Andaman Islands or Phuket?

Both are first-rate beach destinations with warm water, and both are best from November to April. The difference is in the setting. In the Andamans, the beaches are on Swaraj Dweep and Shaheed Dweep. Radhanagar's white arc is backed by tall forest, and around Neil the very shallow water reveals coral at low tide. These shores feel undeveloped, and you should only swim where signs say it is safe, because crocodiles live in some creeks.

Phuket's west coast offers a wider range: busy Patong with its loungers, broad Kata and Karon, small bays tucked between headlands such as Nai Harn, and long, quieter sand in the north. Boats also reach the white beaches of Phi Phi and the Similans.

Phuket has a cuisine of its own and the Andamans do not. Hokkien and Peranakan settlers who came for the tin mines left Phuket Town with yellow noodles, braised pork belly and dim sum served from early in the morning in shophouses. Evening markets, seafood in Rawai and a small fine-dining scene add to that.

In the Andamans you eat well but plainly: fresh crab, lobster and fish curries cooked in the Bengali and South Indian styles of mainland settlers. Outside Port Blair, menus at the beach shacks look much alike, and alcohol is served only in licensed places.

Neither is a place to choose for its sights, and in both a couple of days covers them. What differs is the story they tell. The Andamans' heritage comes from the colonial penal settlement: the Cellular Jail in Port Blair, with its evening sound-and-light show, and the ruined British headquarters on Ross Island, overgrown by fig roots and roamed by deer.

Phuket's heritage comes from tin mining. The old quarter of Phuket Town has pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses and Chinese shrines, and Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha add a Buddhist element that the Andamans lack.

This is one of the biggest gaps between the two. In the Andamans, evenings mean a sunset, dinner and perhaps one drink at a licensed resort bar. Early ferries and dives make sure nobody stays out late.

Phuket has Bangla Road in Patong, a neon strip of bars and big clubs that stays loud and rough at the edges every night of the high season. There are also gentler options: sunset sessions at west-coast beach clubs, and shophouse cocktail bars in Phuket Town.

Both destinations are at their best underwater, and the two are evenly matched. In the Andamans, Swaraj Dweep is the base for calm reef dives with turtles and reef sharks. On land, Mount Harriet's forest trails and the mangrove creeks, limestone caves and small mud volcanoes of Baratang feel genuinely wild, though Baratang takes a long day to reach.

Phuket's highlights are Phang Nga Bay, where you kayak among limestone towers into hidden lagoons, and the Similan islands, which are open only from October to May. Khao Phra Thaeo, a patch of rainforest with gibbons, is close by and easy to reach. Phuket also offers surfing during the monsoon.

Phuket gives you more to do beyond your base. Boats go to Phi Phi, to the stilt village of Koh Panyee and to the rural Yao islands. The bridge in the north also lets you drive to Krabi or old Takua Pa in a few hours.

From the Andamans, outings are short island hops: Viper Island's ruined gallows, the reef at North Bay, or a ferry from Swaraj Dweep to Shaheed Dweep. There are no other towns worth visiting, and visitors are not allowed into the indigenous reserves.

Phuket is far better set up for children. The big resorts have lagoon pools and kids' clubs, and there are water parks, an aquarium at Cape Panwa and boat trips to snorkelling islands. Base the family at Kata, Karon or the northern beaches, well away from Patong.

The Andamans offer calm, shallow water on Shaheed Dweep and glass-bottom boats over the reef at North Bay, and many Indian families visit. Beyond that there is little made for children. Ferry crossings can be rough and healthcare outside Port Blair is basic, which matters with very young children.

Ferries and the weather decide how you travel in the Andamans, and roads and traffic decide it in Phuket. Almost everyone flies into Port Blair and then takes a fast catamaran or a slower government boat to Swaraj Dweep or Shaheed Dweep. Seats sell out in the busy months and rough seas can cancel sailings, so leave spare days in the plan. On the islands you get around by autorickshaw or scooter, or by bicycle on small, flat Shaheed Dweep.

Phuket is one island joined to the mainland by a bridge, and it takes about an hour to cross from end to end, so the sea never leaves you stranded. The problems are on land. The hill roads are congested in high season, and the songthaew buses run out from Phuket Town but not between the beaches. Road safety is poor for anyone new to riding a scooter.

Shopping hardly features in the Andamans. Port Blair's Aberdeen Bazaar and the government emporia sell cane and bamboo work, wooden carvings and pearl jewellery, and the beach islands have little more than souvenir stalls. You may not take coral or shells off the islands.

Phuket isn't a fashion destination either, but it gives a shopper far more choice. Malls in Patong and near Phuket Town have international chains and Thai brands, and tailors will make suits and dresses in a few days. In the old quarter, the Sunday walking street and the shophouse boutiques sell batik, local design and pearls from nearby farms.

Overall costs are similar, but the money goes in different places. In the Andamans, the flight in, the fast catamarans, dive courses and the scarce beach rooms around December and January add up, while local meals, autorickshaws and government ferries cost little.

In Phuket the expensive items are the high-season resorts, Patong and the fixed-fare taxis. Staying in Phuket Town or at Kata and Karon and eating at markets keeps a trip good value, and there are budget rooms at every beach.

Neither is a destination for live performance, but Phuket at least has evening entertainment you can plan around. There are cabaret revues in Patong, Thai boxing nights, a large cultural theme-park show, and cover bands or blues sets in bars most evenings. The Andamans have almost nothing beyond the cultural performances at Port Blair's winter tourism festival and the occasional musician in a hotel.

For treatments, Phuket is in another league. Massage is available on every beach road and in spa pavilions over the sea, and around Chalong there are yoga, detox and Muay Thai retreats. Quiet bases such as Mai Khao and Nai Harn keep the mood calm.

The Andamans relax you through their remoteness instead. Shaheed Dweep in particular has a slow village pace and early nights. Some Swaraj Dweep resorts offer Ayurvedic massage and yoga, but there are few dedicated spas.