Scottsdale or Sonoma?

Neither place has a beach you would travel for, but the water is quite different. In Scottsdale, water means warmth: resort pools are at the heart of most stays, the desert reservoirs of Saguaro and Canyon Lakes have small sandy coves and boats for hire, and summer brings tubing on the Salt River.

Sonoma's coast at Bodega Bay is dramatic but cold and rough, a place for clifftop walks rather than swimming. In summer, real swimming means a hotel pool or the gravel shores of the Russian River.

Sonoma is the better place to eat and drink, because wine shapes everything there. The tasting rooms are a short walk from the plaza. The cooking is seasonal Californian, built on local cheese, olive oil and oysters from the coast. The drawback is size: there are few restaurants and little late-night or international food.

Scottsdale has more choice and stays open later, with steakhouses, sushi, patio grills and long happy hours in Old Town. It has less character, though. Its most local cooking, Sonoran Mexican with carne asada and huge flour tortillas, is best found in family places across greater Phoenix.

Scottsdale has slightly more to see. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, part of a UNESCO listing, is a sight of real stature, and the Museum of the West, a sharp contemporary art museum and the gallery district add to it. The Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum are a short drive away.

Sonoma's history is smaller but packed around one plaza. The Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 took place there, and the last Franciscan mission, the adobe barracks and General Vallejo's house are all within a short walk. It makes a satisfying half day without needing the car.

The gap here is wide. Scottsdale's Old Town packs patio bars, dance clubs and rooftop lounges into a few blocks that stay loud until closing time on weekends and through the spring season. Expect dress codes and bottle service.

Sonoma is quiet by late evening. A wine bar, a brewpub or one of the old saloons on the plaza after dinner is about as far as a night goes, and anything livelier means driving to Santa Rosa.

Both places are strong outdoors, but the landscapes could hardly be more different. Scottsdale's is desert: saguaro and granite boulders in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, steep climbs up Camelback Mountain, and the Superstition Mountains and the Salt River's wild horses further out. This is country for winter, since summer heat limits hiking to dawn.

Sonoma's is a green and gold valley of vineyards, oak woodland and redwood groves at Sugarloaf Ridge and Jack London park. It also has quiet cycling roads and the Sonoma Coast and Point Reyes within an hour. Hot-air balloons fly over both.

Sonoma is better placed for day trips. San Francisco is about an hour away, Napa and Healdsburg are closer still, and the bay towns of Sausalito and Tiburon are easy to reach. The catch is that most outings other than the city are another wine valley.

Scottsdale's trips take longer but offer more variety. Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle, the old mining town of Jerome and the San Xavier mission near Tucson are all about two hours' drive. The Grand Canyon is better done with a night away.

Scottsdale is far easier with children. Many resorts have water slides, lazy rivers and kids' clubs. The railroad park, the OdySea Aquarium, Butterfly Wonderland and the Phoenix Zoo fill the rest of the days, as long as you avoid the midday summer heat.

Sonoma is safe and calm but built for adults who are tasting wine. The plaza playground, a miniature railway and a wildlife park near Santa Rosa will cover a day or two. Most families do better staying in San Francisco and visiting for the day.

In both places you will want a car, but for different reasons. Scottsdale is long and spread out, with a simple road grid and easy parking. The light rail does not reach it, and a free trolley connects Old Town with the main shops.

Sonoma's plaza is small, and you can walk to a good number of tasting rooms from it. For wineries further out, people cycle the flat valley roads or book a driver or tour, so nobody has to drive after the wine.

Shopping is a real reason to visit Scottsdale. There is a luxury mall with full department stores, open-air centres to the north and an Old Town gallery district selling southwestern art. Dealers in Navajo and Hopi silver, turquoise and Pueblo pottery offer high quality.

Sonoma's plaza arcades are pleasant for an hour of browsing, with independent boutiques, kitchenware, olive oil and cheese. The best thing to take home is wine bought directly from the winery.

Neither is cheap, but Scottsdale is easier on a budget. In the hot summer months resort rates fall sharply, motels on the main roads and Sonoran Mexican food keep everyday costs down, and the desert trails are free.

Sonoma has few rooms and prices them for wine-country weekends. Tasting fees add up over a few days, and a car or driver adds more. Careful visitors stay in Santa Rosa or Petaluma and picnic among the vines.

Scottsdale has more to offer on a given evening, especially in winter. Its Old Town arts centre puts on jazz, dance and touring acts, the Musical Instrument Museum hosts world music concerts, and the Phoenix symphony, opera and ballet are about half an hour away.

Sonoma's season is mostly summer: outdoor musicals among the ruins at Jack London park, concerts at wineries and an old plaza theatre. The Green Music Center at Sonoma State draws touring orchestras, but for opera you go to San Francisco.

Scottsdale is the stronger choice for pampering. It has a large number of big resort spas with desert-inspired treatments, many open to day guests, and a slow routine of golf, pools and early nights. All of it is private and polished, and none of it rests on any bathing tradition.

Sonoma has what Scottsdale lacks: natural mineral water at Boyes Hot Springs, which has drawn bathers for over a century, with Calistoga's mud baths about an hour away. There are fewer spas, but the quiet, slow pace of the town makes it restful in its own way.