Anguilla or St Thomas?

Anguilla has the edge, mainly because its beaches stay quiet. Shoal Bay East is a long strand with snorkelling just offshore, and the west-end bays of Meads, Rendezvous and Maundays rarely feel crowded even with resorts behind them. Boats also run to the bare sandbar of Sandy Island.

St Thomas has Magens Bay, a sheltered white horseshoe, and the walkable cluster of small east-end beaches around Red Hook. Its finest sand is arguably across the water on St John's north shore. On cruise days Magens Bay and Coki Point fill up, which never happens on Anguilla.

Anguilla is the better place for an evening meal. Dinner is the event of the day, with polished beachfront restaurants along the west-end bays and at Sandy Ground, and with crayfish and grilled snapper from the island's waters. At weekends the roadside lolos grill ribs and chicken.

St Thomas is stronger on local snacks, with pates, kallaloo, fungi and fish, and goat stew from lunch counters and stands around Charlotte Amalie. Its sit-down restaurants in Frenchtown and Red Hook are fewer and less consistent, though, and many menus are predictable. On both islands nearly everything is imported, and neither has the variety to keep a keen eater busy for long.

St Thomas has more history to see. Charlotte Amalie keeps its Danish-era warehouses and narrow alleys, the 99 Steps, Fort Christian from the late seventeenth century and a synagogue with a sand floor that is among the oldest still in use in the Americas. Together they make a good day in town.

Anguilla's list is short: Wallblake House in The Valley, the Heritage Collection Museum's account of the 1967 revolution, and the Amerindian carvings in Fountain Cavern. That fills a morning or two at most.

Neither island has clubs, and nights out on both are small. On Anguilla the late nights are at the Sandy Ground beach bars, where people dance on the sand at weekends, and the Sunday beach-bar sessions run on into the evening. On St Thomas the open-air bars around the Red Hook ferry dock mix boat crews with visitors over drinks and conversation, while Frenchtown adds a few waterside bars.

St Thomas is much stronger for the outdoors, largely because of St John. Its forest trails lead down to sugar mill ruins and quiet bays, and Trunk Bay has an underwater snorkel trail. St Thomas itself is a steep green ridge with views over the islets, and its sheltered channels make it one of the region's great sailing bases.

Anguilla is flat, dry scrubland, and almost all its outdoor life is on the sea. There is diving on the reefs and wrecks around Prickly Pear Cays and Dog Island, kitesurfing in the trade winds and racing in wooden sloops. On land you get cliff walks and birdwatching at the salt ponds, with no hills or forest.

St Thomas has more places to reach by boat. St John and Cruz Bay are twenty minutes away, Water Island is a short hop from the harbour, and the British Virgin Islands are close enough for a day, though you need a passport for customs. St Croix's Danish towns make a longer outing.

Anguilla really has one outing: the ferry from Blowing Point to Saint Martin. There you can visit Marigot, eat in Grand Case or shop in Philipsburg. St Barths is reachable by charter, but rough seas and the cost make it an occasional treat.

St Thomas gives children more to do. Coral World Ocean Park has an undersea observatory and touch pools, Coki Point next door lets older children snorkel straight from the sand, and the Skyride to Paradise Point makes an easy short outing. English and US currency keep things simple, though steep roads and midday heat make outings tiring.

Anguilla is quieter and safer-feeling, with almost no traffic, and Rendezvous and Meads Bays shelve gently for small children. Beyond the beaches and boat trips there is nothing built for children, and older ones may get restless after a few days.

Anguilla is easier to get around once you have arrived. It is about 26km long and flat, with light traffic, so a hire car reaches any beach in minutes. Getting there takes more planning, because you usually fly into Sint Maarten and cross by ferry.

On St Thomas short distances take longer than you would expect. You drive on the left in mostly left-hand-drive cars, the roads are steep and winding, and traffic around Charlotte Amalie jams on cruise days. Safari taxis charge each passenger separately. The frequent ferries from Red Hook to St John are the easiest part of getting about.

St Thomas is much better for shopping. Main Street and the warehouse lanes off it form an old duty-free district for jewellery, watches, perfume and liquor, and Havensight by the cruise dock repeats the formula. It is best for a specific purchase, since fashion and independent boutiques are thin.

On Anguilla shopping is limited to galleries of local art, resort wear and souvenirs of sea salt, hot sauce and rum.

Both islands are expensive, but St Thomas gives a budget slightly more room. Its local lunch counters, roadside food stands and mostly free beaches cut daily costs, although per-person taxi fares add up quickly for families.

Anguilla is pricier still. Most places to stay are high-end resorts and villas, and meals, drinks and groceries all carry the cost of importing nearly everything. The lolos and a few simple guesthouses are the only real savings.

Neither island has a theatre or classical scene, so live music on both mostly means a band at a beach bar. Anguilla's music is reggae, soca and string bands, at its fullest during the reggae festival in March and the August Summer Festival with its calypso and boat races. St Thomas has an open-air amphitheatre, the Reichhold Center, plus quelbe folk music, steel pan and mocko jumbie stilt-walkers, which come out in force during its spring Carnival.

Anguilla is the better place to rest. Its luxury resorts have some extensive spas, and with no cruise traffic or high-rises, the whole island keeps a slow pace.

St Thomas offers similar resort spa treatments, and its east end and north shore are calm. When several ships are in port, though, the capital and the best-known beaches get busy, so a restful stay there depends on staying well away from the harbour.