Bohol or Siargao?

On beaches the two islands are equal, but they work in different ways. On Bohol the sand is right where you stay on Panglao. Alona is narrow and busy, Dumaluan and Bikini Beach are wider, and Doljo is quieter. The long, empty shore at Anda is there for anyone who wants space.

On Siargao the best beaches are a boat ride away, on the white sandbars and palm-lined islets of Naked Island, Daku and Guyam. In front of General Luna there is mostly reef flat, which drains at low tide, so beach days there revolve around boats and tide times.

Siargao eats better for its size. Along General Luna and the Cloud 9 road there are smoothie bowls, good coffee, wood-fired pizza, poke and Mediterranean plates alongside the grilled fish and adobo. There is still no fine dining and no real market life.

Bohol's food is simpler and thinner on the ground: fish and squid grilled at roadside stalls, canteens in Tagbilaran, and a row of international restaurants at Alona for resort guests. You can eat kinilaw on both islands. Bohol's calamay and Chocolate Hills peanut kisses are the better edible souvenirs.

Bohol has some history to explore, and Siargao has almost none. On Bohol a one-day loop takes in coral-stone colonial churches such as Baclayon and Loboc, which carry the marks of the 2013 earthquake. The same loop can include the Blood Compact monument and the small national museum branch in Tagbilaran.

On Siargao the sights are the Cloud 9 boardwalk, plain village churches and stilt-house fishing villages seen from a boat. On a rainy day there is nothing to visit.

Siargao has the clearly better nights out. In General Luna a young crowd of surfers and backpackers moves from one open-air dance floor to the next, with reggae and house nights that run past midnight. It all happens in one short strip of town.

Bohol's evenings centre on Alona Beach, where divers and couples sit at tables on the sand, sometimes with a fire show. Most places there wind down early, and much of the island is quiet after dinner.

The two islands are close on nature, but they offer different things. Bohol's strengths are inland: the grassy domes of the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers in the forest near Corella, the Loboc River and the mahogany forest at Bilar. Offshore there is serious diving on the walls at Balicasag and among the small marine life at Cabilao.

Siargao's nature centres on surfing at Cloud 9, then the mangroves of Del Carmen leading to jade-green Sugba Lagoon and the boat-entry caves of Sohoton Cove. Neither island has mountains or long hikes.

Bohol has more places to go beyond the island. Fast ferries from Tagbilaran reach Cebu City's Spanish quarter or the easy-going university town of Dumaguete in about two hours, and Siquijor is possible as a long day out.

From Siargao, almost every outing is a boat to a sandbar or lagoon. The mainland ferry lands at Surigao, a working port that few people stay in for long.

Bohol is the easier island with children. Resorts with pools face calm water at Dumaluan and Doljo, and the countryside day of tarsiers, the hills and a river float works well for older children. Danao's zipline park is good for teenagers, and there is a hospital in Tagbilaran.

Siargao suits families who love the water and are prepared to rough it a little. Children enjoy the sandbars and the rock pools at Magpupungko, but scooters, roads without pavements, tide-bound swimming and basic medical care make it hard work with toddlers.

Bohol is simpler to reach and to tour. The international airport is on Panglao, near the beaches, and a van with a driver covers the paved countryside loop in a comfortable day.

Siargao needs a domestic flight or a ferry to get there. Most visitors then ride scooters on roads that are dark at night and slippery in the rain, and the lagoons and islands that matter most can only be reached by boat. Neither island has public transport a visitor can easily use.

Neither island is a place to shop, and both offer little more than souvenirs. Bohol's best buys are the woven baskets and mats from Antequera and its coconut sweets, while General Luna's strip sells surf gear, linen, swimwear and locally made jewellery.

Both are cheap by Western standards and come out at much the same cost. What pushes the bill up differs. On Bohol it is beachfront Panglao, private drivers and diving, and staying back from the sand or on the quieter coasts keeps things very cheap.

Siargao is a little dearer than most of the Philippines. Its cafés, boutique stays near Cloud 9 and private boat charters cost close to what you would pay at home, and rooms cost more in the surf season and the busy vacation weeks around Holy Week and Christmas. Shared island-hopping tours and simple guesthouses keep a long stay affordable.

You will find very little performance on either island. Bohol has a little more: the Loboc Children's Choir, folk dancing on the river cruises and the Sandugo street dancing once a year. On Siargao it comes down to an acoustic set or a fire dancer at a beach party.

Both are good islands for slowing down, but they relax you in different ways. Bohol leans towards pampering, with hilot treatments using coconut oil in the larger Panglao resort spas and long, quiet days at Anda.

Siargao's version is barefoot and active: open-air yoga among the palms, small retreats and massage huts after a day in the surf, with few proper spas.