoise jewellery, rugs and pottery. In Page that means trading posts and roadside stalls, where you can often buy from the maker. In Phoenix, museum shops and reputable galleries also sell Zuni jewellery and Hopi katsina carvings.

Beyond that, Phoenix has a luxury mall in Scottsdale, international brands near the Biltmore, and galleries and Western wear in Old Town. Page sells little beyond supplies and souvenirs.

Neither is cheap, but Phoenix gives you more ways to manage costs. Resort rates drop sharply in summer, freeway chain hotels are good value all year, Sonoran Mexican meals are cheap and most hiking is free. Its expensive months are winter and spring.

In Page the costs come from scarce rooms in the busy season and paid sights. Antelope Canyon can only be seen on a guided tour, and boats and houseboats are expensive. Camping at Lone Rock or Wahweap, or coming in winter, keeps costs down.

Only Phoenix has a season worth planning around. The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona perform regularly, touring Broadway shows play ASU Gammage, Wright's round auditorium in Tempe, and the Musical Instrument Museum has its own concert hall. Most of the programme runs from autumn to spring.

Page offers Navajo dance presentations and dinner shows put on for visitors, and the odd local band in a bar, and nothing more.

Phoenix is made for resting. Desert resorts at the foot of Camelback Mountain and in north Scottsdale have full spas, several pools, golf, and treatments using sage, clay and agave. They are at their best in the dry warmth of winter.

Page has motel pools and a few hotel spa treatments. Its calm comes from wide views and dark night skies, but days there start early and involve long drives, so it suits active days far more than unwinding.