Atlantic City or Bethany Beach?

Both are built around a broad strip of pale Atlantic sand with lifeguards in summer and water near 24°C by August. Bethany Beach has the better beach day, with moderate surf, a less crowded strand and calm Inland Bays water for small children. The undeveloped dunes of Delaware Seashore State Park are within easy reach.

Atlantic City's free beach under the Boardwalk is busier and more urban, with casino towers behind it and rip currents that keep swimmers between the flags. For quieter sand you head south to Ventnor and Margate or north to Brigantine.

Neither is a place to travel for food, and the difference is one of kind more than quality. Atlantic City has the wider range: polished casino steakhouses and buffets, plus Ducktown's Italian-American cooking and its oversized subs.

Bethany Beach is simpler: steamed blue crabs on paper at picnic tables, crab cakes and fries, with many places open only in season. Anyone wanting more choice drives north to Rehoboth Beach, and the farm stands' corn and peaches are a summer bonus.

Atlantic City has the more to see, though a day covers it. The 1870 Boardwalk is the original of its kind, Boardwalk Hall holds its record-breaking pipe organ, and you can climb both the Absecon Lighthouse and Lucy the Elephant.

Bethany Beach has almost nothing in the sightseeing sense beyond its carved totem pole, a small history collection and the Second World War watchtowers along the shore. Museums and historic streets mean a drive to Lewes or further.

This is where the two differ most. Atlantic City's casinos run gaming floors, lounges and bars all night, and on summer weekends the big resorts add nightclubs and pool parties that draw crowds from Philadelphia and New York. It goes quiet midweek and in winter, though.

Bethany Beach proudly calls itself the Quiet Resort: dinner, a boardwalk stroll and bed. A late night means driving to the beach bars of Dewey Beach or Ocean City.

The scenery is the same flat barrier island of dunes, marsh and back bays, but Bethany Beach makes more of it. Kayaking and paddleboarding on the Inland Bays and fishing at Indian River Inlet are right on hand, and Assateague's wild ponies and Cape Henlopen's pine trails are close by.

Atlantic City's highlight is the wildlife loop through the Forsythe refuge's heron-filled marshes, with the Pine Barrens' rivers about an hour inland. Here nature is a pleasant extra rather than a reason to come.

Atlantic City has the stronger day trips because Philadelphia is within reach, with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and big museums about an hour and a half away. Cape May's Victorian streets are an hour south by road, and the colonial village of Smithville and the ironworks at Batsto are closer still.

From Bethany Beach the outings are pleasant but smaller: historic Lewes, the Victorian main street of Berlin and Chincoteague's island village. Cape May is a ferry ride across Delaware Bay, a nice journey but a longer day.

Bethany Beach is built for families, and it shows. The town is small and safe, a week settles into beach, bikes and crabbing, and the bandstand puts on free evening shows aimed at children. It has no zoo or theme park, and most child-focused businesses close after summer.

Atlantic City has the Steel Pier rides and a small aquarium, but it is essentially an adult town. Many families with children choose to stay in Ocean City next door instead.

Atlantic City is easier without a car. The Boardwalk runs in a long straight line past the casinos, jitneys work Pacific Avenue around the clock, and trains and regional buses connect it with Philadelphia and New York. The streets away from the Boardwalk are unpleasant to walk at night.

Bethany Beach is a pleasure on foot or by bike within town, but it has no rail link. You arrive by car, need it for day trips and food shopping, and face heavy summer weekend traffic on the coast highway.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both rely on outlets. Atlantic City's outlet district sits right by the Boardwalk, with casino shopping arcades and taffy as the local souvenir.

Bethany Beach has a short row of surf shops and bookshops. Its outlets are 25 minutes north near Rehoboth, but Delaware's tax-free shopping makes the trip worthwhile, and the galleries of Lewes are nearby.

Atlantic City is usually the cheaper stay because the casino hotels drop their room rates midweek and outside summer, and the beach and much of the entertainment are free. Summer weekends, resort fees and parking still add up.

Bethany Beach mostly means renting a house or condo by the week, which costs a lot near the ocean in July and August, and there are few hotels. Self-catering, having no sales tax, and coming in June or September keep costs in check.

Atlantic City has real stages. Casino arenas and showrooms host touring rock and pop acts and comedians, and Boardwalk Hall stages big concerts and the odd recital on its giant organ, so it is worth planning a weekend around a show.

Bethany Beach's live music is the bandstand: free summer concerts of cover bands and brass groups, enjoyed from a blanket. Rehoboth's community theatre and autumn jazz festival are the only extras nearby.

The two are close here, but they relax in different ways. Atlantic City has proper resort spas with saunas and indoor pools for a pampered afternoon, though the casinos never switch off.

Bethany Beach has only a few small day spas, but the whole town is slow, leafy and quiet, with evenings on the boardwalk bringing little more than the sound of the surf. Choose it for reading and long walks rather than treatments.