Cape May or St. Augustine?

These two are evenly matched for a beach trip, but the experience differs. Cape May's sand runs right along the edge of town, so you walk from your guesthouse to the lifeguarded beach in minutes, and the bay side adds pebble-hunting for Cape May diamonds. Its swimming season, though, lasts barely three months.

St. Augustine's beaches lie across the Bridge of Lions on Anastasia Island, a short drive from the old town. They are wide and flat, with dunes at the state park and quieter stretches at Crescent Beach. The water stays warmer for much longer, though it is usually greener and murkier than the cooler Jersey Atlantic.

Both are small seafood towns with a few better dining rooms, and neither is worth travelling to just for the food. Cape May's strength is its working fishing harbour: scallops, flounder and local oysters, plus long porch breakfasts in Victorian houses. Many kitchens shorten their hours in winter.

St. Augustine has a flavour of its own, thanks to its Minorcan settlers. The fiery datil pepper turns up in hot sauces, pilau and a spicy clam chowder. Steer away from the tourist-facing places on St. George Street and towards the chef-led restaurants around San Marco.

Cape May is a Victorian town through and through. Gingerbread-trimmed cottages, painted-lady guesthouses and porched hotels line its shady grid, and the whole district is a National Historic Landmark, best seen on a walking or trolley tour. Add the Physick Estate and the lighthouse climb, and you have seen most of it.

St. Augustine is older, and its history is Spanish colonial. The coquina star fort, the old city gate and the balconied lanes of the Spanish quarter make up one layer. Flagler's extravagant Gilded Age hotels, with their Tiffany glass, form a second. Fort Matanzas and the Cathedral Basilica add more, so a sightseer will stay busy much longer here.

Neither town is built for late nights, but St. Augustine has more going on. Its courtyard bars and taverns around St. George Street and the bayfront draw a lively weekend crowd, and Flagler College students fill them in term time.

Cape May's evenings are quieter still. A few pubs and hotel bars around the pedestrian mall host families and wedding parties, and the town is mostly asleep by midnight. For anything louder, you drive to the Wildwoods.

Cape May's position at the tip of a peninsula makes it the stronger outdoor destination. Autumn migration pours raptors, songbirds and monarch butterflies through the Point and Higbee Beach, and birders come from far away to see it. Dolphin boats are close to a sure thing in summer, and whale trips run in the cooler months.

St. Augustine's coastline is low marsh, dune and hammock forest, with good kayaking among dolphins and ospreys and long walks in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve. Its humid summers are harder going, though, so the best months for being outside run from late autumn to spring.

St. Augustine has slightly more big-name outings within reach, although each one means a drive. Jacksonville is under an hour away, and Kennedy Space Center and the Orlando parks make long but popular days out.

Cape May's best outing is the bay crossing to colonial Lewes in Delaware, which feels like an excursion in its own right. The Wildwoods and Atlantic City are close by, but Philadelphia is a tiring round trip.

Cape May suits young children a little better. Its lifeguarded beaches sit right by town, the streets are slow and safe for surrey rides, and crabbing, dolphin boats and a free county zoo fill the gaps. One catch is that some historic-district B&Bs don't accept small children.

In St. Augustine, the Alligator Farm and the cannon firings at the fort make strong attractions, and pirate museums keep older children interested. The summer heat and the drive to the beach make each day a bit more work.

Getting there is car-dependent for both towns, but Cape May is easier once you arrive. The historic district, the beach promenade and the Washington Street Mall are all a flat stroll apart, and a bike handles nearly everything else.

St. Augustine's old town is just as walkable, and trolleys loop round the sights. The beaches and the lighthouse are across the water, however, and the local buses are of little use to visitors, so most people end up driving every day.

Shopping is a pastime in both towns rather than a reason to go. Cape May's pedestrian mall leans towards bookshops, homeware and boutiques. St. Augustine has more range: the galleries and antique dealers on Aviles Street, bottles of datil-pepper sauce to take home and an outlet mall by the interstate for mainstream brands.

St. Augustine is the gentler of the two on your wallet. Chain motels on the island and by the highway, along with midweek stays, keep costs manageable, and its public beaches charge no entry.

Cape May at peak season is one of the dearer resorts on the coast. Minimum stays at the B&Bs, big-city dinner bills, seasonal beach tags and paid parking all add up. Many budget travellers stay in the Wildwoods and visit for the day.

St. Augustine offers a bit more, and it is mostly music. Touring rock, country and folk acts play the open-air amphitheatre in the woods for much of the year, and cover bands perform on old-town patios most nights.

Cape May leans towards the stage and the recital hall instead. There is a professional theatre season in a converted church, a company devoted to historic American drama and a long-running chamber music festival in late spring. Outside summer, the programme shrinks to a few weekend shows.

Neither town has bathhouses or much in the way of spas, and both slow you down mainly through their pace. Cape May has a slight edge for rest, with rocking chairs on deep porches, parlour teas and bay sunsets, especially in its calm spring and autumn. St. Augustine offers courtyard gardens and evening strolls along the seawall, but its sticky summers and busy long weekends make it feel gentle rather than restorative.