Branson or Panama City Beach?

These two are far apart here. Branson has no sea. In summer it swims in Table Rock Lake, at public swim areas, many on sand that has been brought in, or from a rented pontoon in a quiet cove. The cold Lake Taneycomo through town is for trout, not people.

Panama City Beach is built around its shore: about 43km of fine quartz sand and clear green water when the sea is calm. St. Andrews State Park's sheltered lagoon and the undeveloped sands of Shell Island are the quieter options. Rip currents are a real danger, so follow the beach flags.

Neither is a place to travel for the food, but Panama City Beach eats better because the Gulf is right there. Blackened grouper, shrimp baskets and oysters from the nearby bays are served at open-air shacks, and a few kitchens by the lagoon take more care.

Branson's cooking is heavier, with fried chicken, barbecue, biscuits and gravy, and buffets made to feed coach parties before a show. Its best tastes are the Ozark ones: cold-lake trout, skillet dishes and cinnamon bread.

Neither will satisfy a museum lover, but Branson has a little more to show. Its Ozarks folk heritage is kept alive by blacksmiths and glassblowers at the 1880s-themed park, and the eclectic Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks is worth an hour. The rest of what Branson has is mostly wax museums and novelty galleries.

At Panama City Beach, the beachfront is condo towers. Your choices are the small Man in the Sea Museum on diving history, or a drive across the bay to the older streets of Panama City's St. Andrews district.

Panama City Beach is plainly better for a night out. It has decks over the sand, tiki huts at sunset, and cover bands or DJs around Pier Park, with some dancing on summer weekends. March spring break makes the strip loud and rowdy, and in winter the town is quiet by mid-evening.

Branson's evenings are spent in a theatre seat. Afterwards there are a few brewpubs by the lakefront and some hotel lounges, and the families and older couples who make up the crowd head back to their rooms.

Branson has the more varied outdoors. It sits in the Ozarks, among forested ridges, limestone bluffs, clear streams and show caves. Walkers have the Lakeshore Trail and the glades of Hercules Glades Wilderness, and the bluffs and canoeing of the Buffalo National River are about two hours away.

Panama City Beach is flat, and its outdoor life is mostly on the water: dolphin trips, paddling on St. Andrew Bay, and diving on the offshore wrecks and artificial reefs. On land there are the white dunes of St. Andrews and the rare coastal dune lake at Camp Helen.

Both have a decent short list of outings and nothing of the first rank, and both need a car. Branson's best outings head inland: Eureka Springs, a Victorian spa town on steep stone streets, and Crystal Bridges, a serious collection of American art set in woodland at Bentonville.

From Panama City Beach the trips follow the coast: the pastel planned towns of Scenic Highway 30A, the old oyster port of Apalachicola, and Pensacola's historic district and naval aviation museum at the far edge of a day's drive.

Both are family resorts, and Branson is a little more fully built for children. A big Ozarks-themed park with roller coasters, water parks, a paddlewheel showboat, caves and dinner shows with horses and stunts give children a different outing each day. Most of the stage shows are suitable for children.

Panama City Beach is simpler: a condo with a pool, a shallow warm sea, a marine park with dolphin shows, and the calm lagoon at St. Andrews for first snorkels. Avoid March there, and in Branson expect heavy heat in July and August.

You will need a hire car in both. Branson's theatres and hotels are spread over several hilly kilometres of Highway 76. Locals avoid the evening traffic on the colour-coded back roads, and only the lakefront shopping district and the old downtown are easy to walk.

Panama City Beach stretches in a single long line along the Gulf, and its trolley-bus is too slow and infrequent to rely on. Once you have parked, though, walking along the sand between beach accesses is a pleasure.

Hand-blown glass and quilts against shark-mouthed beachwear warehouses sums up the difference. Branson's most distinctive buys are Ozark crafts, including glass, pottery, quilts and ironwork, often made in front of you. Beyond those there are the chain stores of Branson Landing and the outlet malls on the strip.

Panama City Beach has Pier Park's chain stores, the souvenir and swimwear warehouses along the strip, and surf shops. For anything more individual you have to drive west to the boutiques in the 30A towns.

Overall costs are similar, but they come from different places. In Branson, rooms in motels, condos and lake cabins are cheap, and the spending comes from show tickets, theme park entry and boat hire, though show-and-hotel packages can bring the total down.

In Panama City Beach the season decides the bill. A condo with a kitchen keeps meals in check, and winter stays are especially cheap, but beachfront weeks in peak summer are expensive.

This is Branson's great strength and the clearest difference between the two. Dozens of theatres run country and bluegrass family acts, gospel quartets, tribute shows, magicians and large biblical productions with live animals, and the Christmas season is as busy as summer. The range is narrow, though, with no opera or serious drama.

Panama City Beach offers cover bands and acoustic sets on restaurant decks. Beyond that there is a modest season of touring shows at the restored historic theatre across the bay in Panama City.

Peace and quiet in both comes from picking the right base, since neither town has a bathing tradition to fall back on. In Branson that means staying on Table Rock Lake, in a lodge resort with a full spa or a cabin on a wooded cove, well away from the neon of the strip.

In Panama City Beach it means choosing your season. From autumn to spring the beach empties and long sunset walks set the pace, while summer brings crowds and noise.