Boca Raton or Miami?

Both sit on barrier islands with pale sand and water warm enough to swim in all year, but Miami has the more complete beach. Miami Beach is one continuous strip from the Art Deco front of South Beach up to quieter Surfside, and Key Biscayne adds calm, shallow water at Crandon Park and Bill Baggs. Between them they offer a shore for every mood.

Boca Raton's beach comes as separate parks rather than one long strand. Its shore is greener and lower-rise, with dunes and sea grape, and its standout is Red Reef Park, where you can snorkel a reef straight from the sand. It is the place for a quiet swim, not for people-watching.

Miami has one of the most distinctive food scenes in the country. Cuban cafecito windows and Calle Ocho sandwiches, Venezuelan arepas, Haitian griot in Little Haiti and a chef-led tier in Brickell and the Design District give it real character.

Boca Raton eats well but predictably, in steakhouses, Italian dining rooms and sushi places around Mizner Park and the plazas. Its own distinctive touch is the Jewish deli and bagel tradition. Visitors who care about food usually drive to Delray Beach, or to Miami itself.

Neither city has much history older than a century, but Miami makes far more of what it has. Walking the hundreds of pastel Art Deco buildings along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, then visiting Vizcaya on the bay and the murals of Wynwood, fills several good days.

Boca Raton's story is Addison Mizner's 1920s Mediterranean Revival town, seen in the Old Town Hall and the art museum. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens just north is its most rewarding visit. After that, most culture-minded guests head for Miami anyway.

There is little real contest here. Miami goes out late and in every register: South Beach's big clubs with international DJs, Wynwood's warehouse bars and breweries, Brickell's rooftops and salsa nights on Calle Ocho.

Boca Raton's evenings are wine bars and terrace cocktails around Mizner Park, and the city is mostly quiet before midnight. The nearest proper night out is on Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue.

Both are flat, and in both the outdoors means water and wetland. Miami has the bigger assets on its doorstep: the Everglades within an hour for airboats, the Anhinga Trail and Shark Valley, Biscayne National Park's mangroves and reefs, and Key Largo's coral further south.

Boca Raton works on a smaller scale. It offers kayaking on the Intracoastal, snorkelling on the nearshore reef, Gumbo Limbo's boardwalks and sea turtle night walks, and the Loxahatchee refuge for alligators about half an hour west.

Boca Raton's position halfway along the Gold Coast makes it the better base for outings. Palm Beach's Flagler Museum and Worth Avenue are about forty minutes north, and Fort Lauderdale is half an hour south. Miami's Art Deco district, Little Havana and Vizcaya are an hour away by Brightline or Tri-Rail, with no car needed.

From Miami, Palm Beach is a longer haul. The best outing south is the Upper Keys, while Key West really needs an overnight stay.

With children the two come out about even, but the days run differently. In Boca Raton everything is small-scale and close together: a morning on a guarded beach, an afternoon with the rescued sea turtles at Gumbo Limbo or at the science centre and play areas of Sugar Sand Park, then back to the hotel without a long drive. The town is safe and orderly, and only bigger outings such as Lion Country Safari, about an hour north, take up a whole day.

Miami offers bigger days out, but you will spend more time driving between them. Zoo Miami, the planetarium and aquarium at the Frost Science Museum, the coral-rock Venetian Pool in Coral Gables and an airboat ride in the Everglades each fill most of a day, often on the far side of town. Parents usually stay at Key Biscayne or North Beach to keep clear of South Beach's party crowd.

Neither works well without a car, but Miami gives you more options. South Beach is easy on foot or by bike, the free Metromover links downtown and Brickell, and the Metrorail runs from the airport. A beach-based stay can largely rely on walking and ride-hailing.

Boca Raton is spread along wide multi-lane roads, its buses are infrequent and only the Mizner Park area is walkable. Its strength is the railway, with Tri-Rail and Brightline trains that make car-free trips along the coast realistic.

Boca Raton's shopping centres on one very upscale enclosed mall west of downtown, with leading department stores and designer labels. Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place add open-air boutiques and galleries. It is polished and suburban, and for grander fashion people go to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

Miami is by some way the better shopping trip, because it has several distinct scenes rather than one. The Design District puts fashion flagships among architect-designed buildings, and Bal Harbour's open-air mall is one of the most exclusive in the country. Aventura Mall is enormous, and the outlets to the west serve bargain hunters. Little Havana's cigar shops and guayabera makers add a local touch that Boca Raton lacks.

Both are expensive, especially in winter, and in both a hire car or ride-hailing adds to the cost. Where they differ is in how you can save. Miami's beaches are free, its Cuban counters and bakeries feed you cheaply, and staying on the mainland rather than Miami Beach cuts hotel costs.

Boca Raton charges visitors to park at its beach parks and prices its restaurants for a well-off local crowd. Delis and self-catering rentals are the main way to keep costs down there. Summer rates drop sharply in both.

Miami has a proper season. The Arsht Center hosts Florida Grand Opera and touring Broadway shows, Miami City Ballet is a company of real standing, and the New World Symphony plays in its Gehry hall with screenings on the lawn. Salsa and timba bands in Little Havana add sounds you won't hear further north.

Boca Raton offers open-air concerts at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, Lynn University recitals and regional musicals. For anything bigger, its residents drive to West Palm Beach or to Miami.

Both offer resort spas with pools and treatment rooms. Neither has a real bathing culture, though Miami Beach does have a long-established Russian and Turkish bath house with banya and cold plunges.

The bigger difference is atmosphere. Boca Raton is quiet throughout, so rest comes easily. In Miami you have to look for calm on Key Biscayne or around Surfside, away from South Beach's late noise.