Byron Bay or Noosa?

These are two of the finest beach towns on the east coast, and both have north-facing bays, which are rare on this shoreline. The difference is in the water. Byron Bay's sand runs from Clarkes and Main Beach to The Pass and Wategos and on to the long empty arcs of Tallow and Belongil. Most of it is open surf with strong rips, so swimming means staying between the flags.

Noosa's Main Beach is sheltered by the headland and its waves are small, which makes it the easier place for a relaxed swim. The shallows at the river mouth add calm water for small children. Noosa's wilder surf beaches lie to the south at Sunshine, Marcus and Peregian.

Neither town has a cuisine of its own, and both are at their best over a long breakfast. Byron Bay's food comes from cafés and hinterland produce: macadamias, avocados and grass-fed beef, sold at farmers' markets and cooked in plenty of plant-based kitchens. Bangalow adds a few ambitious restaurants nearby.

Noosa's strength is seafood by the water. Moreton Bay bugs, prawns and reef fish are served on Hastings Street and the Noosaville riverfront, eaten slowly at sunset with Australian wine. Byron suits someone who likes to graze and eat healthily. Noosa suits someone who wants a long waterfront dinner.

Culture is not a reason to visit either town. Byron Bay has the Cape Byron lighthouse at the most easterly point of mainland Australia, and the Arakwal Bumberlin connection to the cape, which visitors mostly meet on guided walks. Noosa has even less: a small regional gallery on the river at Tewantin. From either town, the nearest real museums are a long drive away in Brisbane.

Byron Bay has the livelier evenings by some way. Big pubs and beer gardens near Main Beach, cocktail bars and a couple of late venues fill with backpackers and young travellers, especially on summer weekends. Even so, most nights wind down soon after midnight.

Noosa is a town for dinner and a drink. There are wine bars on Hastings Street, the surf club deck over the beach and a few pubs at Noosa Junction, and most of the town is asleep well before midnight. That suits couples and families who want to sleep, but there are no clubs.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, and the difference is in what lies close by. Byron Bay's best is offshore and inland. Julian Rocks has diving with turtles, rays and grey nurse sharks, and the old volcanic caldera behind the town holds the rainforest of Nightcap and the walk to Minyon Falls.

Noosa's national park starts at the end of Hastings Street, with koalas in the trees above the coastal track and well-known point breaks below. North of the river, the Everglades are quiet tea-tree channels for paddling, and the Cooloola sand coast runs on to the coloured cliffs of Rainbow Beach. Both towns have humpback whales passing in winter.

Both towns rely on their hinterlands, and Brisbane is about two hours from each, so the choice comes down to character. From Byron Bay you can visit Bangalow's heritage main street, easygoing Mullumbimby, Nimbin with its 1970s counterculture and the regional gallery at Murwillumbah. The Gold Coast's theme parks are about an hour away.

Noosa's outings are gentler: the big craft market at Eumundi, the galleries and tea rooms of Montville and Maleny with views of the Glass House Mountains, and the harbour at Mooloolaba. K'gari is a trip for landscape rather than towns. Both need a car.

Noosa is the easier choice with children. Its sheltered, patrolled Main Beach and the calm shallows at Noosaville mean less worry in the water. Hired boats and paddleboards on the river fill the afternoons, and Australia Zoo is about an hour's drive.

Byron Bay also works well for beach days, with gentler water at The Pass and Wategos, rock pools and the easy lighthouse walk. Much of its coast is surf with strong rips, though, and the backpacker crowd makes parts of the centre loud at night.

Getting around is much the same in both: a compact core you can walk and a car for everything beyond it. Byron Bay's centre is small and flat. Bicycles suit its coastal paths, but the climb to the lighthouse is steep and there is no train.

Noosa has a little more help on the ground. A boardwalk links Hastings Street, Main Beach and the national park, local buses reach Noosaville and Sunshine Beach, and a slow river ferry runs between the waterfront areas.

Byron Bay is the better place to shop, mostly because it has a style of its own. Local labels sell loose linen, surfwear and bohemian resort fashion, makers and designers work at the Arts and Industry Estate, and regular artisan markets sell handmade goods.

Noosa's Hastings Street offers similar resort wear and homewares along a shorter strip, and its best find is out of town at the long-running Eumundi market. Neither has department stores or luxury shopping.

Both are expensive places to stay, priced as premium resorts. Rates climb sharply over summer and the school vacations, when minimum stays are common. In Byron Bay, festival weekends push prices up further, and hostels and campsites are the main way for backpackers to keep costs down.

In Noosa, the usual saving is a self-catering apartment in Noosaville or Sunshine Beach, away from Hastings Street. In both towns the beaches and coastal walks cost nothing.

Byron Bay has more live music. Local songwriters and touring folk, roots and surf-rock acts play the pubs and beer gardens, buskers work the main streets in warmer months, and the long-running writers' festival brings readings to town each year.

In Noosa, live music usually means an acoustic set in a bar or at the surf club, plus touring shows at the small community theatre in Noosa Junction and the short Noosa Alive festival. For opera, orchestras or big musicals, visitors from either town go to Brisbane.

Byron Bay is the stronger wellness destination, and wellness is part of how the town sees itself. Yoga studios teach several classes a day, sound healing, breathwork and alternative therapies are everywhere, and residential retreats sit in the green hinterland hills. The best of these are costly, and the quiet winter months are the most restful.

Noosa offers simpler rest: a slow pace, resort and day spas around Hastings Street and Noosaville, and health retreats in the hinterland with fitness and massage programmes. Neither town has hot springs or a bathing tradition.