Cape May or Stowe?

Cape May is a real beach town. Sand runs the length of the oceanfront below the promenade, with lifeguards, gentle surf and sea warm enough in August for long swims. The quieter strands at Cape May Point and the hunt for "diamonds" at Sunset Beach add variety.

Stowe has nothing like it. Swimming there means rocky stream pools or the small, unguarded lake beaches at Waterbury Reservoir and Lake Elmore, about half an hour's drive away, and most people treat it as a cool-off after a hike.

The two eat about equally well for small towns, but they lean on different things. Cape May's strength is its fishing fleet: scallops, flounder and oysters fresh off the boats, served in dockside shacks and Victorian dining rooms, with porch breakfasts a pleasure of their own.

Stowe's table is Vermont's farmland and breweries, with sought-after hazy IPAs, farm cheddar, maple syrup and cider doughnuts, plus après-ski pub food along Mountain Road. Both towns have a slow season when kitchens cut back or close.

Cape May has more to show you, because the whole town is the exhibit. Its streets of gingerbread cottages form a National Historic Landmark district, and the Physick Estate house museum, the trolley tours and the climb up the lighthouse fill a day or two.

Stowe's cultural side fits into an afternoon: a pretty steepled village, covered bridges, the ski museum and the von Trapp connection. Neither is a museum destination, but Cape May's architecture gives you more to walk through.

Both towns are quiet after dark, but the peak evenings fall in different seasons. Cape May's summer nights mean pubs and hotel bars around the mall, often with a cover band, full of families and wedding parties, and the town is mostly asleep by midnight.

Stowe comes alive in winter, with base-lodge après-ski and brewery taprooms after the lifts close. For anything louder, the Wildwoods are a short hop from Cape May, while Stowe's night owls have to drive to Burlington.

Stowe has the bigger landscape. Mount Mansfield rises above the valley with skiing on its slopes, and there is the Long Trail, the rocky pass of Smugglers' Notch, waterfalls and mountain-bike trails, then the foliage that turns the valley red in October.

Cape May's nature is flat but special in its own way. It sits at the meeting of ocean and bay on one of the continent's great migration routes, so the hawks and monarchs at Higbee Beach, summer dolphin boats and kayaking in the back-bay marshes are the attractions. Birders may prefer it, but hikers and skiers will choose Stowe.

The outings are about equal in number but different in feel. From Cape May, the ferry across Delaware Bay to colonial Lewes is the best day out, and the Wildwoods' boardwalk, Atlantic City and, at a stretch, Philadelphia's historic sites give a mix of seaside fun and big-city history.

Stowe's day trips are quieter and more rural. There is lakeside Burlington, the folk-art village of the Shelburne Museum, Montpelier's gold-domed statehouse and the ice-cream and cider stops in Waterbury, with Woodstock further south.

Cape May is easier with young children. You get lifeguarded sand, safe, slow streets, surrey bikes on the promenade, crabbing, dolphin boats and a free county zoo nearby, plus the Wildwoods' amusement piers when they want rides. The one catch is that some historic-district B&Bs turn away small children.

Stowe suits older, active families better, with a large ski school, gentle beginner slopes and the family resort over Smugglers' Notch. In summer there are sugarhouses and the riverside path to keep children busy. Every outing needs the car, though, and there are no zoos or children's museums.

Cape May is far simpler once you arrive. The historic district, the beachfront promenade and the Washington Street Mall are a short, flat walk apart, bikes do the rest, and a summer trolley helps. Parking is the main hassle. Getting there is harder, because the town has no passenger rail and few buses, so most visitors drive down the Garden State Parkway or come over on the ferry from Delaware. The Point, the zoo and the Wildwoods are also easiest by car.

Stowe depends on the car much more. The town runs along an 11km valley road, and you can only leave the car parked in the walkable village, on the riverside path or on the winter shuttle up Mountain Road. Trailheads, swimming holes and neighbouring towns all mean driving. The nearest airport is Burlington, about 45 minutes away, and in winter you need snow tyres and patience on steep, icy roads.

Neither town is a reason to shop, but Cape May gives you more to browse. Its pedestrian mall packs boutiques, bookshops, kitchen stores and taffy counters into three blocks, with antique dealers and galleries in the historic streets, enough for a rainy afternoon.

Stowe's shops are scattered along Mountain Road and are mostly practical or edible: ski and outdoor gear, pottery and wool crafts, and maple syrup and cheddar to take home.

Both are pricey, and both charge the most when the town is at its best. In Cape May that means summer B&B rates with minimum stays, plus beach tags and parking. In Stowe it means the ski weeks over Christmas and New Year, the winter school vacations and the October foliage, when lift tickets and resort dining push costs up further.

Each has its own way to save money. In Cape May you can stay in the cheaper Wildwoods next door or book a rental house for a group. In Stowe, the valley motels and the free trails help. Both towns get much cheaper in the shoulder months.

Cape May has slightly more on stage, mostly theatre. A professional company plays a long season in a converted church, another stages historic American drama, and a long-running chamber music festival fills churches in late spring.

Stowe's programme centres on the performing arts centre at Spruce Peak, a summer community theatre and the outdoor concerts on the von Trapp lawns. Both are pleasant evenings out rather than reasons to travel, and both thin out sharply off-season.

Stowe is the better place for real pampering. Its larger resorts run full spas with saunas, steam rooms and heated outdoor pools you can sit in while snow falls, and couples from the northeastern cities come for exactly that.

Cape May offers a gentler kind of rest: porch rocking chairs, afternoon tea in guesthouse parlours and sunsets over the bay, with a few day spas. Its summer weekends are crowded, so for calm it is best in spring or autumn.