Aqaba or Sharm el-Sheikh?

Both swim in the same clear, calm Red Sea with coral a few metres out, so the difference lies on the shore. Aqaba's free town beaches are narrow, coarse and conservative in dress, so most visitors end up at the beach clubs south of town or at Tala Bay.

Much more of Sharm el-Sheikh's coast is given over to swimming. Naama Bay is a sandy bay, and at Sharks Bay, Ras Um Sid and Nabq long resort frontages have jetties that carry you over the reef flat to the drop-off. The beaches are mostly hotel property and often partly man-made, but for snorkelling straight from the beach it is the easier and more varied of the two.

Neither is worth travelling to for food, but Aqaba offers more local eating. Its fish restaurants near the old town serve sayadieh and let you choose your fish by weight. Everyday falafel, hummus and grills are easy to find, and alcohol is cheaper because of the town's tax-free status.

In Sharm the hotel buffet sets the pattern, and Naama Bay's restaurants are built for tourists. The grilled fish, koshari and taameya of the Old Market are the rewarding exception, and outside hotels and tourist bars there is little drinking.

Aqaba has more to look at, even if only a morning's worth. The Mamluk fort, the excavated walls of early Islamic Ayla and the remains of a very early church give a sense of a port with a long past. Sharm el-Sheikh is a modern resort with almost no historic buildings, and beyond the Al Sahaba Mosque and the painted Coptic Heavenly Cathedral there is little to fill even a morning.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the place to go out. Naama Bay has a promenade of bars and shisha lounges and a few large clubs that stay open late, busiest in the European summer and at Christmas and Easter, though the scene is aimed squarely at tourists.

In Aqaba the evenings belong to families on the corniche and to shisha cafés. Drinking means resort bars, a few divers' pubs and the odd DJ night at a south-coast beach club, and there are no clubs.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, with reefs close to shore in each, but the emphasis differs. Sharm el-Sheikh has the bigger underwater stage: the reef walls and fish shoals of Ras Mohammed about 30km away, the Thistlegorm wreck and the Tiran Strait reefs by boat, plus kiteboarding.

Aqaba's reefs are smaller in scale but very easy to reach, with shore dives at the Japanese Garden and wrecks sunk as artificial reefs. Its strength is on land. Wadi Rum's red sandstone valleys and arches are about an hour away for jeep trips, climbing and nights in Bedouin camps, a more celebrated desert than the granite country behind Sharm.

Aqaba wins on a single excursion: Petra is about two hours by road, Little Petra can be added the same day, and it is one of the great sights of the region. Eilat and Sinai are close on the map, but border formalities make them awkward.

From Sharm el-Sheikh you can spend an easy day in Dahab, about an hour north, or visit St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, often combined with a night climb for sunrise. Trips from Sharm to Cairo, Luxor or even Petra mean very long days in transit.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the easier resort for families. Its big hotels tend to have kids' clubs, family pools and water slides, and the calm lagoons are good places for a first snorkel, so choosing the right hotel takes care of most of the week.

Aqaba has the same calm sea and glass-bottomed boats, and Jordanians welcome children everywhere. But less is built for children, and summer heat above 40°C is harder going. Its trump card is a night in a Wadi Rum camp for older children.

Neither is easy without a car, but Aqaba is more manageable. Its centre, with the corniche, fort and markets, is compact enough to walk in the cooler months, and the good roads make a hire car a sensible choice for Petra and Wadi Rum.

Sharm el-Sheikh stretches for around 30km along the coast, and only Naama Bay works on foot. Visitors depend on hotel shuttles, taxis with the fare agreed in advance and tours with pick-up.

Aqaba's old market streets sell spices, dates, Bedouin textiles and Dead Sea mud and salts, and as a special economic zone the town sells perfume, electronics and alcohol for less than the rest of Jordan. Much of what fills the stalls is mass-produced, though, and handwoven rugs or fine mosaic work are hard to find.

Sharm el-Sheikh's Old Market and the Naama Bay promenade sell papyrus, alabaster, cotton galabiyas and perfume oils. Haggling is expected, and so is plenty of sales patter. Neither town has fashion or design shopping, so in both you buy a few gifts rather than plan a day around the shops.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the cheaper beach week, mainly because its all-inclusive hotels often cost less than a basic Mediterranean room and cover most of what you spend. Outside the hotel, taxi fares have to be haggled over and Naama Bay restaurants charge close to European rates.

Aqaba is cheap only at street level, with inexpensive falafel, fish meals and simple hotels in the centre. A comfortable resort stay, diving, desert tours and the Petra entrance fee push the total close to Mediterranean levels, though drinks cost less than in the rest of Jordan.

Neither has a performing arts scene. Sharm el-Sheikh at least puts on shows, with tanoura dancers, belly dancing and large dinner spectacles for package tourists, while in Aqaba the most memorable music is Bedouin song around a fire in Wadi Rum.

Aqaba has several traditional Turkish baths in town, where steam, scrub and massage come in a plain local setting, and its south-coast resorts add full spas built around Dead Sea mud and salt. Anyone after a true bathing cure goes north to the Dead Sea or the hot springs of Ma'in.

Sharm el-Sheikh has no bath houses of its own, but almost every large resort has a spa with an Oriental bath, steam rooms and foam scrubs, and massage is reasonably priced. With long days by the pool and very little to rush for, it is the slightly easier place to switch off without leaving the hotel.