Santa Barbara or Scottsdale?

The gap here is wide. Santa Barbara has real beaches: East and West Beach either side of Stearns Wharf, Butterfly Beach below Montecito and the shallow state beach at Carpinteria, all protected from big surf by the Channel Islands. The water is cool, so many swims are short or in a wetsuit.

Scottsdale is in the Sonoran Desert, far from any sea. Swimming means the resort pool, a trip to the sandy coves of Saguaro or Canyon Lake, or floating down the Salt River on an inner tube in summer.

Santa Barbara eats better and more locally. Spot prawns and sea urchin come off the harbour boats, the farmers' markets are excellent, and you can walk between the wine tasting rooms of the Funk Zone with wine country just over the hills. The range is narrow, though, and there is little late-night food.

Scottsdale does steakhouses, patio grills and long happy hours competently, but rarely with much character. Its most local cooking is Sonoran-style Mexican, often best found across the wider metro area, and many of the more interesting restaurants are in Phoenix.

Santa Barbara's main sight is the whole town. It was rebuilt in Spanish Colonial Revival style after 1925, so the white stucco and red tile run from the County Courthouse up to the Old Mission, with the Presidio and two good museums nearby. That makes two or three unhurried days of sightseeing.

Scottsdale has one outstanding sight, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, plus a western-era Old Town and a small contemporary art museum. Beyond that, the strongest collections are just outside the city: the Heard Museum for Native American art and the Musical Instrument Museum.

Scottsdale is the livelier choice. Old Town's few blocks of rooftop lounges, dance clubs and sports bars are packed on weekends and through spring, with dress codes, bottle service and noise until closing at 2am.

Santa Barbara is much quieter. Evenings mean a Funk Zone taproom or wine bar, and the student crowd on lower State Street at weekends, and most places close early. It suits dinner and a nightcap, not a night out.

Both have wild country close by, but Santa Barbara offers more kinds of it. Trails climb straight from town into the Santa Ynez Mountains to ridges overlooking the channel. From the harbour you can go whale watching, kayaking or surfing at Rincon, and Channel Islands National Park is a boat trip away.

Scottsdale's outdoors is the desert: saguaro and granite boulders in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, short steep climbs up Camelback and Pinnacle Peak, and the Superstition Mountains further out. It is superb from autumn to spring, but in summer you can only hike at dawn.

The two are broadly level, but the trips differ. Santa Barbara's best outing is short and centred on wine: the Santa Ynez Valley, about 45 minutes over the mountains, with tasting rooms, Danish-founded Solvang and a nearby restored mission. After that the choice thins out.

Scottsdale's best trips are longer drives through more dramatic country. Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle and the mining town of Jerome are around two hours north, and Tucson is a similar distance south. The Grand Canyon is best done with an overnight stay.

Both work well for children, in different ways. Santa Barbara's family days are small in scale and spent outside: the touch tanks on Stearns Wharf, the hilltop zoo, MOXI, calm water at Carpinteria and a flat bike path along the shore.

In Scottsdale the resort often is the entertainment, with lazy rivers, water slides and kids' clubs, plus miniature trains at McCormick-Stillman and an aquarium nearby. Everything means a drive, though, and the summer heat keeps children indoors or in the pool from midday.

Santa Barbara is far easier without a car. The coastal train stops near the beach, and downtown is flat and compact, with State Street running straight to the waterfront path. You will still need wheels for the wine country, the trailheads and the outlying beaches.

Scottsdale is built around the car. It is a long, narrow city of wide roads that the regional light rail does not reach. Old Town is walkable and has a free trolley, but you will need a hire car or ride-hailing for resorts, the preserve and the airport.

Scottsdale is the stronger shopping destination. A large luxury mall on Scottsdale Road has the big fashion houses and full department stores, and the Old Town gallery streets deal in southwestern art, Native American silver and turquoise, and western boots and hats. It is polished and suburban rather than independent.

Santa Barbara is pleasant to browse but small. It has the fountain courtyards of La Arcada, upmarket boutiques in Montecito and design shops in the Funk Zone. The best things to take home are a bottle of local wine and something from the farmers' market.

Neither is cheap, but Santa Barbara is harder on the budget. Rooms by the beach and in Montecito are some of the dearest on the California coast. Free hikes, taquerias and staying in Goleta or Ventura soften the cost, as does coming midweek or in the cooler months.

Scottsdale's high prices are seasonal. Resorts charge most in winter and spring and cut their rates sharply in the summer heat. Motels along the main roads and cheap Mexican food across the metro area also help a careful traveller.

Santa Barbara has more on stage in town. The Granada, a restored 1920s movie palace, hosts the symphony, opera and ballet, and the Lobero has chamber music and jazz. Summer adds big bands at the Santa Barbara Bowl and concerts by the Music Academy of the West.

Scottsdale's own offer is its Old Town arts centre, plus the world music concerts at the Musical Instrument Museum theatre. For opera, ballet or the symphony you go to Phoenix, about half an hour away.

Scottsdale is built for this kind of trip. It has a striking number of large resort spas, many open to day guests, offering desert-inspired treatments, steam rooms and outdoor pools in dry air with mountain views, along with plenty of yoga and retreats.

Santa Barbara's restorative pull is quieter. It comes from mild mornings and an unhurried town, with resort spas in Montecito and a hike up to small hot pools in the hills. For a proper retreat, people often drive an hour to the long-established spa resorts of the Ojai Valley.