Cape Cod or The Hamptons?

Both are beach destinations first, and the sand is equally good. What differs is the shape. On the Cape you get four kinds of water in one stay: surf below the dune cliffs of the outer National Seashore, warmer and gentler sound beaches at Falmouth and Harwich, the calm bay and its low-tide flats near Brewster, and freshwater kettle ponds in the Wellfleet woods.

The Hamptons have one long, unbroken run of wide ocean sand from Westhampton to Montauk, with surf and rip currents. There are also shallow bay beaches on the Peconic side and Ditch Plains for surfers. The catch is that many town beaches need a parking permit, so staying close enough to cycle there matters even more than it does on the Cape.

Both eat from the same coast, with oysters, clams and lobster rolls at the heart of it, and both scale back after autumn. The difference is in style. On the Cape the food is at its best at counter-service clam shacks with picnic tables, and Provincetown's Portuguese-influenced kitchens offer the widest choice. The Hamptons lean towards polished dining rooms in East Hampton, Southampton and Sag Harbor, with little casual eating in between.

The Hamptons do have the edge on wine, with South Fork vineyards close by and the North Fork a ferry ride away. They also do a better gourmet-deli picnic. The Cape's pleasures are simpler and cheaper: a basket of fried clams and a bowl of chowder.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, and both spread their heritage thinly across their villages. On the Cape it is best seen from the car: the Old King's Highway runs past sea captains' houses and white churches, and the Pilgrim Monument, the lighthouses and Marconi's wireless site make stops between beaches.

The Hamptons tell their art story in fewer places. The Pollock-Krasner House in Springs, the Parrish Art Museum and Guild Hall are all close together, and Sag Harbor has well-preserved whaling streets. Provincetown's artists' colony is the Cape's answer, but in the Hamptons the painters' history fits more easily into one afternoon.

For a night out, the Cape is the better bet, and almost all of that is down to Provincetown. Its summer scene is open to anyone who turns up, with a strong gay character, a theatrical streak, and evenings that start in the afternoon and go on later than anywhere else on the Cape. For a more ordinary night, Hyannis has a handful of harbour-side bars and clubs. Most other villages are quiet by the time dinner is over.

In the Hamptons the best of the night is harder to reach. The famous parties happen behind private gates, and the clubs around Southampton and Bridgehampton decide at the door who gets in, then charge heavily for a table. Montauk is the closest match to Hyannis, with a younger, beach-bar crowd that is louder and stays out later. Getting home usually means a taxi on dark country roads. In both places the going out is limited to high summer.

The Cape has more to get out for. Whale-watching boats from Provincetown to Stellwagen Bank reliably find humpbacks, and grey seals gather in large numbers off Chatham and Monomoy. The National Seashore protects dunes, cliffs, marshes and pond woods across most of the outer Cape, and long, easy rail trails run through it.

The outdoors in the Hamptons is gentler and offers less. The best of it is the bluff trails at Montauk Point and the Walking Dunes, woodland walks in Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island, and paddling on the sheltered bays. Montauk's sport fishing and the surf at Ditch Plains are what set it apart.

Day trips are one of the clearest differences between the two. From the Cape, fast ferries reach both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and Plymouth and New Bedford's whaling museum are just across the canal. Boston is reachable by road or, in summer, by sea from Provincetown.

From the Hamptons, the main outing is the North Fork vineyards and Greenport, via the small Shelter Island ferries. In summer a boat from Montauk goes to Block Island, but beyond that there is little. With the traffic, New York is too far away for a day out.

Both suit a summer of beach days with children, but the Cape makes it easier. Its bay beaches near Brewster and Dennis have shallow water and wide flats for crab hunting, the sound beaches are warm for young swimmers, and ponds, whale-watching boats and the Woods Hole aquarium fill the other days.

The Hamptons have calm Peconic bay beaches, ocean beaches with lifeguards, pick-your-own farms and the climb up Montauk Point Lighthouse. Still, there are fewer outings and more hours in slow traffic. The main attraction built for children, the aquarium at Riverhead, is outside the region.

You will want a car in either, and both have jammed roads on summer weekends. The Cape is the slightly easier of the two. Ferries from Boston to Provincetown and from Hyannis and Woods Hole to the islands make a car-free stay possible if you pick your base well, and Provincetown and the villages along the rail trail work well by bike.

In the Hamptons everything depends on one road, Montauk Highway, where a short trip can take an hour. Taxis are scarce, and beach permits make parking harder. A bicycle on the flat back lanes is the best way around the traffic.

The Hamptons are the better place to shop. East Hampton's Main Street and Newtown Lane and Southampton's Jobs Lane have seasonal branches of high-end labels and resortwear shops. The interiors shops and antiques dealers around Bridgehampton and Water Mill are a real draw for anyone furnishing a home.

Cape shopping is more modest: galleries in Provincetown and Wellfleet, antiques along the bay-shore road, and bookshops in Chatham and Falmouth. Souvenirs run to pottery, beach-plum jam and cranberry products, and there is no luxury shopping.

Neither is cheap in summer, but the Hamptons cost far more. Rented houses there cost more than New York hotels, there is almost no cheap lodging, and even a deli sandwich is priced for the very wealthy.

The Cape is expensive too, with weekly rentals and ferry and parking costs that add up. Still, plainer motels around Hyannis and Yarmouth and clam-shack meals make it workable on a middle-income budget. In both, a June or September visit lowers the bill.

The Cape has more going on in summer. The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, one of the country's oldest summer theatres, heads a group of repertory companies across the lower Cape. Provincetown fills its stages every night with drag, cabaret and comedy, and the Cape Cod Symphony plays beyond the summer.

The Hamptons have fewer venues but a careful programme. Guild Hall and Bay Street Theater put on plays, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival plays in local churches, and a film festival comes in autumn. Expect one good evening out rather than a choice every night.

Both relax you through their slow pace more than through spas: a rented cottage or house, empty sand early in the morning and quiet Septembers. The Hamptons are the more polished of the two, with resort spas in Montauk and Southampton that have seawater pools, and yoga in every village in summer. Calm on the Cape is simpler, a shingled cottage in Truro or Brewster and an evening on the porch.

Midsummer crowds disturb the peace in both. In the Hamptons the social calendar adds a pressure the Cape lacks, while on the Cape September and early October are the most restful time.