Albufeira or Faro?

Albufeira has the stronger beaches because they are right in town. Pescadores and Peneco lie below the old town, and a chain of cliff-framed coves and long sands runs east to Falésia and west to São Rafael. Expect ochre rock stacks and calm, clear water, along with crowds on the central stretches in high summer.

Faro's beaches feel quite different. They are the open sands of the barrier islands, reached by bus to Praia de Faro or by ferry to Ilha Deserta and Culatra, where dunes run for kilometres and the water is slightly warmer. They are emptier and wilder, but every beach day starts with a journey.

Both towns eat roughly as well as each other, and both serve cataplana, grilled sardines and almond and fig sweets. The difference is in the setting. In Albufeira the good grills sit among a mass of tourist menus offering full breakfasts and curry, so you have to search the old town backstreets and the area near the fishermen's beach.

Faro's cooking is more consistently local, built on clams, oysters and cockles from the Ria Formosa and fish sold by weight in plain grill houses. Even so, the better seafood is a short train ride away in Olhão.

Faro has more to see, though neither town is a heritage destination. Its walled Cidade Velha, entered through the Arco da Vila, holds a cathedral whose tower looks over the lagoon, a museum in a Renaissance cloister with a Roman mosaic, and just outside the walls the monks' bone chapel at the Igreja do Carmo. Together they fill a relaxed day.

Albufeira's whitewashed lanes, clock tower and two small museums take a morning at most, and history lovers end up on outings elsewhere.

This is where the two differ most. Albufeira is the Algarve's party town. The neon bars, karaoke, sports pubs and clubs of the Strip run until dawn in summer, with a young, largely British crowd and many stag and hen groups. It is loud rather than stylish, and much of it closes in winter.

Faro's evenings are quiet by comparison: terrace bars and a few small clubs around Rua do Prior and the marina, busiest when the university is in term. Most visitors simply linger over dinner.

Albufeira is a little ahead for dramatic scenery. The Seven Hanging Valleys cliff walk is about half an hour away, and boats and kayaks leave the marina for the sea caves at Benagil.

Faro's strength is gentler. The Ria Formosa begins at the edge of the old town, a maze of saltmarsh and channels to paddle through, with flamingos and spoonbills in the salt pans and flat lanes for cycling. Birdwatchers will prefer Faro, and cliff walkers Albufeira.

The two share much the same circuit of Silves, Loulé, Lagos and Tavira, so neither has a real advantage. What differs is the direction and the transport. Albufeira sits closer to the west, to Lagos and Sagres, but almost every outing means driving.

Faro reaches the eastern Algarve more easily, with Tavira and Olhão a short train ride away, the Roman villa at Milreu nearby, and Seville across the border for a long day.

Albufeira is built for a family beach vacation. Zoomarine and several water parks are a short drive away, the wide sands at Oura, Galé and Falésia are lifeguarded, and many hotels have kids' clubs. Families should avoid the Strip and be ready for steps in the old town.

Faro is calmer and more manageable, with a compact, quiet old town, a small science centre and boat trips to the islands that children enjoy. The big attractions, though, are a car ride away.

Faro is far easier to get around. Its small, flat centre puts the old town, marina, shops and station within a short walk, buses run to the airport and the beach, and ferries leave from below the walls.

Albufeira stretches for kilometres through hotel zones linked by patchy buses, the old town is steep and full of stairs, and the station lies about 6km inland. Most visitors rely on taxis and a hire car.

Neither town is a shopping destination, but Faro gives more to browse. Rua de Santo António has Portuguese chains, shoe shops and stores selling cork, ceramics and tinned fish, and salt flower from the lagoon pans makes a good thing to take home. In Albufeira, the old town lanes mostly sell beachwear, football shirts and souvenirs, and anything more means driving to the mall at Guia.

Day-to-day costs are similar in both, and both are much cheaper outside July and August. The savings come from different places. Albufeira's huge supply of self-catering apartments and fierce restaurant competition keep set menus and drinks cheap, though taxis add up. Faro's everyday prices are those of a working provincial town, with buses, coffee and grilled fish lunches all cheap.

Faro has an actual cultural calendar, which Albufeira lacks. The ornate nineteenth-century Teatro Lethes stages chamber music and recitals, and the Teatro das Figuras hosts touring concerts, dance and the regional orchestra, though some evenings have nothing on.

In Albufeira, live performance means tribute acts in bars, hotel cabaret and free summer concerts on the square by the fishermen's beach.

The two are level here. Neither has a bathing tradition, and both rely on hotel spas and on Caldas de Monchique in the hills for real thermal water. The calm comes from different things. In Albufeira it means choosing a cliff-top resort near Galé or Falésia, well away from the Strip. In Faro the restful part is the slow pace of the town itself, with long lunches and sunset walks by the lagoon.