Pai or Pattaya?

Pai is a mountain town with no coast. Being in the water there means tubing down the Pai River in the hot season, a dip under Mo Paeng falls or a guesthouse pool.

Pattaya has warm sea in every month. Pattaya Beach itself is better for deckchairs than for swimming, but Jomtien and Na Jomtien are calmer. Koh Larn's Tien and Samae beaches have the clear, swimmable water that Pai cannot offer at all.

Pai feeds you well and cheaply at its evening walking street, with khao soi, Shan dishes and grilled skewers, plus vegan cafés and Yunnanese noodles in Santichon. Still, much of it is tuned to foreign tastes and the range is narrow.

Pattaya has more to explore, above all seafood bought by weight along the Naklua waterfront and in the fishing villages to the south, along with long rows of night-market stalls. The central strip is full of schnitzel and English breakfasts, so the better meals are away from Beach Road, but there is more Thai cooking to dig into than in Pai.

Neither is a heritage destination, but Pattaya has the one sight of real quality between the two. That is the Sanctuary of Truth, a carved teak temple-palace on the shore at Naklua, and Big Buddha Hill and Wat Yansangwararam add some religious interest.

Pai fills about half a day: the white Buddha of Wat Phra That Mae Yen at sunset, the wartime iron bridge and the mud-brick houses of Santichon. Pattaya rounds out its list with illusion galleries and replica floating markets, which are entertainment rather than culture.

Pai has a sociable backpacker evening of reggae bars and fairy-lit gardens off the walking street. Most of it closes around midnight, and there are no proper clubs.

Pattaya is a different order of night out. Walking Street's clubs and live-band bars run into the small hours, hundreds of beer bars line the sois off Second Road, and there are rooftop bars over the bay and a gay quarter at Boyztown. The sex trade is part of the scene, which is why couples often stay in Jomtien or Naklua.

Here Pai is plainly the stronger, because the landscape is the whole point. It has a green valley of rice fields ringed by forested hills, Pai Canyon's eroded ridges, waterfalls a short ride out, morning mist at Yun Lai and the cave of Tham Lod about an hour west.

Pattaya's nature is mostly offshore: snorkelling around Koh Larn and Koh Sak, dives on sunken naval ships and kitesurfing at Na Jomtien. Inland the country is flat and built up, and the heat cuts out much of the day for walking.

Pai is remote. Beyond Soppong and the Lahu and Lisu villages an hour to the west, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son are three bendy hours away, so they work better as the next stop than as a day out.

Pattaya gives you far more choice for a day trip. Bangkok's royal palace and riverside temples are about two hours off. Closer in are Si Racha and the island of Koh Si Chang, and Bang Saen, where Thai families go at weekends. Koh Samet's white sand is reached by road and a short ferry from Ban Phe.

Pattaya is the easier choice with children. It has large water parks, an aquarium with a walk-through tunnel, the night safari at Khao Kheow Open Zoo and the shows at Nong Nooch. Families usually stay in Jomtien or at resorts with big pools, away from the bar streets.

Pai suits older children who like the outdoors, with farm visits, hot springs and gentle tubing in the dry season. The road in from Chiang Mai often makes passengers carsick, and most sights need a scooter or a driver, which makes it harder going with small children.

Pai has no public transport at all. Its centre is small enough to cross on foot in minutes, but the canyon, the waterfalls and the Tha Pai hot springs all lie out in the valley. To reach them you either ride a hired scooter on hill roads that catch out many first-timers, or pay for a songthaew, taxi or tour for each trip. Even arriving means a winding minibus ride from Chiang Mai.

Pattaya at least has a shared ride along the coast. Songthaews loop between Naklua, the centre and Jomtien for very little, so the beach, the bars and the night markets are easy to reach without planning anything. For Nong Nooch, Khao Kheow or the water parks you are back to a taxi or a ride-hailing app, much as you are for almost everything in Pai. On foot it is the other way round: the traffic and heat make Pattaya harder going than Pai's few quiet streets.

Pai's shopping is the evening walking street: cotton trousers, woven bags, hill-tribe textiles and handmade jewellery. Much of it is made locally, but the same things repeat from stall to stall.

Pattaya has a wider range. There are air-conditioned malls with international chains, night markets at Thepprasit and Jomtien, tailors who make shirts within days, and stalls selling Thai silk. Neither is a place for luxury boutiques or independent design.

Both are cheap by any Western measure, and Pai is a little cheaper. Its simple bungalows, night-market dinners and scooter hire are why travellers stay for weeks, and most sights are free or nearly so.

In Pattaya, a huge oversupply of rooms keeps hotels low-priced, especially in the wet season. Costs add up with speedboat island trips, water parks, shows and imported drinks, though, and you need to agree jet ski and taxi prices in advance.

Neither has theatre or a concert season, so the difference is one of style. Pai's music is informal acoustic sets, blues, reggae and jazz jams in its bars. The quality varies, but the open-stage feel has its charm.

Pattaya puts on shows staged for visitors: sequinned ladyboy cabaret in large theatres, dinner shows with Thai dance and martial arts, and cover bands playing rock standards late on Walking Street.

Pai is the more restful place. It has hot springs at Tha Pai and in the hills, cheap massage everywhere, and yoga and meditation retreats that last days or weeks, all suited to the slow pace of the valley. It is at its best in the cool months, before the spring haze.

Pattaya has the grander spas, at the resorts in Naklua, Na Jomtien and on the Pratamnak headland. Its central streets are loud late into the night, though, some massage places are part of the nightlife trade, and there are no hot springs.