Asheville or Marco Island?

Here the gap is as wide as it gets. Marco Island's western shore is a broad crescent of fine, pale sand on warm, calm Gulf water. There is the Tigertail lagoon for wading, and undeveloped Keewaydin Island is a short boat ride away, so a whole vacation can be built around the sand.

Asheville has no sea at all. Swimming there means cold mountain water: waterfall pools in Pisgah, the natural rock slide at Sliding Rock and tubing on the French Broad. That makes a good summer afternoon, but it is never a reason to choose Asheville over the Gulf.

Asheville eats and drinks better. Its brewing scene runs to dozens of taprooms. The kitchens cook with Appalachian trout, heirloom corn, ramps and mushrooms, alongside proper barbecue and biscuits, and real farmers' markets supply them.

Marco Island's strength is narrower: grouper, shrimp and winter stone crab eaten on a deck by the water, plus fish platters by the docks in Goodland. Beyond seafood the choice thins quickly, and a more ambitious dinner usually means driving to Naples.

Asheville has proper sightseeing. The Biltmore Estate alone takes a full day, and the 1920s downtown of Art Deco and Beaux-Arts buildings makes a rewarding walk, taking in the domed City Hall and the Basilica of St Lawrence. Marco Island was built mostly from the 1960s on. It has the historical museum, which tells the story of the Calusa and their carved wooden figures, and little else, so for more culture you go to Naples.

Neither place keeps late hours, but Asheville at least gives you a night out. There are taprooms and cocktail bars within walking distance of each other downtown and on the South Slope, local bars along Haywood Road in West Asheville and a small LGBTQ scene, and most places wind down around midnight. On Marco Island an evening means a sunset drink and dinner, and the dockside bars of Goodland are livelier on winter afternoons than after dark.

Both are outdoor destinations of opposite kinds, and Asheville offers more range. It has real mountains: the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah's trails and mountain biking, and Mount Mitchell and the Great Smokies about an hour away. Add whitewater on the Nantahala and Pigeon rivers and October colour across the wooded ridges.

Marco Island's outdoors is water and wetland. Kayaking through the mangroves of the Ten Thousand Islands, dolphins, manatees, excellent inshore fishing, and airboats and alligators in the Everglades are all close at hand. But the land is entirely flat, and the heat and mosquitoes of summer shorten the season.

Asheville has the better spread of outings. Cherokee, with its museum and the Oconaluftee village, gives the deepest look at the region's history. Flat Rock has the Carl Sandburg Home, Greenville's riverside downtown is about an hour away, and orchards and vineyards make good autumn trips.

From Marco Island the list is shorter: Naples half an hour north, Everglades City and Chokoloskee, and the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. In both places the best excursions lead into the landscape rather than to towns.

Both suit families in a low-key way, and the difference is in the kind of day. Marco Island is easier with small children. It has shallow, calm water, soft sand, shelling and resort children's programmes, and the zoo and children's museum in Naples make a change of scene.

Asheville suits older, active children better. They have the black bears and red wolves at the Nature Center, zip lines, Sliding Rock and river tubing, though the sights are spread out and mean more time in the car.

You will want a car in either place, though Asheville is a little easier without one. Its downtown is compact and walkable, if hilly, and the South Slope and the River Arts District are close by, but Biltmore, the Parkway and the trailheads need a car. Marco Island is flat and pleasant to cycle in the cooler months. Off the island, though, there is little more than a county bus to Naples, and the nearest major airport is about three quarters of an hour away by road.

Asheville is the better place to buy something worth taking home. Pottery, glass, weaving and woodwork fill the River Arts District studios, the Folk Art Center and the downtown galleries, and independent shops line the Grove Arcade and the streets around Lexington Avenue. Marco Island's plazas mostly sell resort wear, beach gear and shell souvenirs, and anyone wanting boutiques or department stores heads to Fifth Avenue South in Naples.

Neither is cheap, but Asheville is easier on the wallet. Its rooms climb on autumn weekends and a day at Biltmore is expensive, but the trails, waterfalls and Parkway are free, and staying midweek or in winter brings the bill down.

Marco Island is priced for a well-off winter crowd. Resort rooms, condos and meals are expensive from January to April, and cheap food is scarce at any time of year. Summer rates fall and condos with kitchens help groups, but the cheaper season is also the hottest and wettest.

Asheville has far more live performance, most of it rooted in folk music. Bluegrass and old-time jams, street buskers and free summer evenings of fiddle music and clogging at Shindig on the Green share the city with touring rock and Americana acts in the downtown venues. The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival has run since 1928.

Marco Island has a community theatre, and resort bars often book a guitarist in winter. The philharmonic and touring shows are in Naples, and mostly only in the winter months.

Both are places to slow down, and Asheville has slightly more to offer. Its history as a mountain health retreat lives on in yoga studios, retreats and hillside resort spas. About forty minutes away at Hot Springs, mineral water is piped into outdoor tubs beside the river. Marco Island's calm comes from the beach and the pace, with resort spas looking out over the Gulf and yoga classes in the plazas, but no bathing tradition at all.