Boca Raton or Destin?

Both are excellent beach towns, but the beaches look and behave differently. Boca Raton's public parks run along a low-rise barrier island backed by dunes and sea grape, with soft, pale sand, a shaded picnic area at Spanish River and a reef at Red Reef Park close enough to snorkel from shore. The Atlantic is warm enough to swim in all year.

Destin has the whiter sand and greener, clearer water, with quartz beaches from Okaloosa Island and Henderson Beach State Park east to the dune lakes of 30A. It also has Crab Island, a sandbar where boats anchor and people wade in warm shallows. The catch is that the Gulf only swims well from late spring to October.

Neither town is a food destination, and the difference is mostly in what you eat. Boca Raton is about polished sit-down dining in Mizner Park and the plazas, with steakhouses, Italian rooms and sushi, plus a real strength in Jewish delis and bagel bakeries. For more variety, people drive to Delray Beach.

Destin's eating revolves around the harbour, where charter boats land snapper, grouper and royal red shrimp and some kitchens will cook your own catch. Beyond grouper sandwiches and oysters on the decks, the coast highway is mostly chains, and the more ambitious cooking is out along 30A.

Boca Raton has more to see, though neither is a sightseeing town. Addison Mizner's 1920s Mediterranean Revival layout gives the centre its own look, with the Old Town Hall history museum and the art museum in Mizner Park. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, just north, makes a memorable half-day.

Destin grew from a fishing village and kept almost nothing historic. Its sights are a small fishing museum, plus the Native American temple mound and the outdoor collection of military aircraft in neighbouring Fort Walton Beach. Anyone interested in history ends up driving to Pensacola.

Both are quiet by big-city standards, and they go quiet in different ways. Boca Raton's evenings are about dinner and a cocktail at the wine bars and outdoor tables around Mizner Park, and most of the city is asleep before midnight. A louder night means a short drive to Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, or further to Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

Destin is more casual and much more seasonal. People drink on harbour decks and at beach bars on Okaloosa Island, and boats raft up for afternoon parties at Crab Island. In summer and spring break a few dance floors stay open late, but out of season most nights end early.

Both coastlines are flat, so the outdoors means water, and Destin offers a little more of it. The shelf drops off close to shore, so deep-sea charters reach big fish quickly. Dolphins are often seen in the pass, Choctawhatchee Bay suits paddling and sailing, and the state parks to the east have high white dunes and rare coastal dune lakes with boardwalks.

Boca Raton's strengths are smaller in scale. It has mangrove paddling on the Intracoastal, reef snorkelling and diving, and turtle-nesting night walks at Gumbo Limbo. For alligators and wading birds, the Loxahatchee refuge is about half an hour inland.

Boca Raton has much more within reach. Palm Beach's Flagler Museum and Worth Avenue are 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, with trains as an alternative to the car. The drawback is that most of it is the same built-up coast.

From Destin, the best outings are the planned pastel towns of Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach on 30A, and Pensacola, about an hour west, for its colonial district, naval aviation museum and brick forts. After those the list runs out.

Destin is the more natural choice with children. It has gentle, clear water on calm days, condos with kitchens and pools, a long-running marine park with dolphin and sea-lion shows, a large water park, go-karts and mini golf, and pirate-ship cruises from the harbour. Parents do need to learn the flag system, because rip currents can make the Gulf dangerous on rough days.

Boca Raton is calm and orderly, with lifeguarded beach parks, a gentle first snorkel at Red Reef, Gumbo Limbo's turtle tanks and Sugar Sand Park. Bigger attractions such as Lion Country Safari are an hour or more away, so it works best for a quieter winter visit.

You will need a car in both. In Boca Raton you drive wide roads between the beaches, malls and hotels, and only the area around Mizner Park is pleasant on foot. Its advantage is the Tri-Rail and Brightline stations, which make car-free days to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach realistic.

Destin has no rail link and hardly any useful buses. Everything strings along one coastal highway that clogs in summer and has few safe crossings for walkers, although the harbour boardwalk and the 30A bike trail offer some relief.

Boca Raton is clearly the better place to shop. Its enclosed mall is one of the most upscale in Florida, with designer labels and leading department stores, and Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place add open-air boutiques and galleries. Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is an easy outing.

Destin's shopping is resort retail: a large outlet centre near Miramar Beach, an open-air mall of chain stores, and plenty of swimwear and souvenirs. The 30A towns have the only shops with real style. Neither town has much in the way of markets or local crafts.

Neither is cheap, but Destin usually costs less, and the two have their expensive seasons at opposite times of year. Boca Raton is priciest from December to April, when room rates rival major international cities and restaurants are priced for a wealthy local crowd. Summer is cheaper if you can live with the heat and storms.

Destin charges most from late spring through summer, and charter trips and parking push costs up further. Late autumn to early spring is much cheaper, but the sea is too cold for swimming then. In both towns a self-catering condo is the best way to save.

Boca Raton has the steadier performing arts scene. In winter there are open-air concerts and the Festival of the Arts at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, Broadway-style musicals at a regional theatre, recitals at the Lynn University conservatory and a local ballet company. The Kravis Center in West Palm Beach and Miami's Arsht Center are within reach for opera and major orchestras.

Destin has little to offer here. The symphony and touring shows play across the bay in Niceville, there is small-scale theatre in Miramar Beach and Seaside, and most live music is cover bands on bar decks.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so rest means resort spas in both. Boca Raton is better set up for it: it is quiet all year, its big resorts have full spas, and yoga studios and day spas serve a health-conscious population.

Destin's spas are in the golf and beach resorts around Sandestin and Miramar Beach. The town is restful mainly in spring and autumn, with early walks on empty sand, while summer traffic and crowds take away much of the calm.