Antalya or Kusadasi?

These two are close on beaches, but the beaches are different. Antalya's sea is markedly warmer and stays swimmable for longer. Its town beach, Konyaaltı, is coarse pebble with clear water that deepens quickly beneath the Taurus mountains, and the sand is out at Lara. There are more pine-fringed bays an hour away at Kemer and Phaselis.

Kusadasi's town beaches are sandy from the start: Ladies Beach right by the centre, Long Beach further south and the wider, quieter sweep of Pamucak. For the clearest water, head to the national park coves on the Dilek Peninsula.

Antalya has the edge for food, mainly because its local dishes are more distinctive. Piyaz in a tahini dressing comes beside grilled şiş köfte, tandır lamb is slow-cooked, and the plain around the city fills the neighbourhood markets with citrus and pomegranates. Eat in the plain köfte houses of the modern city and the fish restaurants along the coast. Kaleiçi's restaurants there are aimed mostly at visitors.

Kusadasi's cooking is Aegean, with meze, olive-oil vegetables and wild greens, and rakı over long evening dinners. Here the old Kaleiçi quarter is where to go, for its fish restaurants and meyhanes, along with the lokantas where locals have lunch. In both towns the hotel buffets are the weakest choice, and neither is a place you would travel to for its restaurants.

Antalya is the only one of the two with a historic town worth a day. Go through Hadrian's Gate into Kaleiçi's Ottoman lanes under the Yivli Minare, then spend a few hours in the Antalya Museum, where the marble statues from Perge are the highlight.

Kusadasi's sights in town take an hour or two: the small fortress on Pigeon Island, the 17th-century caravanserai and a few old lanes. History lovers come for what lies inland, not for the town itself.

The two are about level for going out, but the set-up is different. Kusadasi packs its nights into Bar Street near the harbour, with pubs, karaoke and dance bars for a mostly young package crowd. You can walk from one to the next. Antalya's nights are looser and more spread out: courtyard and terrace bars in Kaleiçi, then beach clubs at Konyaaltı and Lara, with taxis in between. In winter it keeps a small local and student scene, while Kusadasi more or less goes to bed.

Antalya's setting is on another scale. The Taurus and Beydağları ranges rise straight out of the sea, and a cable car near Kemer climbs to about 2,365m. The Lycian Way leads through pine forest past Olympos, and in town the Düden waterfalls drop off a cliff into the sea. Rafting, paragliding and winter skiing round it out.

Kusadasi's outdoors comes down to the Dilek Peninsula, with a canyon walk, wild horses and the Büyük Menderes wetlands behind it. Further inland are the granite Latmos hills above Lake Bafa. These make good half-days rather than a reason to choose the town.

Kusadasi comes out ahead here because the sites are so close. Ephesus is about twenty minutes away, with Selçuk, the House of the Virgin Mary and the village of Şirince next to it. Priene, Miletus and Didyma make one easy day, and in summer there is a ferry to Samos.

Antalya's excursions are just as impressive: the theatre at Aspendos, Termessos on its mountaintop, Perge and Side. But they are spread further apart. Myra and Kekova make a long day, and most trips go more smoothly with a car or a tour.

Antalya is better equipped for children. Its resort coast has pools, slides and kids' clubs on a large scale, Belek has a theme and water park, and the city aquarium with its walk-through tunnel is a reliable escape from the midday heat. Lara's shallow sand suits toddlers.

Kusadasi does the simple beach vacation well, with sandy, gently shelving beaches and two water parks at the edge of town. After that the options run out: there is nothing indoors for children, and Ephesus in summer is hard on young legs.

Getting around is equally manageable in both, in different ways. Antalya has a tram linking the airport, bus station, old town and Konyaaltı, but its resorts stretch along the coast for tens of kilometres. Kusadasi has no rail at all. Its centre is small enough to walk, and shared dolmuş minibuses run to the beaches and to Selçuk, so you can do Ephesus without a car. In both, the more distant ruins and the trails need a hire car or a tour.

Neither town is a shopping destination, and what they sell overlaps a lot. Kusadasi's bazaar is geared to cruise passengers, with leather, gold, towels and imitation designer goods, and a hard sell. Antalya adds several large malls, which are useful in the heat, to the carpets and ceramics of Kaleiçi. In both, the weekly market is the better place for spices, olives and dried fruit.

The costs work out much the same, and in both places the savings come from eating where locals eat and using local transport. In Antalya, all-inclusive family packages and lower room rates in spring and autumn give you the most for your money. In Kusadasi, mid-range hotels compare well with the rest of the Aegean, but if you plan several days of ruins, budget for the entry charges at Ephesus and the other sites, which add up.

Antalya has real performing arts. It has a state opera, ballet and theatre that perform through the winter, and in summer there is the opera and ballet festival on the Roman stage at Aspendos, the one event here worth planning a trip around.

Kusadasi has no theatre or concert season. Evening entertainment means Turkish-night dinner shows with folk and belly dancing, plus cover bands in the bars.

Antalya gives more choice for slowing down. Kaleiçi has several old hammams with the full scrub on warm marble, and the big resorts in Belek and Lara have extensive spas.

Kusadasi has one historic bath in the old quarter, and the hotel hammams are mostly tourist versions of the tradition. The calmest option there is a shoulder-season stay near the quiet coves to the south.