Boca Raton or Clearwater?

Clearwater has the finer beach. Its powder-white sand runs into calm, clear Gulf water that stays shallow far out, and evenings end with sunsets over the sea at Pier 60. When the main beach gets crowded, the wild shores of Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands are close by.

Boca Raton's beaches are quieter and greener, a string of public parks backed by dunes and sea grape rather than one long resort strip. Red Reef Park has the rare bonus of a reef you can snorkel from the sand. The Atlantic here also stays warm enough for a comfortable winter swim, while the Gulf at Clearwater turns bracing.

Boca Raton gives you more choice and more polish. Around Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place you find steakhouses, Italian dining rooms and sushi, and the city's Jewish community keeps a real tradition of delis and bagel bakeries.

Clearwater eats more simply. The grouper sandwich at an open-air fish shack, a shrimp basket and a sunset drink on a beach deck are the meals that stand out. The Greek tavernas of Tarpon Springs make the best food outing nearby. In both places the more adventurous cooking is found in bigger cities a drive away.

Neither place is a culture stop, but Boca Raton has more to see. Its 1920s Mediterranean Revival look of stucco, arcades and barrel-tile roofs gives the town some character. The Old Town Hall history museum, the art museum in Mizner Park and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens just north fill a day or two.

Clearwater offers a stroll through the early twentieth-century downtown on the bluff and a restored 1920s theatre, but there is no museum worth planning around. For art you have to go to St Petersburg or Tampa.

Both are early-night towns, but their evenings feel different. Boca Raton's evenings are dressier: dinner, then wine bars and cocktail lounges around Mizner Park. For something later and louder, Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue is about fifteen minutes north.

Clearwater's evening starts with the sunset crowd at Pier 60 and moves on to tiki decks and beach bars with cover bands. It gets noticeably rowdier in spring. For clubs, Boca Raton visitors drive to Fort Lauderdale or Miami, and Clearwater visitors go to Ybor City or downtown St Petersburg.

Boca Raton's outdoor life is mostly offshore. Snorkellers and divers head for the nearshore reef, charter boats go out into the Gulf Stream after sailfish and mahi-mahi, and the sea turtle nesting walks at Gumbo Limbo make a memorable night. About half an hour inland, the Loxahatchee refuge adds alligators, wading birds and a first taste of the Everglades.

Clearwater keeps more of its coastline wild. Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands are state parks with undeveloped shores, pine flatwood trails and nesting ospreys. Dolphins are common in the harbour and manatees shelter there in winter. On land, the Pinellas Trail follows an old rail line for long, easy bike rides.

From Boca Raton, every outing runs along the same coastal strip. Gilded Age Palm Beach and the Flagler mansion lie to the north, Fort Lauderdale's canals to the south, and Miami's Art Deco district, Little Havana and Vizcaya are about an hour away. These are good days out, but they are variations on one theme.

Clearwater's outings are more varied: the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, the old cigar factories of Ybor City, the Greek sponge harbour at Tarpon Springs and the Ringling estate in Sarasota. Orlando's theme parks are within two hours. You will need a car for nearly all of them.

Clearwater is made for children. The sea shelves gently with little surf, the beach by Pier 60 has a playground and lifeguards, and the marine aquarium's rescued dolphins and turtles are a short trip away. Busch Gardens and Adventure Island are both within about forty minutes.

Boca Raton is safe and easy, with lifeguarded beach parks, a gentle first snorkel at Red Reef, the turtle tanks at Gumbo Limbo and the playgrounds of Sugar Sand Park. The big attractions are an hour or more away by car, though.

Boca Raton spreads its beaches, hotels and malls along wide multi-lane roads, and only the blocks around Mizner Park are pleasant on foot. Its one real asset is the railway. Tri-Rail and Brightline trains make car-free trips to Fort Lauderdale and Miami realistic, which nothing in Clearwater can match.

For daily life on a beach vacation, though, Clearwater is easier. On the beach island, hotels, restaurants and sand are all within a short walk. A trolley runs down to Sand Key and a ferry crosses to downtown, so a car only becomes necessary for outings further afield.

Boca Raton is far better for shopping. Its enclosed mall west of downtown is lined with luxury labels and major department stores. The open-air streets of Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place add boutiques and galleries, and Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is close enough for an afternoon. All of it is polished rather than independent.

Clearwater offers flip-flops, sunscreen and souvenirs along the beach strip, plus a few small shops downtown. Natural sponges from Tarpon Springs are the most local thing to take home, and for brands you have to drive to Tampa.

Boca Raton is the dearer of the two. In winter its hotels and restaurants are priced for a wealthier local crowd than Clearwater's, and on top of that you pay for a hire car and for parking at the beach parks.

Clearwater is easier to manage on a tighter budget. Beachfront rooms are expensive in the late winter and spring peak, but mainland motels, condos with kitchens and stays further down the coast cost noticeably less, and the beaches are free apart from parking. Room rates fall in summer in both places, in exchange for heat and storms.

The two are broadly level, but the programmes differ. Boca Raton leans towards the classical and the seasonal: Lynn University's conservatory recitals, a local ballet, Broadway-style musicals and the open-air Mizner Park Amphitheater, which are all busiest in winter.

Clearwater is more about touring acts. Ruth Eckerd Hall brings rock and pop tours, comedians and Broadway shows, the restored Capitol Theatre hosts smaller concerts, and the beach bars have live music most nights. For opera, Boca Raton visitors go to West Palm Beach or Miami, and Clearwater visitors go to Tampa.

Neither has thermal springs or a bathing culture, so rest means a resort pool and massages in both. Boca Raton has more polish here. Its large resort spas and yoga studios cater to a wealthy, health-conscious crowd, and the whole town is quiet and well kept.

Clearwater's appeal is its unhurried pace. With few sights to rush to, the days slip into hotel pools, long lunches and evenings by the marina or the waterfront park below the bluff. The exceptions are spring break weekends, when the beach gets loud.