Capri or Hvar?

Neither island has sand to speak of, and both draw swimmers with very clear water that reaches about 25°C in August. On Capri the swimming is spectacular but cramped. You go in from small pebble coves at the marinas, from ladders off rock platforms run by bathing clubs, off the rocks at Punta Carena, or from a boat under the Faraglioni.

Hvar simply has much more coastline to swim from. Taxi boats run to the pine-backed bays of the Pakleni Islands, quieter coves line the south coast, and the north side around Jelsa and Vrboska has calm, shallow water where you can wade in gently, which Capri rarely allows.

Capri's cooking is a short list of island classics: insalata caprese, ravioli capresi, torta caprese and lemons in everything. Around the Piazzetta and the marinas, much of the cooking is priced for the view, and the better meals are in family trattorias in Anacapri.

Hvar has more to explore. You find lamb and octopus cooked under the peka bell and gregada stew, and the konobas in Velo Grablje, Brusje and Pitve cook from their own land. The island also makes wine worth seeking out, with Plavac Mali from the southern slopes and Bogdanjuša from the plain behind Stari Grad poured in family cellars.

The two are much alike here, each with a handful of good sites rather than a dense historic town, and two or three days covers either. Capri's sights are spread across its landscape: Tiberius's Villa Jovis on its headland, Villa San Michele in Anacapri, the Certosa and the Gardens of Augustus.

Hvar's heritage lies in its towns. Hvar Town has a Venetian square and cathedral, the 1612 theatre above the Arsenal and the Fortica fortress. Stari Grad was founded by the Greeks, and on its UNESCO-listed plain the fields still follow the boundaries the settlers laid out.

This is where the islands differ most. A night out on Capri is the Piazzetta after the last ferry has gone: dressed-up aperitivo, then piano bars and Neapolitan songs into the small hours. It is glamorous, but there are no clubs, and two nights is about as far as it goes.

In July and August, Hvar Town is a full party destination. The evening starts with sundowners on the harbour, moves to cocktail bars up the stepped lanes and ends at beach clubs on the Pakleni Islands that run from day into night, with taxi boats carrying people back and forth. If you want quiet nights, stay in Stari Grad or the villages.

Capri packs more drama into a small space. The Faraglioni, the Arco Naturale and cliffs hundreds of metres high sit alongside the chairlift up Monte Solaro and the Sentiero dei Fortini along the wild western coast. A boat trip round the island adds the sea caves.

Hvar is gentler and bigger: a long limestone ridge with a walk up Sveti Nikola, abandoned stone villages, dry-stone terraces and lavender fields around Velo Grablje. Its best outdoor days are on the water, kayaking and sailing among the Pakleni Islands, or cycling its quiet roads in spring and autumn. Summer heat limits walking to the early morning.

Both islands depend on boats, but the Bay of Naples gives Capri the bigger names. Naples is less than an hour away, Sorrento is closer still, and in season boats run to Positano, Amalfi and Ischia. Pompeii or Herculaneum make a long but possible day out via Sorrento.

From Hvar, Split and Diocletian's Palace are about an hour away by catamaran, and walled Korčula, Vis and Brač are also within reach. Stari Grad, Jelsa and Vrboska make easy outings from one another too. These are pleasant trips but lighter ones, and there are fewer of them outside summer.

Capri is hard work with small children. Swimming means rocks and ladders into deep water, the lanes are mostly steps, and the buses are packed in summer. It suits older children who swim well and will enjoy the Blue Grotto, snorkelling and the Monte Solaro chairlift.

Hvar copes much better, although neither island has anything built for children. Stay in Jelsa, Stari Grad or Vrboska for shallow bays, some fine gravel and evening promenades, and avoid Hvar Town, which is steep, crowded and loud at night.

Capri is compact enough to manage without a car. A funicular climbs from Marina Grande, small orange buses link the marinas with Anacapri, open-topped taxis fill the gaps, and much of the centre is pedestrian. The difficulties are the steep walking and the summer queues, and staying overnight eases both.

Hvar is long and spread out. Each town is walkable, but the buses along the island are infrequent, so the south coast, the hill villages and the eastern end really call for a car or scooter. The roads are narrow and include a single-lane tunnel. Taxi boats take you to the Pakleni Islands.

For somewhere so small, Capri is a real place to shop. Via Camerelle and Via Vittorio Emanuele are lined with luxury boutiques, and you can also buy sandals made to measure by hand, perfumes made on the island, ceramics and linen.

On Hvar, shopping mostly means what the island produces: lavender oil, olive oil, honey, wine from the cellar and lace made by the Benedictine nuns. Hvar Town adds a few resort boutiques. It is good for souvenirs but has little for browsing.

The gap shows most in the cost of a bed. Capri has few rooms and plenty of people wanting them, so a summer night there costs about as much as anywhere on the Mediterranean. Its pleasures carry the same premium, from a sunbed at a bathing club to a drink on the Piazzetta or a boat of your own. What stays modest is getting about by bus and funicular, walking the cliff paths, and a plain lunch at a bakery or trattoria in Anacapri.

Hvar costs noticeably less, but only once you leave Hvar Town, where harbour rooms and beach-club loungers in midsummer are just as steep. In Jelsa, Stari Grad or Vrboska, a family-run apartment, dinner at a konoba in the hill villages and wine bought from the grower bring the bill down a good deal. When you go matters as well: June and September cost far less than July and August, which stay dear even in the quieter towns.

Neither island has a theatre season, so on both live music is a summer extra. Capri has occasional concerts at the Certosa or Villa San Michele and Neapolitan song in the piano taverns, and opera means the boat to Naples.

Hvar has a little more. There are classical and chamber evenings in churches and the Franciscan cloister, and klapa singers sometimes perform at village feasts.

The two are level here. Neither has thermal springs, and on both you rely on hotel spas and a slower pace. On Capri the calm depends on the time of day: early morning and evening, once the day-trippers have gone, are best enjoyed from Anacapri. Ischia's thermal baths are across the bay.

On Hvar the calm depends more on where you stay: Vrboska, Stari Grad and the hill villages, with seasonal yoga and massage on offer. In June and September the whole island slows down.