Branson or Galveston?

Galveston is the real beach destination of the two. Its Gulf side has sand almost the whole way along: the busy stretch below the Seawall, the lifeguarded family beaches at Stewart Beach and East Beach, and the quieter West End. The sea stays warm enough to swim from late May into October. The catch is the water itself, which is murky with silt, gets sargassum seaweed in some summers and has rip currents by the jetties.

Branson's swimming happens on a lake. Table Rock Lake has clear water, swim areas often on imported sand, and pontoon days in wooded coves, but only through the summer. It is a pleasant extra rather than the reason to go, and cold Lake Taneycomo in town is for trout fishing, not swimming.

Neither town is worth the journey for food alone, but you will eat better in Galveston. Its cooking is built on the Gulf, with oysters raw or chargrilled, shrimp, snapper and gumbo, plus Tex-Mex and po'boys. The Strand has the independent places and the cafés.

Branson is about big portions: buffets, fried chicken, catfish and set meals at dinner theatres along a Highway 76 lined with chains. Its distinctive tastes are Ozark ones, such as skillet cooking, fudge and fresh trout, but there is little café or wine culture to linger over.

Galveston has a genuine historic city, and Branson largely does not. In Galveston, the cast-iron rows of the Strand, the porch-fronted houses of the East End, Bishop's Palace and the story of the 1900 storm, after which the whole island was raised, fill a solid day or two. The tall ship Elissa waits at the harbour.

Branson's sights are mostly twentieth-century amusements, wax museums and novelty galleries along the strip. Its heritage lies in the Ozark crafts shown at the theme park and in the eclectic Ralph Foster Museum just south of town.

Neither is a party town, but Galveston at least has a night out. Pubs and wine bars in the Victorian buildings downtown and open-air bars on the Seawall fill up on summer weekends, and Mardi Gras brings two weekends of parades and street parties.

In Branson the evening is the show itself. When it ends the town goes to bed, apart from a few brewpubs and hotel lounges near the lakefront.

Branson has the better outdoors, because it has hills. The Ozark ridges, limestone bluffs, caves and clear streams give real walking at Table Rock State Park and Hercules Glades, and Table Rock Lake has paddling and bass fishing. The Buffalo National River is about two hours away, and the hills have dogwood blossom in spring and turn red in autumn.

Galveston is flat sand, marsh and bay, so its strengths are birds and water. Spring migration fills the wetlands, and birdwatchers head for Bolivar Flats and High Island. There is paddling on the bay, pier fishing and dolphins beside the ferry, but no hiking to speak of.

Galveston has the stronger list of day trips, mainly because Houston is close. Space Center Houston is the obvious day out. Houston's Museum District, the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel add serious art within about an hour, with Kemah's boardwalk and the San Jacinto Monument on the way.

Branson's outings are smaller but appealing: Victorian Eureka Springs on its steep streets, the Crystal Bridges art museum in the woods at Bentonville, and the Civil War battlefield at Wilson's Creek. From either town, every outing needs a car.

Both towns are built for families, and Branson goes a step further. Its Ozark theme park, water parks, aquarium, paddlewheel showboat, zip lines, caves and dinner shows with horses and stunts fill a week without repeats, and the theatre shows are family-friendly by design.

Galveston's family offer is the beach, plus Moody Gardens' glass pyramids, a waterpark and the funfair on the Seawall pier. Stewart Beach has shallow water, and the Bolivar ferry often has dolphins alongside. It suits a week built around the beach, with Space Center Houston for older children.

You will want a car in both, but Galveston is easier without one. Its downtown around the Strand is compact and good to walk, a heritage trolley and island buses reach parts of the Seawall, and the flat seafront is easy to cycle outside high summer.

Branson spreads its theatres and hotels for several kilometres along hilly Highway 76. Pavements are patchy, public transport is of little use to visitors and traffic is slow on show nights, so only Branson Landing and the small old downtown work on foot.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the difference is in what you bring home. Branson is the place for Ozark crafts like hand-blown glass, pottery, quilts and woodcarving, often made in front of you. It also has outlet malls and the mainstream stores at Branson Landing.

Galveston is for browsing antique shops, galleries and décor boutiques in the Strand's Victorian storefronts, with beachwear along the Seawall. For anything bigger, people go to Houston.

Overall the two cost much the same, but the money goes in different places. In Branson, rooms and buffets are cheap, and the spending comes from paid entertainment: show tickets, theme park entry and boat hire. Show and hotel packages can soften the total.

In Galveston the beaches are free, but Seawall hotels charge much more on summer weekends and at Mardi Gras, so weekdays and the cooler months are the way to save. In both towns a hire car adds its own cost.

Branson is the town for live entertainment, though only of one kind. Its theatres along Highway 76 deal in country and bluegrass, gospel harmony, tribute acts, magic, acrobatics and staged Bible stories with live animals, and you can easily fit two or three different performances into one day. The musicians are often very good. The town has no opera, though, and no straight drama.

Galveston has far less, but more variety for its size. The restored Grand 1894 Opera House brings in touring musicals, comedians and concerts, and the community symphony plays its classical and pops seasons there. Add the community theatre and the cover bands in the downtown bars, and that is enough for an evening or two of a beach week.

The easiest way to relax in Branson is to book a lodge resort on Table Rock Lake, where full spas and quiet grounds are well away from the traffic and neon of the strip. A cabin on a wooded cove gives you the same peace without the treatments.

Galveston has fewer treatments: a massage at one of the larger Seawall or bayside hotels, or a day spa downtown. Outside summer weekends, though, the island itself is slow-paced, with long rides along the flat Seawall and quiet evenings in the porch-lined streets of the East End.