Branson or Wisconsin Dells?

Neither place has the sea, and both offer a summer lake season of roughly June to early September. Branson's Table Rock Lake is warmer, close to 27°C at its height, and much of the swimming happens from rented pontoons in wooded coves or at small beaches of brought-in sand.

The Dells has the more natural beach setting at Devil's Lake, with sandy shores at both ends beneath quartzite bluffs, though the water is cooler and the beaches get crowded at weekends. Most visitors there swim in the waterparks anyway.

Both towns eat for fuel rather than pleasure, and the difference is regional. Branson runs on Ozark comfort food: fried chicken, catfish, barbecue, buffets sized for coach parties and set meals at dinner theatres, with trout from the cold lake as a highlight.

The Dells has more local character on the plate. Wisconsin supper clubs with relish trays and brandy old fashioneds, the Friday fish fry and squeaky cheese curds give it rituals of its own, and local breweries add a little interest for adults.

Branson has a little more to show for itself, mainly through living folk culture. Its 1880s-themed park has blacksmiths, glassblowers and woodworkers at work, and the Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks has a wide, eclectic collection.

The Dells offers one worthwhile historic stop, the H.H. Bennett Studio, which tells how photographs of the gorges created the tourist trade. Beyond that its Broadway is upside-down houses and oddity museums. Anyone who wants real history from either base will have to drive for it.

The Dells gives adults slightly more to do after dark. Taverns and sports bars around Broadway and Lake Delton, brewery taprooms, supper-club bars and a late-opening tribal casino near Baraboo make an evening drink easy enough, and Madison is within reach for a proper night out.

In Branson the theatre is the evening. Once the shows finish, the families and older couples head back to their rooms, leaving a few brewpubs by the lakefront and some hotel lounges.

The outdoors are about equally strong, but the landscapes differ. Branson sits among the forested ridges, limestone bluffs and caves of the Ozarks, with boating and bass fishing on Table Rock Lake, trout below the dam, walking in Hercules Glades and the Buffalo National River two hours south.

The Dells is built around rock: sandstone canyons along the Wisconsin River, best seen by boat or kayak, and the quartzite bluffs of Devil's Lake, which have some of the Midwest's best climbing. Its winters add cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, while Branson's hot summers push walks into the early morning.

The Dells has the stronger list of days out, led by Madison an hour away, with its domed Capitol between two lakes and its university campus. Taliesin and the House on the Rock at Spring Green, Circus World in Baraboo and the International Crane Foundation make a varied week.

Branson's best outings are Victorian Eureka Springs and the Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville, both very good, but after those the options thin out into smaller sites like the Laura Ingalls Wilder home. Both need a car for everything.

Both towns are built for children, but the Dells goes further. Its indoor waterpark resorts stay open through the winter, many hotels have their own slides, and attractions are only minutes apart by car, which makes life easy with toddlers.

Branson's family appeal is broader in type: a theme park with roller coasters and craft workshops, a paddlewheel showboat, caves, zip lines and dinner shows with horses and stunts. That variety may suit older children better, though the summer heat and the strip traffic wear on everyone.

In both places you will drive everywhere, and neither has public transport of use to a visitor. The difference is scale. Branson's theatres and hotels stretch over several hilly kilometres of Highway 76, where traffic crawls on show nights, and most people fly into Springfield and hire a car.

The Dells is more compact, with most journeys a few minutes long, though the roads are unpleasant to walk. Most visitors arrive by car from Chicago, Milwaukee or the Twin Cities rather than flying.

Branson is the better place to shop, mostly because of its Ozark crafts: hand-blown glass, pottery, quilts and ironwork, often made while you watch. Branson Landing on the Lake Taneycomo shore and the outlet malls cover mainstream brands.

The Dells offers a single outlet centre that is handy on a wet afternoon, plus a long run of near-identical T-shirt, taffy and cheese shops on Broadway. The cheese is the only thing worth taking home.

Branson is the easier place to keep costs down. A huge supply of motels, condos and lake cabins keeps rooms cheap outside summer and Christmas weekends, buffets keep meals modest, and show-and-hotel bundles soften the cost of tickets.

The Dells costs more for a family in peak season, when the big waterpark resorts fill and ride and resort extras pile up. Off-peak motels are moderate, though, and the free state parks help balance the bill. In both towns the hire car and paid attractions are the real expense.

This is the widest gap between the two. Branson exists for live performance, with dozens of theatres staging country, bluegrass, gospel, tribute acts, magic and huge biblical productions with live animals, all through the day and for most of the year. The range is narrow and wholesome, but the musicianship is often high.

The Dells has magic and dinner shows and one theatre in Lake Delton for touring acts. Anyone who cares about the stage there drives an hour to Spring Green's outdoor classical theatre or to Madison.

Neither is a place to unwind, and in both calm depends on where you stay. Branson's best answer is a lodge resort or cove cabin on Table Rock Lake, well away from the neon of the strip.

The Dells has resort spas and a long-established adults-only spa retreat in the woods, which gives parents a proper break. Its quietest moments come early on the river or in the empty off-season.