Azores or Réunion?

Neither is a classic beach island, but Réunion has the edge for swimming. Its reef-protected lagoons on the west coast, between Saint-Gilles and Saint-Leu, are warm all year and clear enough to snorkel over coral. They are also shallow, short and busy at weekends, and the shark risk keeps everyone out of the open ocean.

In the Azores you swim in concrete-edged lava pools at Caloura and Biscoitos or from small black-sand coves on São Miguel, and the sea is comfortable only from about June to early October. Santa Maria's pale sand at Praia Formosa is the exception, but it is a flight away from the main island.

Both islands eat well, in very different ways. Azorean cooking is plain and rooted in dairy farms and the sea: cozido cooked in the hot ground at Furnas, alcatra braised in clay on Terceira, São Jorge cheese, limpets and tuna, washed down with Pico white wine or tea grown on São Miguel.

Réunion's food is spiced Creole, a carri or rougail with rice and lentils, plus samoussas and bonbons piment from its Tamil, Chinese and Malagasy roots. The best of it comes from roadside snack vans, the markets at Saint-Paul and Saint-Pierre and table d'hôte dinners in the cirques, with rum arrangé to finish.

The Azores have the stronger set of sights, above all Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira, a World Heritage port with a 16th-century street grid, a large cathedral and the Monte Brasil fortress. The painted impérios in Terceira's villages and the stone-walled vineyards of Pico add character, though reaching them means island-hopping by plane.

Réunion's heritage lies in its mixed society rather than its monuments: the Creole villas on Saint-Denis's Rue de Paris, Hell-Bourg's painted cottages, and temples, mosques and chapels side by side. Its best museums, on the volcano, sugar and slavery, fill a few days rather than a trip.

Réunion has the livelier evenings, though only just in absolute terms. Saint-Gilles-les-Bains has sunset beach bars and a handful of clubs that fill on Friday and Saturday nights, and Saint-Pierre has a more local seafront strip.

In the Azores, going out means a few bars near Ponta Delgada's marina, the flag-covered sailors' bars of Horta, or a summer festa on Terceira, when the Sanjoaninas fill Angra's streets.

Both are outstanding, and both are chosen above all for their landscapes, but the experience differs. The Azores spread their scenery over nine islands: the crater lakes of Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo, steaming Furnas, the climb up Pico, Flores's waterfalls and sperm whales offshore all year. The walking is mostly moderate, often in mist.

Réunion packs bigger, harder terrain into one island. The cliff-walled cirques of Cilaos, Salazie and roadless Mafate invite multi-day treks, Piton des Neiges is climbed overnight for sunrise, and Piton de la Fournaise is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Paragliding above Saint-Leu and humpback whales from July to October round it out.

Both islands offer smaller town stops between landscape outings, so the difference lies in reach. In the Azores the highlight is the central group, where ferries from Horta cross to Pico's wine cellars and São Jorge's cheese dairies, which gives a real island-hopping day.

Réunion has no neighbour within a boat ride, so its days out stay on the island: Saint-Pierre's market, Hell-Bourg's Creole houses, the vanilla plantations around Saint-Philippe or a rum distillery.

Réunion is the easier choice with children. The lagoon at L'Hermitage and La Saline lets small children snorkel among fish in waist-deep water, and the turtles at Kélonia, the Saint-Gilles aquarium, a crocodile park and the Cité du Volcan cover rainy days. French healthcare and supermarkets make the practical side simple, though the hairpin roads into the cirques are hard on young passengers.

The Azores give children memorable outdoor moments, such as whale boats, warm pools at Furnas and lunch lifted out of hot ground. But little is built for them, and the swell and sudden rain need watchful planning.

You need a hire car on both, and the challenges differ. On São Miguel the roads are quiet and the main sights are under an hour from Ponta Delgada, but moving between Azorean islands means ferries or flights that Atlantic weather can cancel.

Réunion is a single island with a fast coastal expressway, but rush-hour traffic around Saint-Denis and the west coast is heavy. The mountain roads to Cilaos or the volcano eat up whole mornings, and Mafate can be reached only on foot.

Réunion offers a little more. Its markets in Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Denis sell vanilla, spices, rum arrangé and Cilaos embroidery, and there are French chain stores and shopping centres for anything practical.

The Azores are about take-home produce: São Jorge cheese, north-coast tea, Pico wine and scrimshaw on Faial and Pico, with Ponta Delgada's market hall the best single stop.

The Azores are the cheaper trip. Village restaurants serve generous plates at modest prices, rural guesthouses undercut city hotels, and the main sights cost nothing, although a hire car, whale trips and inter-island flights add up, especially in July and August.

Réunion is priced like France, with imported goods costing more still, and west-coast beach hotels are expensive in the southern winter. Snack vans, market lunches and mountain gîtes are how to keep costs down there.

Réunion has a living music of its own. Maloya, the drum-and-chant tradition recognised by UNESCO, is played at kabars and on festival stages, and sega fills bars and village fêtes. The Sakifo festival in Saint-Pierre is the year's high point.

Azorean performance follows the parish calendar: filarmónica brass bands at processions, chamarrita folk dances and Angra's autumn jazz festival. On an ordinary evening there is little to hear.

The Azores are far better for soaking and slowing down. Volcanic heat feeds the big thermal pool in Furnas's Terra Nostra garden, a warm forest waterfall at Caldeira Velha and a hot ocean inlet at Ponta da Ferraria, all outdoors, and the misty pastures and early evenings do the rest.

Réunion's one bathing tradition is the old spa at Cilaos. Beyond that, rest there means resort-hotel spas or a few quiet nights in a gîte in the cirques.