Page, Arizona or Santa Barbara?

The two are close here but offer very different water. In Page, swimming means Lake Powell. By midsummer the lake is warm and lovely in the dry heat, and the best moments come from a boat or kayak, jumping off sandstone into deep coves. Lone Rock has open sand and drive-up camping, but the shoreline moves as the lake level changes, and there are no lifeguards or beach towns.

Santa Barbara has proper ocean beaches right in town, East and West Beach on either side of Stearns Wharf. Carpinteria's shallow strand suits small children well, and the Channel Islands keep the surf gentle. The price is the cold Pacific. Swims are short, many locals wear wetsuits, and early summer mornings are often grey.

Santa Barbara is clearly the better place to eat. Sea urchin and rock crab come off the harbour boats, the farmers' markets are well stocked, and pinot noir from the Santa Rita Hills is poured in tasting rooms you can walk between. Old taquerias on Milpas Street sit alongside polished farm-to-table cooking in Montecito.

In Page, eating is mainly about refuelling between outings. The main strip is lined with diners, barbecue and chains, and the one dish worth looking for is the Navajo taco on frybread, sold at roadside stands on the reservation.

Page was built in the 1950s as a camp for the workers on the Glen Canyon Dam, so its sights are few: the dam's visitor centre and a small museum about John Wesley Powell. The real cultural depth comes from the surrounding Navajo Nation, not from anything in town.

Santa Barbara has much more to see, and the town itself is the main attraction. After the 1925 earthquake it was rebuilt in white stucco and red tile, with the County Courthouse tower at its centre. The Old Mission, the Presidio and two good museums fill a couple of unhurried days.

Neither town is lively after dark, but Santa Barbara at least gives you somewhere to go. There are early-evening tasting rooms and breweries in the Funk Zone, and the bars on lower State Street fill with students at weekends. Page has a brewpub and a few bars, and most visitors are in bed early for dawn canyon tours. The best thing to do there at night is to look up at the very dark desert sky.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Page has the more remarkable landscape. Within minutes of town are the glowing slot canyons of Antelope Canyon and the drop to the river at Horseshoe Bend. Beyond them, Lake Powell's maze of red canyons leads by boat to Rainbow Bridge, Lees Ferry is the starting point for Grand Canyon rafting, and the Wave and Buckskin Gulch are an hour or two away.

Santa Barbara's strength is variety close to home. Trails such as Rattlesnake Canyon and Seven Falls start from the end of residential streets, whale-watching boats leave the harbour, surfers ride the point break at Rincon, and the Channel Islands offer sea caves and kayaking.

Santa Barbara has the better range of towns to visit for a day. The Santa Ynez Valley, about 45 minutes over the mountains, combines wineries with Danish-founded Solvang and its mission. La Purisima, Ojai and Ventura are other easy outings.

From Page the destinations are mostly more landscape, and the drives are long. Lees Ferry's pioneer buildings, the cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument and the film-set history of Kanab are the main places with a human story, and Monument Valley is more scenery than town.

With children, Santa Barbara is the easier choice. There is a small zoo on a hill above the beach, the Sea Center on the wharf has touch tanks, MOXI is a hands-on science museum and the natural history museum has a whale skeleton. The water at Carpinteria is calm, and the mild weather means children can be outside all year.

Page suits families who love the outdoors. Lake days and short Antelope Canyon tours go down well with most children, but nothing in town is built for them. The summer sun is harsh. Most of the cliff edges at Horseshoe Bend and the other viewpoints are unfenced, some canyon tours involve steep ladders, and the bigger parks mean long hours in the car.

You can manage Santa Barbara without a car for much of the stay. State Street runs flat from the Mission district down to the sea, a shoreline path joins the wharf, harbour and East Beach, and buses and the coastal train cover the centre. For the wine country and the trailheads you still need a car.

In Page a car is essential from the moment you arrive. The main sights are spread across the desert, there is no public transport worth using, and with the nearest big airports hours away, most visitors come on a road trip anyway.

Santa Barbara is better for browsing. Galleries and boutiques line the fountain courtyards of the paseos off State Street, Montecito's Coast Village Road sells upmarket fashion, and the Funk Zone has design shops. The best things to take home are wine and produce from the farmers' markets.

Page has one thing Santa Barbara lacks: Native American craft. You can buy Navajo silver and turquoise jewellery, rugs and pottery at trading posts and roadside stalls, often straight from the maker. Beyond that, the shops sell houseboat supplies and souvenirs.

Neither is cheap, but Page is the easier place to keep costs down. Rooms there are tight in busy months, and guided Antelope Canyon tours and boat hire add up quickly. Camping at Lone Rock or Wahweap, or visiting in winter, brings the cost down a lot.

Santa Barbara's beachside and Montecito rooms are among the most expensive on the California coast, and meals and wine tastings are priced for a wealthy crowd. Taquerias, free hikes, staying in Goleta or Ventura, and travelling midweek help the most.

Santa Barbara has a real stage life, and Page has almost none. The restored Granada hosts symphony, opera and ballet, the historic Lobero has chamber music and jazz, and the Santa Barbara Bowl brings major touring bands to a canyon above town. Each summer the Music Academy of the West adds concerts. In Page, the most you will find is a Navajo dance presentation for visitors or a local band in a bar.

A stay in Page leaves little room to unwind. Canyon tours start before sunrise, the parks lie long drives apart, and afternoons go on the lake or in the car. Beyond a few hotel treatments and motel pools there is nowhere to be pampered. The restful moments are the quiet evenings and the wide desert views once the day's outings are done.

Santa Barbara is made for slowing down. With mild sun and no long list of sights to get through, mornings can stay unhurried. The resort hotels in Montecito and along the beachfront have polished spas, and there are yoga studios and day spas around town. Neither town has a public bathing tradition, and here the nearest thing is a hike up to small natural hot pools in the hills above Montecito.