Canary Islands or Madeira?

This is the widest gap between the two. The Canaries offer genuine sandy beaches: the white dunes of Corralejo, the lagoon at Sotavento, the sheltered Papagayo coves and the golden sweep below the Maspalomas dunes, plus Las Canteras as a reef-protected city beach in Las Palmas. Tenerife's south is more about small resort beaches of dark sand.

Madeira rises straight out of deep water, so swimming means Funchal's lidos, sea ladders and the volcanic rock pools at Porto Moniz, and its two sandy beaches use imported sand. The sea is no warmer there. For a proper beach you need Porto Santo's long golden strand, which works best as a separate stay of a few nights.

The two eat equally well, and both have simple island cooking with a good wine story. The Canaries offer wrinkled potatoes with mojo, goat stews, Majorero cheese and wines grown in black ash at La Geria. The good cooking is spread out, though, in villages, Las Palmas, La Laguna and the autumn guachinches of northern Tenerife, while the southern resorts serve generic menus.

Madeira's table is more concentrated. Funchal has the best range, from grill houses serving espetada on bay-wood skewers to a small fine-dining tier. It also has the Mercado dos Lavradores and the historic lodges where you can taste old Madeira wine. A glass of poncha at a village bar is a ritual the Canaries have no equivalent for.

The Canaries have more to see, though it is spread over several islands. La Laguna's UNESCO-listed colonial grid, Vegueta and the Casa de Colón in Las Palmas, and the Cueva Pintada's pre-Hispanic paintings give real depth. César Manrique's lava-tube buildings on Lanzarote are unlike anything on Madeira.

Madeira's heritage sits almost entirely in Funchal: the Sé's cedar ceiling, the merchant collections at Quinta das Cruzes and the wine lodges. Add Santana's thatched houses and most visitors have covered it in a day or two.

If going out matters, the Canaries win easily. Playa de las Américas and Playa del Inglés keep bars and clubs open until dawn all year, Playa del Inglés has one of Europe's biggest gay scenes, and carnival in Santa Cruz and Las Palmas means weeks of all-night street parties. La Laguna's student bars add something more local.

Madeira's evenings are shorter and quieter. They centre on the Zona Velha in Funchal, with its painted doors and small poncha bars, which get lively at weekends. Beyond a few seafront lounges, most nights end over dinner.

Both are outstanding, but in different ways. Madeira is a walker's island first. The levadas run level through the UNESCO-listed laurel forest to waterfalls like Caldeirão Verde, and the ridge path from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo often runs above the clouds, all within reach of one base.

The Canaries offer more variety across more islands. There is Teide's caldera, the forests of Anaga and Garajonay, Timanfaya's lava fields and some of Europe's clearest night skies, while Fuerteventura's wind and swell draw surfers and kitesurfers. Seeing more than one island takes ferries or flights.

The Canaries give more scope because the islands themselves are the day trips. Short ferries go from southern Tenerife to La Gomera's terraced valleys and from Lanzarote to Corralejo or the sandy lanes of La Graciosa. A fast boat even makes Las Palmas possible in a day from Tenerife.

On Madeira, days out are mostly a loop of the island taking in small places like Câmara de Lobos, Santana and Porto Moniz. Porto Santo is the only real excursion elsewhere, and the ferry makes that a long day.

The Canaries are much easier with children. Resorts come with pools, apartments and kids' clubs, there is calm sandy water at Sotavento, Playa Blanca and southern Gran Canaria, and Tenerife and Gran Canaria have large zoos, an aquarium and water parks.

Madeira suits a calmer family trip. Children love the toboggan ride down from Monte, the dolphin boats and the Porto Moniz aquarium. But there is little sand, there are no theme parks, and Funchal's hills are hard work with a pushchair.

On both, most people hire a car, and on both the mountain roads are slow, steep and full of hairpins. The difference is scale. On Madeira, a fast tunnelled road brings most of the island within an hour of Funchal, though the town itself climbs steeply once you leave the harbour.

The Canaries have quicker coastal motorways, a tram between Santa Cruz and La Laguna, and easy driving on flat Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Every move to another island, though, means a ferry or a flight.

The Canaries have more to offer, mainly in Las Palmas, where Triana and Mesa y López have department stores. The lower sales tax makes perfume and spirits a common purchase, and Teguise's Sunday market is good for crafts.

Madeira's shopping is almost entirely what the island makes: hand embroidery on linen, Camacha wickerwork and bottles from the Funchal wine lodges, with little fashion beyond the everyday.

Overall costs are about the same, but they come from different places. In the Canaries, the lower sales tax keeps drinks and fuel cheap and car hire costs little. The smaller islands and northern towns are cheaper still, while Costa Adeje and Meloneras are priced like the Mediterranean.

On Madeira, the trails are free and the grill houses and poncha are good value. The extra costs are car hire and guided activities such as canyoning or boat trips, along with clifftop resort hotels.

The Canaries have far more for a music lover. The Auditorio de Tenerife is home to a symphony orchestra, and in Las Palmas the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium and the Pérez Galdós theatre stage the Philharmonic and a long-running opera season. A winter music festival brings visiting orchestras.

Madeira's offer is smaller and more local. There are concerts at the Teatro Baltazar Dias, fado evenings in the old town and bailinho dancers at village feasts and the spring Flower Festival.

Neither has hot springs, so relaxation comes from the climate and the hotels on both. The Canaries have big resort spas with seawater thalassotherapy in southern Tenerife and Gran Canaria. For real quiet, La Gomera and El Hierro host yoga and walking retreats.

Madeira has been a place to winter and recover since the 19th century, and it feels more unhurried throughout. You can stay in an old quinta set in gardens, wander the botanical gardens or spend an afternoon on a terrace above the Atlantic.