Anguilla or Saint-Martin?

Both are beach islands first, but Anguilla has the edge. It has more than thirty beaches of powdery white sand, from the long sweep of Shoal Bay East to Meads Bay and the sheltered crescent of Maundays Bay. They stay quiet because there is no cruise pier and no high-rise strip, and the sandbars of Sandy Island and Prickly Pear Cays feel almost deserted.

Saint-Martin's beaches are very good but busier. Orient Bay is the social one, with sunbeds, water sports and a clothing-optional end, while Baie Rouge and Baie Longue on the west coast are calmer and clear enough to snorkel from the sand. Seaweed can collect in the Atlantic bays, so in some months you are left with the leeward side.

Both islands treat dinner as the main event of the evening, and both have lolos grilling ribs and lobster. Saint-Martin has a little more range. Grand Case lines up French and creole dining rooms along one walkable seafront street, and French bakeries, wine and cheese turn up all over the island.

Anguilla's strength is its polished beachfront restaurants on the west end and at Sandy Ground, serving crayfish, grilled snapper and rum punch. On either island a week covers most of what is worth eating, and because Anguilla imports nearly everything, even simple meals there are costly.

Neither island is a place for sightseeing, and each has about a morning's worth. Anguilla's few sights look back at its past: Wallblake House, the Heritage Collection Museum and the Amerindian carvings in Fountain Cavern. Saint-Martin has more of a townscape, with the ruins of Fort Louis above Marigot and painted creole houses with wooden balconies in the streets below.

Saint-Martin has more going on at night, largely thanks to its Dutch half. Grand Case has street music and late terraces in the winter season. Across the open border, Simpson Bay and Maho have casinos and clubs that stay open well past midnight.

Anguilla has no clubs at all. Sandy Ground's beach bars have dancing on the sand at weekends, Sunday sessions run into the evening, and the March reggae festival and August carnival fill the island. On most nights, though, the island is quiet early.

Saint-Martin has more to do outdoors because it has a green, hilly interior. Forested trails climb Pic Paradis from the Colombier and Rambaud valleys, there is a treetop and zipline park, and the reserve around Orient Bay and Tintamarre has turtles and rays. Anguilla is flat, dry scrub with little real hiking.

On the water the two are closer. Anguilla's marine parks around Prickly Pear Cays and Dog Island have diving on reefs and wrecks, and both islands have steady trade winds for kitesurfing and sailing.

Saint-Martin is the better base for exploring. A short ferry takes you to Anguilla's quiet beaches, a longer crossing to Gustavia's harbour on St Barths, and Saba and Sint Eustatius make a long day out. On the island itself you have Philipsburg and the low-flying planes over Maho Beach.

From Anguilla, the main outing is Saint-Martin itself, about twenty minutes by ferry from Blowing Point, with Marigot, Grand Case and Philipsburg in reach. St Barths by chartered boat is an occasional treat, and the cays are beach days rather than excursions.

Both islands have calm, shallow water for small children: Rendezvous Bay and Meads Bay on Anguilla, and the reef-sheltered bay at Le Galion and Pinel on Saint-Martin. Saint-Martin pulls ahead on everything else, with the zipline park, glass-bottom boats and the planes at Maho, which keep older children busier.

Anguilla is quieter and has almost no traffic, so it is very easy with toddlers. Beyond snorkelling and boat trips, though, older children may run out of things to do within a few days.

Anguilla is the easier island to drive. It is about 26km long and traffic is light, so any beach is a short hop, though driving is on the left and some beach tracks are rough. Getting there takes planning, since most visitors fly into Sint Maarten and catch the ferry across.

Saint-Martin is also small, but its roads are narrow and winding, and traffic backs up around Marigot, the lagoon bridges and the Dutch-side causeway. The minibuses run between towns rather than to the beaches, so on either island you really need a hire car.

Saint-Martin is the island to shop on, and it offers two kinds of shopping. Marigot has its waterfront market and French boutiques, while Front Street in Philipsburg is lined with duty-free jewellery, watch and electronics shops. Guavaberry liqueur is the souvenir with the most local character.

Anguilla has little beyond a few galleries of local art in The Valley and some resort boutiques, plus sea salt, hot sauce and rum to take home. Islanders and visitors who want to shop take the ferry to Saint-Martin.

Neither island is cheap, but Saint-Martin is easier on a budget. Villas and apartments with kitchens make self-catering simple, rates ease after the winter season, and the lolos and French supermarkets make cheap meals and picnics easy.

Anguilla is costlier still. Most places to stay are high-end resorts and villas, and because the island imports nearly everything, even groceries and taxis add up. Simple guesthouses and roadside barbecue shacks help, but it is no place for a tight budget.

On both islands you find live music at beach bars rather than in a theatre or concert hall. Anguilla's year has two fixed highlights: the reggae festival in March, and the Summer Festival in early August, which brings about ten days of calypso, soca and boat racing.

Saint-Martin's bands mix steel pan, soca and reggae with zouk, and the zouk gives evenings at Grand Case and the hotels a French Caribbean feel. Its carnival is the musical peak of the year, with costumed parades and calypso and soca competitions.

Anguilla is the more restful island. Some of its larger resorts have extensive spas with treatment rooms open to the sea breeze. With no high-rises or cruise crowds, the days settle into beach, lunch and an early night.

Saint-Martin has resort spas too, along with massage studios and beachside yoga, and a villa above Anse Marcel or a cove on the west coast is a peaceful place to stay. Still, with the traffic and cruise-day crowds around Marigot, you have to go looking for the calm.