Brač or Tuscany?

Brač has the edge here, because on the island the sea is never more than a short drive away. Zlatni Rat at Bol is a beach worth travelling for, a long pebble spit in very clear water with coves running west and gentle family bays on the north coast. The catch is the ground underfoot: nearly all of it is pebble or rock, and Lovrečina is a rare patch of sand.

Tuscany has more sand, on Elba's bays such as Fetovaia, on the pine-backed strands of the Maremma and along the long, orderly lidos of Versilia. Its good beaches lie far from Florence and the hill towns, though, so you either base yourself on the coast or treat swimming as a side trip.

Tuscany is one of Europe's great food regions, and Brač is a simple island table. On Brač you eat grilled fish, octopus cooked under an iron lid, lamb, island olive oil and walnut cake from Dol, and the best meals are in the inland villages rather than on Bol's waterfront.

Tuscany has bistecca over coals, lampredotto from Florence's street carts, the San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio markets, pecorino in Pienza and truffles in San Miniato. Above all it has wine: Chianti Classico, Brunello and Vino Nobile can all be tasted at the cellars where they are made.

This is the widest gap between the two. Brač's heritage is quiet and made of stone: the Blaca hermitage built into a cliff, the Illyrian walls of Škrip, the stonemasons of Pučišća and a few unhurried days of chapels and olive mills.

Tuscany is where the Renaissance began. Florence alone has Brunelleschi's dome, the Uffizi and the Accademia, and Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano and Arezzo each add enough to fill a day of their own.

Neither is a party destination, but Tuscany offers more after dark. On Brač, evenings mean dinner and a drink by the harbour, with some late beach bars at Bol in July and August, and serious partygoers take the catamaran to Hvar.

Tuscany has two kinds of night out. Florence has students on the steps of Santo Spirito and wine bars in Oltrarno all year, and in summer Versilia has beach clubs and dance halls that stay busy until dawn.

Brač's outdoors is compact and dramatic: a bare karst plateau rising to Vidova Gora, the highest peak on any Adriatic island, with a view straight down to Zlatni Rat. Its other real draw is the reliable summer wind off Bol for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Tuscany has far more range. It has cypress lanes and gravel roads through Chianti and the Val d'Orcia for cycling and walking between towns, marble ridges in the Apuan Alps, beech forests in the Casentino, the Maremma's coastal park and sailing around Elba.

From Brač, the outings all start with a ferry. Split and Diocletian's Palace are the best of them, Trogir is close behind, and Hvar and Makarska are within reach, but the options shrink once the summer timetables end.

Tuscany has more day trips than one stay can use. Siena, Lucca, Pisa and San Gimignano are all within easy reach, and so are the wine towns of the south. Bologna, Umbria's hill towns and the Cinque Terre lie just beyond the border.

Tuscany is slightly the better family choice, mainly because it has more variety. Brač offers a simple, safe seaside routine, with shallow sheltered beaches at Supetar, Sutivan and Postira and apartments with kitchens, but almost nothing built for children.

Tuscany can combine a farmhouse with a pool and animals with sandy, lifeguarded beaches in Versilia or the Maremma. It also has Pinocchio's park at Collodi, the leaning tower and bike rides on Lucca's walls, though Florence's galleries will test young children's patience.

Both reward having a car, for different reasons. On Brač you need one to cross the plateau between the north coast and Bol, because buses are infrequent, and every trip to the mainland depends on a ferry queue.

Tuscany is easier without a car than the island is. Regional trains link Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo and Viareggio well, so a car-free trip along that line works. A car is still needed for Chianti, the Val d'Orcia and the Maremma.

Brač has very little shopping. You can buy carved stone from Pučišća, olive oil, honey, lavender and wine, and for anything more you go to Split.

Tuscany has real craft traditions. Florence has leather workshops around Santa Croce, goldsmiths on the Ponte Vecchio, marbled paper in Oltrarno and the luxury street of Via de' Tornabuoni. Outside Florence there is alabaster in Volterra, ceramics in Montelupo and the designer outlets of the Arno valley.

Both are expensive in high summer, and costs are broadly the same. The difference is in what drives the bill. On Brač it is rooms in Bol, sunbeds and car ferry fares, while north coast apartments, village konobas and a June or September visit keep costs down.

In Tuscany, rooms in central Florence, Chianti villas and resorts like Forte dei Marmi are the big costs, along with car hire. Trattoria meals, wine from the cellar door and bases in Lucca, Arezzo or the Maremma help balance them.

Brač has no theatre or concert hall. Summer brings open-air concerts on the squares of Bol and Supetar, and if you are lucky you may hear a klapa group sing.

Tuscany has a proper season. The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Florence's opera house lead it, Puccini is played in Lucca and staged by the lake at Torre del Lago, and the Accademia Chigiana holds concerts in Siena's palaces.

Brač relaxes you through its slow pace rather than through treatments. The quiet harbours of Milna, Povlja and Sumartin and long evenings over the water do the work, while the spas are hotel facilities in Bol and Supetar.

Tuscany has thermal springs. You can bathe in the open-air terraced pools at Saturnia, the steaming square of Bagno Vignoni and the woodland pools of Bagni San Filippo, or in the grand spa town of Montecatini. A countryside farmhouse adds to the rest.