Palm Desert or Sonoma?

Neither town is a beach destination, and swimming in both means a pool. In Palm Desert the pool is the whole point: almost every resort and rental has one, often heated, and a day by it under the palms is central to the stay, while the ocean is two hours away over the mountains.

Sonoma has a little more natural water in summer, when the gravel beaches of the Russian River are warm enough for a lazy afternoon. Its nearby coast at Bodega Bay is dramatic but cold and rough, a place for a view rather than a swim.

Sonoma is the place to eat and drink well. Wine is the reason people come, from tasting rooms around the plaza to Carneros vineyards just south, and kitchens cook around local cheese, olive oil and coastal oysters. The catch is scale: a modest cluster of restaurants with little variety or late eating.

Palm Desert offers dependable resort dining on El Paseo, steaks and Californian plates on warm patios, but the menus blur together. Its real flavour lies at the eastern end of the valley, in the taquerias of Indio and Coachella and the date shakes from the groves.

Sonoma has the edge, thanks to a genuine historic core. Its plaza saw the Bear Flag Revolt, and the mission, the adobe barracks and General Vallejo's house sit within a short walk, with Jack London's ruined Wolf House up the valley.

Palm Desert, a post-war resort town, has a sculpture garden at the Palm Springs Art Museum branch and galleries along El Paseo, and leans on Palm Springs for its mid-century architecture. In both places sightseeing fills a morning or two rather than a whole trip.

Both towns go quiet early, but Palm Desert gives you somewhere to go afterwards. Its patio wine bars and lounges close early, yet the valley's tribal casinos keep bars open into the small hours and Palm Springs has the liveliest strip, including its gay scene.

Sonoma's evenings end with dinner and a glass at a wine bar or saloon on the plaza, and anything later means driving to Santa Rosa or San Francisco.

Both are strong for the outdoors, but in very different scenery. Palm Desert offers desert drama: the Santa Rosa Mountains rising from town, palm oases in the Indian Canyons, the tramway up to pine forest and the boulders and night skies of Joshua Tree, all best from October to May.

Sonoma is gentler and greener, with vineyard back roads for cycling, oak and redwood trails at Sugarloaf Ridge and Jack London park, and the coast and Point Reyes within an hour. Its best seasons are spring wildflowers and the autumn harvest.

Sonoma is far better placed for outings. San Francisco is about an hour away for a full city day, Napa's wine towns are just over the hills, and Healdsburg, Petaluma and Sausalito add variety, even if many trips end up being another wine town.

From Palm Desert the obvious outing is Palm Springs, with Temecula wine country, cool Idyllwild, Pioneertown and Salvation Mountain further out. Los Angeles and San Diego are really too far for a day.

Palm Desert gives children much more. The Living Desert zoo is right in town, the Palm Springs tramway pleases older children, and resorts with slides and lawns fill the gaps, although summer heat rules out midday play.

Sonoma is calm and safe but built around tasting rooms. A plaza playground, the miniature railway park and an African wildlife park near Santa Rosa are the main options, and many families do better visiting for a day from San Francisco.

You will want a car in both, but Sonoma gives you a walkable heart. Its compact plaza puts tasting rooms within a few blocks, flat valley roads suit cycling to nearby wineries, and booking a driver for tasting days is common.

Palm Desert is spread out along wide boulevards, with only El Paseo pleasant on foot. Its compensation is easy driving and free-flowing roads with parking almost everywhere.

Palm Desert is the stronger shopping stop. El Paseo lines up upscale boutiques, jewellers and galleries along a landscaped boulevard, a nearby mall covers the chains, and a large designer outlet half an hour west draws bargain hunters.

Sonoma is about gifts and food rather than fashion: independent shops and galleries round the plaza, olive oil, cheese, and wine bought straight from the cellar door, plus a summer farmers' market.

Neither is cheap, but Palm Desert is easier on a budget. Chain hotels and rentals keep costs down all year, and in the summer heat resort rooms fall to a fraction of winter rates, although golf and spa treatments add up quickly.

Sonoma has no comparable off-season escape. Rooms are few and priced for wine weekends, tasting fees pile up and a car or driver is needed, so budget travellers often sleep in Santa Rosa or Petaluma.

Palm Desert has more on stage. The McCallum Theatre brings touring Broadway shows, ballet and orchestras through the winter, casinos and an arena add big concerts, and Coachella and Stagecoach take over Indio's polo grounds each spring.

Sonoma's season is summer and outdoors: musicals among the ruins at Jack London park and winery concerts. The Green Music Center half an hour away is the serious draw for classical music lovers.

Palm Desert was built for rest. Resort spas line the valley, the winter days are dry and sunny, and Desert Hot Springs, half an hour north, has small spa hotels filling their pools from natural mineral springs.

Sonoma has one historic hot spring at Boyes Hot Springs, with day passes at its resort spa, and Calistoga's mud baths are an hour away. Its real strength is the slow pace of plaza mornings and quiet evenings rather than bathing.