Azores or Tenerife?

Tenerife has much the better beaches. Its south coast is a run of man-made bays with pale sand and calm water behind breakwaters. Las Teresitas has golden sand brought in from the Sahara, El Médano has natural sand, and the dry south makes a beach day the normal plan rather than a lucky break.

In the Azores, swimming happens in lava rock pools and small black-sand coves. Santa Maria's pale beaches are the exception, but they are a flight away from São Miguel. By late summer the sea is about as warm on both, but in the Azores a swim has to fit around swell and cloud.

The two are evenly matched, and both cook simply from what the islands grow and catch. The Azores have the more unusual dishes: cozido lowered into the hot ground at Furnas, Terceira's alcatra braised in clay pots, and sharp São Jorge cheese. To drink there is mineral-edged Pico wine and tea from plantations among Europe's oldest.

Tenerife has papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes) with mojo sauces, grilled goat cheese and whole fish in the harbour villages, plus farmhouse guachinches pouring new wine in the northern hills. It also has a fine-dining tier that the Azores lack. Its weak spot is the southern resort strip, where menus turn international. La Laguna, Santa Cruz and the north are where to eat well.

The Azores' finest sight, the World Heritage town of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira, compares well with anything on Tenerife. Pico's walled vineyards and Terceira's brightly painted Holy Spirit chapels exist nowhere else. Beyond these, the heritage is modest and split across islands you reach by plane.

Tenerife has more, all within driving distance on one island: La Laguna's colonial street grid, the carved balconies of La Orotava, Garachico partly buried by lava, the Guanche mummies in Santa Cruz and the pyramids of Güímar. Neither is a culture trip on its own, but Tenerife fills more days.

Evenings in the Azores mostly end after dinner. The exceptions are a handful of bars in Ponta Delgada, the flag-covered sailors' bars of Horta and the summer festas that keep Terceira's streets busy late.

Tenerife offers several kinds of night out. Playa de las Américas has bars and clubs open until dawn, Costa Adeje has cocktail bars on the seafront, La Laguna's old streets fill with students at weekends, and Santa Cruz goes out late in Spanish style. Its Carnival in late winter is one of the biggest street parties anywhere.

Both are volcanic islands where nature is the main reason to go, so the difference is in character. The Azores are soft and green, with the crater lakes of Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo, steaming Furnas, the climb up Pico and sperm whales all year. Divers can also see manta rays off Santa Maria.

Tenerife is one great mountain. Teide rises to 3,715m above lava fields, with laurel forest in Anaga and the Masca gorge in the Teno massif. Its clear high skies are good for stargazing, which the misty Azores rarely allow. Whale boats here find pilot whales and dolphins, and the weather for walking is far more dependable.

From São Miguel, days out in the Azores are small towns such as Ribeira Grande and Vila Franca do Campo, or a swim in the islet's flooded crater. The best island hops, from Faial across to Pico and São Jorge, only work if you base yourself in the central group.

Tenerife has the better day trips. La Gomera, with its terraced valleys and Garajonay cloud forest, is under an hour by ferry from Los Cristianos. Las Palmas on Gran Canaria makes a full day out. A stay in the south also leaves the green northern wine valleys and Puerto de la Cruz in easy reach.

The Azores give children memorable outdoor days: whale boats, warm pools at Furnas and lunch lifted out of hot ground. But there is no zoo or theme park, the rock pools and swell need close watching, and rain can ruin a plan.

Tenerife is far easier with children. In Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos you get calm beaches behind breakwaters and apartment complexes with pools. There is a well-known water park in the south and a large zoo in Puerto de la Cruz, and the mild climate rarely wears small children out.

You need a hire car on both to see much. On São Miguel driving is quick, but the buses run too rarely to plan around. Going beyond one Azores island adds another layer: ferries link Faial, Pico and São Jorge in the central group, the wider ferry network sails mainly in summer, and the rest means short flights. The weather can cancel boats and planes, so leave spare days.

Tenerife is easier because it is one island. Motorways link south and north, a tram runs between Santa Cruz and La Laguna, and buses reach Teide. You can manage a stay in the south without a car, although the mountain roads are slow and the motorway near Santa Cruz jams at rush hour.

Neither island is a shopping destination. Shopping in the Azores is for things to take home: São Jorge cheese, north-coast tea, Pico wine and scrimshaw. Ponta Delgada's market hall is the best place to find them.

Tenerife has more choice. Santa Cruz has pedestrian shopping streets, a department store and the arcaded African market. The resorts sell low-tax electronics and perfume, and La Orotava keeps its traditions of lace and basketwork.

Overall costs are similar, but the money goes on different things. In the Azores, meals, wine and the trails cost little. A hire car is close to essential, though, and whale trips and flights between islands add up, especially in July and August.

On Tenerife, the Canaries' low tax keeps drinks and petrol cheap, and buses help on a tight budget. Rooms in Costa Adeje in winter are the main expense, and self-catering in Los Cristianos or Puerto de la Cruz brings it down.

Music in the Azores means village brass bands and folk dances at the summer festas, plus an autumn jazz festival in Angra. Outside festival time, finding a concert takes effort.

Tenerife has more. Its symphony orchestra plays at the Auditorio in Santa Cruz, which also hosts a short opera season, and there are historic theatres in Santa Cruz and La Laguna. The Carnival's satirical choirs add a local tradition. From the southern resorts, though, all this is about an hour's drive away, and resort evenings mostly mean tribute acts.

The Azores are clearly ahead for relaxation. Volcanic heat gives them a natural bathing tradition, from the iron-orange pool in the Terra Nostra garden at Furnas to hot springs flowing into the sea at Ponta da Ferraria. The islands' slow pace adds to the calm.

Tenerife has no bathing tradition of its own. Its wellness means large hotel spas with thalassotherapy pools in Costa Adeje, or yoga stays in rural fincas. Its advantage is a dry, mild climate, while Azorean soaking often happens in the rain.