Alanya or Paphos?

Alanya has the stronger beaches, and they are right in town. Cleopatra Beach curves west of the castle and Keykubat runs for kilometres east of the harbour, both fine sand that shelves gently into clear water. Boat trips around the headland add turquoise coves for swimming.

In Paphos the sea is just as inviting, but the town's own shoreline is short stretches of sand and shingle with rocky entries. For a proper sandy day you take the bus or drive to Coral Bay, about 13km north. In return, Paphos has the wild, undeveloped Lara Bay on the Akamas coast, something Alanya's resort strip does not offer.

Neither is a food destination, and in both places the harbourfront menus are aimed at package tourists. The difference is in where the good food is. In Paphos it is the long Cypriot meze, served in family tavernas in Ktima and the hill villages with local Laona wine.

Alanya's best eating is simpler and more casual: kebab and pide houses in the back streets, gözleme made at stalls in the hills, and the big weekly market for olives, cheese and spices.

Paphos has the deeper history by some distance. The archaeological park by the harbour holds Roman floor mosaics among the finest in the Mediterranean, especially in the House of Dionysus. Just up the shore are the columned Hellenistic burial chambers of the Tombs of the Kings, which together fill two or three days.

Alanya's history is concentrated on its peninsula: the 13th-century Seljuk castle walls, the octagonal Red Tower and the rock-cut Tersane shipyard. They are atmospheric and well worth seeing, but a day or two covers them.

Alanya is where to go for a big night out. In summer the harbour and its bar street fill with cocktail bars, karaoke and open-air clubs that run until the small hours, and party boat cruises around the peninsula are part of the season.

Paphos has a smaller version on Bar Street in Kato Paphos, mostly pubs and karaoke with a few clubs. Away from it, evenings mean a seafront cocktail or a long dinner. Both towns go quiet in the winter months.

Both have fine landscapes close at hand, but of different kinds. Alanya's scenery is about height: the Taurus Mountains rise straight behind town, with the Dim Cave, the waterfalls of Sapadere Canyon, jeep safaris to summer pastures and paragliding above the bay.

Paphos is better for walking along wild coast. The protected Akamas peninsula has trails to sea caves and beaches where turtles nest, Avakas Gorge is a short walk between limestone walls, and the Troodos pine forests are within reach for a longer day.

There is plenty to do beyond either town, but the trips work differently. From Alanya the major Roman sites, Side, Aspendos and Perge, plus Antalya's Kaleiçi and its museum, lie west along the coast. Most take one to two hours each way, so most people go on an organised tour.

From Paphos, with a hire car, Kourion, the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Limassol are all within about an hour. The painted Troodos churches and Nicosia, where you can walk across into the north, make longer and more varied days out.

Both suit a beach vacation with children, with gently shelving water, family resort hotels and a warm welcome for kids. In Alanya the easy beaches are right in town, and the cable car to the castle, pirate-style boats, water parks and a dolphin park are easy wins. Just avoid staying near the noisy harbour.

In Paphos the gentlest sand is out at Coral Bay, and most outings need a car. The mosaics and tombs can hold older children's interest in a way Alanya's sights rarely do.

Alanya is easier without a car. The centre, harbour and both main beaches are within walking distance along the promenade, a cable car saves the hot climb to the castle, and frequent buses and dolmuş minibuses run the length of the coast road. Inland canyons and ancient sites still mean a tour or a hire car.

In Paphos only the flat Kato Paphos seafront is easy on foot. Ktima is a steep climb, and buses barely reach the villages and gorges, so most visitors hire a car and drive on the left.

Alanya is the better place to shop, though neither town is worth choosing for it. The fun is in town: bargaining in the bazaar lanes behind the harbour for leather, textiles or gold, then browsing the stalls of the big weekly market. Don't expect designer names or independent boutiques.

Paphos has little to browse beyond the old covered market in Ktima and the beachwear shops on the seafront. The things worth taking home, such as handmade lace or a bottle of village wine, turn up on drives inland. Shopping there becomes part of a day out in the hills rather than an evening stroll.

Alanya is the cheaper of the two, especially if you book a package or all-inclusive stay. Local buses and simple Turkish eateries away from the seafront also cost little, although boat trips and harbourside dining add up.

Paphos costs what you would expect from a eurozone resort, and car hire makes the total noticeably higher. Its meze dinners are good value for the amount of food. In both towns, hotel rates are at their highest in midsummer and fall in the quieter seasons.

Neither town has a regular programme, and both save their highlight for early autumn. Paphos has the edge: the Aphrodite Festival stages open-air opera in front of the medieval harbour castle, and the ancient odeon hosts occasional concerts and plays.

Alanya's counterpart is a long-running jazz festival held in settings such as the old shipyard. For the rest of the year, live performance means hotel shows and Turkish-night dinners.

Alanya offers more for a restful stay, mostly thanks to the hammam. Nearly every large hotel has a Turkish bath, and the bathhouses in town offer the full steam, scrub and foam-wash routine. The humid air of the Damlataş cave has long drawn people with breathing complaints.

Paphos has no bathing tradition of its own, so it relies on resort-hotel spas, long promenade walks and the quiet of the inland villages.