Alicante or Benidorm?

Both have fine sand, shallow calm water and the same warm summer sea, so the difference is how the beach fits into the day. In Alicante, Postiguet is a short walk from the old town for a quick swim, the long Playa de San Juan is a tram ride out, and a boat takes you to the rocky, clear water around Tabarca.

In Benidorm the beach is the town. Levante and Poniente run for kilometres right below the hotel towers, with Levante the livelier of the two and Poniente broader and calmer. The coves under the Serra Gelada and the pebble beach at Albir are close by. Both are packed in July and August, but cramped little Postiguet feels it most.

Alicante is much the better place to eat. Rice is taken seriously at lunchtime all over the city, from arroz a banda to the egg-crusted arroz con costra. The Mercado Central and the tapas bars around it make good everyday eating easy without any planning.

Benidorm cooks the same coastal rice dishes, but you have to go looking for them. Along the seafront and in the Rincón de Loix, menus are mostly full breakfasts, pizzas and grills for package visitors. The better food is concentrated in the old town's lane of tapas bars.

Neither is a heritage city, but Alicante gives you far more to see. The Castillo de Santa Bárbara, the flowerpot-lined steps of Santa Cruz, the basilica and co-cathedral, and the MARQ's Iberian and Roman finds fill two days comfortably.

Benidorm's old headland village, with its blue-domed church and the Balcón del Mediterráneo, takes an hour or two. The tower skyline at sunset is its other sight, and anyone wanting more history usually heads inland or down the coast to Alicante.

Benidorm is the bigger night out. Around the Rincón de Loix, a few streets are packed with themed pubs, karaoke and drag cabaret, stag and hen groups keep things loud well past midnight, and the clubs on the edge of town run until dawn. The old town offers a calmer, more Spanish evening on the terraces.

Alicante's nights are smaller and more local. People eat late, then move on to the bars and steps of El Barrio, the dressier clubs at the port or, in summer, the terraces at San Juan. Students keep the city going through the winter, when Benidorm goes quiet, and the Hogueras in late June turn the whole city into a street party.

Alicante's easiest outdoor days are by the sea: the walk round Cabo de las Huertas, snorkelling in the Tabarca marine reserve and flamingos on the Santa Pola salt lagoons. Puig Campana and the Aitana range are about an hour inland, and most trailheads need a car.

Benidorm has its wild coast on the doorstep. The Serra Gelada cliff path starts at the end of Levante beach, and the same mountains, along with the green Algar waterfalls, are about half an hour away. In both towns the summer heat pushes any activity into the mornings.

Both are on the same coastal tram line, so many outings are shared: Villajoyosa's painted houses, white Altea, Guadalest on its rock and the boat to Tabarca. Alicante is better placed for the south and for rail travel, with Elche's palm grove half an hour away and regular trains to Murcia, Cartagena and Valencia.

Benidorm is the better base for the northern Costa Blanca. Altea is a few minutes away and Calp, Xàbia and Dénia are just up the coast, but Elche and the southern cities take longer to reach.

Benidorm is the easier choice with children. The theme park, water park, marine park and zoo are all on the edge of town rather than a drive away, the beaches shelve gently, and hotels expect families. The adult streets behind Levante are easy to avoid by staying on the Poniente side.

Alicante is pleasant with children, with shallow water at San Juan, a flat promenade for scooters and the lift up to the castle. It has little built specially for them, though, and for the big parks families drive up to Benidorm.

Both are easy without a car, and the same coastal tram links them. Alicante's centre is compact, with the old quarter, port, market and Postiguet all a short walk apart, plus trains for longer trips.

Benidorm is a long, flat strip along two promenades, with buses out to the parks. Some hotels sit at the top of steep hills, and parking is scarce, so a car is really only worth having for the inland mountains.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Alicante has a real city centre: chains and department stores around Avenida Maisonnave, a few independent shops in the old quarter, edible souvenirs at the Mercado Central, and Elche's shoe outlets half an hour away. Benidorm sells beachwear, souvenirs, cheap electronics and market fakes, and its visitors take the tram to Alicante for anything more.

Both are moderately priced for the Mediterranean, but Benidorm is somewhat cheaper from day to day. Its huge supply of rooms and its all-inclusive packages keep accommodation low for much of the year, and drinks and breakfasts cost less than in most resorts. A family day at the parks soon adds up, though.

In Alicante the savings come from good-value lunch menus, cheap trams and free sights such as the castle grounds. Rooms near the beaches cost far more in summer and during the Hogueras. In both towns, winter is the cheapest time to stay.

For a play or a concert, Alicante is the place. The nineteenth-century Teatro Principal puts on drama, dance and touring musicals, mostly in Spanish, and the ADDA concert hall is home to the provincial symphony orchestra. Benidorm's evenings are dinner-show spectaculars, tribute acts, comedians and drag cabaret in the bars, a fun night out rather than an evening of theatre or music.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so rest in both means hotel spas and the slow Mediterranean routine. Alicante has the edge: the palm-shaded Explanada and the old quarter stay unhurried for most of the year, and the thermal springs at Archena and Fortuna, used since Roman times, are about an hour away. Benidorm's spa hotels suit long winter stays, when the town quietens, but in summer only Poniente offers much calm.