Anguilla or Martinique?

Anguilla has the stronger beaches. More than thirty strands of fine white coral sand ring a flat island, from long Shoal Bay East to the sheltered curve of Maundays Bay, with calm, clear water and none of them crowded. In winter the south and west sides stay calm even when the north picks up swell, and a boat trip to Sandy Island adds a day on a near-empty sandbar.

Martinique's best sand is on the Caribbean side and around the southern tip, at Grande Anse des Salines and the bays of Les Anses-d'Arlet. There you get variety rather than perfection, with gold and black sand side by side and turtles grazing close to shore. Most of the Atlantic coast is too rough for swimming, and some coves fill with local families at weekends.

Martinique has the edge at the table, mostly because of what it produces itself. There is Creole cooking with French technique: accras, colombo, blaff of fresh fish and grilled conch at beach shacks. Add proper bakeries, a covered market in Fort-de-France and, above all, its own rhum agricole, tasted at the cane estates where it is made.

Anguilla puts its effort into dinner. Polished beachfront restaurants along the west end and Sandy Ground serve crayfish and grilled snapper, and roadside lolos grill ribs at weekends. With no real markets and almost everything imported, it is a place for long seafood evenings by the sea rather than for exploring a food culture.

Martinique has much more to see. The ruins of Saint-Pierre, the old capital wiped out by Mount Pelée in 1902, make a powerful visit. Fort-de-France adds the ornate Schoelcher Library and a cast-iron cathedral, and around the island you will find sugar estates, Joséphine's birthplace and the Anse Cafard slavery memorial, all bound up with Creole history.

On Anguilla, the 18th-century Wallblake House, a small heritage museum in East End and the Amerindian carvings in Fountain Cavern are about all there is. That makes a pleasant morning, not a reason to choose the island.

Neither island is a place for big nights out, though Martinique has a little more going on. On Anguilla the late action is concentrated in Sandy Ground, where a few beach bars have rum and dancing on the sand, and Sunday afternoon sessions run into the evening. There are no clubs.

Martinique has zouk and kompa clubs around Fort-de-France that fill late at weekends with a local crowd, and its pre-Lent Carnival takes over the towns for days. The scene is spread out, though, so going out usually means driving.

This is where the islands are furthest apart. Martinique's volcanic north has Mount Pelée at about 1,400m, rainforest on the Pitons du Carbet, waterfalls, canyoning gorges and UNESCO-listed forest. Below that come the mangrove and cliff trails of the Caravelle peninsula, a coastal path around the south, and diving at Diamond Rock and on the Saint-Pierre wrecks.

Anguilla is low, dry and covered in scrub, so its outdoor life is almost entirely on the water: snorkelling, reef and wreck diving in the marine parks, and sailing or kitesurfing in the trade winds. On land you get cliff walks and birdwatching at the salt ponds, but no real hiking.

Martinique gives you more days out. You can drive through the rum country, linking distilleries around Sainte-Marie and Le Robert the way you would tour a wine region, or follow the north coast road to Grand-Rivière. Fast ferries from Fort-de-France also reach Dominica and St Lucia for a long day abroad.

Anguilla's one real outing is the short ferry ride to Saint Martin, for the French harbour town of Marigot and the restaurants of Grand Case. A chartered boat to St Barths is an occasional extra.

Martinique suits families somewhat better. Its southern bays have calm, shallow water where children can snorkel with turtles, French supermarkets and healthcare make daily life easy, and there are a few extras such as the small zoo at Le Carbet and glass-bottom boats. Its winding roads and traffic tire small children, though.

Anguilla is calmer and easier for very young children, with gently shelving sand at Rendezvous Bay and Meads Bay and almost no traffic. Beyond the beach there is nothing built for children, and older ones may get restless after a few days.

Anguilla is the simpler island to get around. It is about 26km long and traffic is light, so any beach is a short drive away in a hire car, though there are hardly any buses and getting there means flying to Sint Maarten and catching a ferry.

On Martinique, a car is close to essential and the driving is harder. Northern roads are steep and winding, and traffic around Fort-de-France and Le Lamentin jams at rush hour. The passenger ferries across the bay to Les Trois-Îlets help, and staying in the south with occasional trips north keeps it manageable.

Neither island is a shopping destination, but Martinique gives you more to bring home. You can buy aged rhum agricole at the estates, spices and vanilla at the Fort-de-France market, madras cotton and village crafts.

On Anguilla, shopping means a few galleries, resort boutiques, sea salt and hot sauce. Most visitors who want more cross to the duty-free streets of Saint Martin.

Both islands are expensive, but Anguilla is in a class of its own. Accommodation is mostly high-end resorts and villas, and meals, drinks and even groceries are priced for an island that imports nearly everything. The roadside lolos are the only real way to save.

Martinique charges French prices with an island premium, but you have more ways to spend less. A self-catering gîte, fish and fruit from markets and roadside stalls, beach snack bars, free hiking and cheap rum tastings all keep costs down.

Martinique has a real performance tradition. Bèlè drum-and-dance evenings in northern and central villages welcome visitors into the circle, and Fort-de-France has a national arts centre with theatre and dance, though most of it is in French.

Anguilla's music is mostly reggae, soca and string bands at weekend beach bars, plus its March reggae festival and the August Summer Festival. There is no theatre or concert hall.

Anguilla is slightly better for pure rest. The large luxury resorts have extensive spas with treatment rooms open to the breeze, and the island's quiet, with no high-rises and no cruise crowds, makes doing very little easy.

Martinique has hotel spas and beach yoga around Les Trois-Îlets and Sainte-Anne, plus warm volcanic springs in the northern forest for a dip. Its slow pace is mainly a feature of the southern coast rather than the whole island.