Penang or Singapore?

Neither city is worth choosing for its beaches, and in both the hotel pool often wins. The difference is in the kind of beach. Penang's sand is natural: a long resort bay at Batu Ferringhi with cloudy water and jellyfish at certain times of year, plus wilder coves such as Monkey Beach that you reach by forest trail or boat.

Singapore's beaches on Sentosa are man-made, with imported sand and lagoons behind breakwaters that keep the water calm and safe, but the view is of anchored tankers. For something quieter, ferries run to St John's and Lazarus.

Food is the strongest reason to visit either city, and in both it is built on hawker stalls that each perfect a single dish. Penang's cooking is more local and old-fashioned: char kway teow fried over charcoal, sour assam laksa, nasi kandar and Nyonya kitchens. Breakfast is the meal to plan around, because favourite stalls sell out by noon.

Singapore adds range at both ends. Hawker centres such as Maxwell and Old Airport Road serve chicken rice and chilli crab, you can eat murtabak late into the evening in Kampong Glam, and above the stalls there is a serious tier of fine dining that Penang barely has.

Penang has the more absorbing historic town. In George Town the whole old centre is the attraction: streets of shophouses, carved clan houses such as Khoo Kongsi, the clan jetties on stilts, and a mosque, a Hindu temple and a church a few streets apart. Kek Lok Si stands on the hillside beyond. Its museums are small, though.

Singapore's heritage is younger and is shown through its institutions. The National Gallery and the Asian Civilisations Museum are stronger than anything in Penang, and the skyline of Marina Bay Sands and the Supertrees is a sight in itself. Chinatown and Kampong Glam, however, are pockets inside a modern city rather than a whole old town.

Singapore has the better night out, though neither city is for dancing until dawn. Its strength is a drink with a view on the rooftops over Marina Bay, along with a polished cocktail scene in the shophouses of Keong Saik and Telok Ayer. The main clubs are along Clarke Quay.

Penang's evenings centre on the hawker centres. For a drink there are backpacker bars on Chulia Street and Love Lane, a short, louder strip on Upper Penang Road and resort lounges at Batu Ferringhi, and it all winds down early. Heavy alcohol taxes make drinks costly in both cities.

Penang has more to offer outdoors because the island is hilly. The funicular, or a hike up from the Botanic Gardens, takes you to an 800m ridge with cooler air and canopy walks. The national park has coastal jungle trails to a lighthouse and a turtle beach, and the orchards around Balik Pulau make a quiet day on a bicycle.

Singapore is flat, and its wild places are few but well kept: rainforest at Bukit Timah and MacRitchie, the walkways of the Southern Ridges, the wetlands at Sungei Buloh and a bicycle ride round Pulau Ubin. In both cities the heat leaves early morning as the only comfortable time to walk.

Neither city makes a good base for touring, but Penang has the better short list. Ipoh, about two hours away, has cave temples in limestone cliffs as well as its own old town and food, and Taiping and the royal town of Kuala Kangsar make quieter outings.

From Singapore, the only real day out is Johor Bahru across the causeway, where queues at the border can take up much of the day. The ferries to Bintan and Batam lead mostly to resorts, and Malacca needs a night.

Singapore is one of the easiest cities in Asia to visit with children, and Penang cannot match it. Mandai's zoo, Night Safari, bird park and panda park, plus Universal Studios and the aquarium on Sentosa, can fill several days. Lifts, air conditioning and clean, safe streets make it all less tiring.

Penang works with children if you split the stay between hunting murals in George Town and a pool at Batu Ferringhi, and the Penang Hill funicular and the water and butterfly parks at Teluk Bahang are good outings. Broken pavements, heavy traffic and the lack of a big zoo or aquarium make it harder work, though.

This is where the two cities differ most. Singapore's MRT is clean and step-free and reaches the airport, Marina Bay, Orchard Road and the edge of the rainforest reserves. You can pay with a contactless card, and covered walkways ease the heat between stations.

Penang has no metro or tram. George Town's centre can be walked, but steps and parked motorbikes on the five-foot ways slow you down. Buses crawl through the traffic to Batu Ferringhi, so most visitors use cheap ride-hailing apps, and journeys across the island take longer than the map suggests.

For buying rather than browsing, Singapore is the place. The malls of Orchard Road and the designer flagships at Marina Bay Sands cover every big brand, and Haji Lane and the Art Deco blocks of Tiong Bahru add independent fashion, bookshops and design.

Penang's malls on Gurney Drive offer little you could not find elsewhere, but its old town has more traditional character: nutmeg and dried fruit at Chowrasta Market, joss-stick makers and rattan weavers around Campbell Street, and batik and Peranakan beadwork in shophouse boutiques.

Penang is far kinder on the wallet. Hawker meals, buses and ride-hailing are cheap, many temples and clan houses are free or nearly so, and mid-range rooms in George Town are good value. Only boutique shophouse hotels, beach resorts and drinks push the costs up.

In Singapore, the room is the main expense and is costly even in plain hotels, and the wildlife parks and Sentosa charge high entry fees. Eating at the hawker centres, riding the MRT and spending time in the free gardens keep the rest of the day reasonable.

Singapore has a steady stage life all year, which Penang lacks. The Esplanade has a concert hall, a theatre and free outdoor shows by the bay, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra plays a regular season, and touring musicals come to Marina Bay Sands.

Penang's performances follow its calendar. The George Town Festival fills old warehouses and shophouses for several weeks, and Chinese opera and getai stages, Thaipusam processions and lion dances take to the streets at festival times. Outside those, there is little beyond a few bar bands.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and in both wellness means massage and spas, so the difference is in the setting. Penang offers inexpensive reflexology around George Town, resort spas at Batu Ferringhi and cooler evenings on Penang Hill, but the heat and traffic noise in town lead many visitors to add a few days by the sea.

Singapore's spas are polished hotel affairs, often with pools overlooking the skyline, and there are also reflexology parlours, Chinese medicine clinics and Ayurvedic treatments in Little India. The quietest moments come early in the morning in the Botanic Gardens.