Bohol or Cebu Island?

The two are equally strong for the beach, but they work differently. Bohol's beach life is concentrated on Panglao, a short ride from the airport. You can choose busy, narrow Alona or the wider, calmer sand at Dumaluan and Doljo, with Anda's long empty shore on the main island if you want more space.

Cebu has the finer sand, at Bantayan and Malapascua in the far north, but reaching it takes a long bus ride and a boat. Mactan, near the airport, is convenient but plain. Moalboal trades sand for snorkelling straight off the shore.

Cebu gives you more to eat. It has a dish people travel for, lechon with its crackling skin, plus a cheap street culture of grilled meat with puso, and sutukil stalls on Mactan where you choose your fish and how it is cooked. Cebu City also has a cluster of modern restaurants.

Bohol eats simply. Expect grilled fish and kinilaw at roadside places, international menus along Alona, and sweets like calamay and peanut kisses to take home. The Loboc river buffet is more about the river than the food.

Neither island is a cultural destination, but Cebu has more history to show. Spanish rule in the Philippines began in Cebu City, and Magellan's Cross, the Basilica del Santo Niño and Fort San Pedro are all a short walk apart, with more old churches down the south coast. Bohol's heritage comes down to its coral-stone churches, at Baclayon, Loboc, Dauis and Loon, plus the Blood Compact monument. You can see all of it in one day's loop.

Cebu has a real night out, but you have to be in the city for it. The bars around IT Park and Lahug run late at weekends with a young local crowd, Mango Avenue is rougher, and Sinulog turns the streets into a party in January. Its beach coasts, though, are as quiet as Bohol's.

On Bohol, going out means the beach bars on Alona's sand: fire shows, a dance night now and then, and divers and couples heading to bed well before the small hours.

Both islands are rich in nature, and the difference is where it lies. Bohol's strength is on land: well over a thousand Chocolate Hills, tarsiers in the forests near Corella, the Loboc River, the mahogany forest at Bilar, and the waterfalls and caves of Anda. At sea it has Balicasag's coral walls and dolphins off Pamilacan.

Cebu is at its best underwater. The sardine shoal at Moalboal and the dawn thresher sharks at Malapascua are its signatures, and on land canyoneering at Kawasan Falls is the main adventure. Neither island has mountains or serious hiking.

Cebu has more day trips. Its best one is Bohol itself, two hours away by fast ferry, with the hills, tarsiers and Baclayon church in one long day. Closer to home there are the old houses of Carcar, the church towns along the south coast, and island hopping to Olango.

From Bohol, once you have done the countryside loop, the options are mostly boats: sandbar and reef stops off Panglao, a long day to Siquijor, or the ferry across to Cebu City or Dumaguete.

The two are about equal for families, and in both the easy option is a resort with a pool and shallow water. Bohol's family day out is the countryside loop of tarsiers, hills, a river float and the zipline at Danao. Cebu offers a safari park and water parks, but you have to put up with the Metro Cebu traffic and long drives to reach them.

On Bohol you land on Panglao, a short ride from the beaches, and a van with a driver handles the countryside loop on quiet paved roads, with the Chocolate Hills about an hour and a half inland. Away from Alona Beach, though, almost nothing can be walked, and the jeepneys and buses are slow and hard for a visitor to use.

Cebu's problem is length and traffic. Metro Cebu has no rail, so even the airport run can crawl, and Moalboal, Oslob and the northern tip are a few hours away by bus or van, with a boat on top for Malapascua and Bantayan. Ride-hailing makes the city manageable, but outside it, every change of base costs most of a day.

Cebu has far more shopping. Its huge malls in the city and on the reclaimed seafront are good for a cool afternoon. For local character, there is Carbon Market and the guitar workshops of Mactan, where instruments are made by hand. On Bohol, shopping means woven baskets from Antequera, souvenir stalls and malls for everyday needs.

Both are cheap places to spend a week, and Cebu works out slightly cheaper overall. Its dive towns, Moalboal and Malapascua, have plenty of simple guesthouses and some of the most reasonably priced diving in Asia. The big Mactan resorts are expensive.

On Bohol, Panglao's beachfront resorts, private drivers and boat trips push the bill up. Staying a short walk back from the sand, or on the main island's quieter coasts, keeps costs down.

On Bohol, catching a performance is mostly a matter of luck and timing. If you pass through Loboc on the right day, its well-loved children's choir may give a short recital for visitors. Folk dancing comes as part of the river cruise or a resort dinner, and Tagbilaran fills with street dancers for Sandugo once a year. On most nights, the live music is a guitarist playing at one of the Alona bars.

Cebu comes out ahead because of a single weekend in January. Sinulog is on a scale nothing on Bohol comes close to: whole troupes in feathered costume dance through Cebu City in honour of the Santo Niño, and it is one of the biggest festivals in the Philippines. The rest of the year, the city has bar bands, church choirs and the occasional touring concert, which is only a little more than Bohol offers, and neither island has a theatre season.

Both offer the same kind of rest: cheap hilot massage, resort spas and a slow pace, with no bathing tradition on either island. Bohol is restful almost anywhere outside Alona, with Anda and Doljo the quietest spots. On Cebu you need to leave the noisy city behind for car-free Malapascua or the quiet roads of Santa Fe on Bantayan.