Capri or Sardinia?

On Capri you go to swim more than to lie on a beach. The bathing spots are the small pebble coves at Marina Piccola and Marina Grande and rock platforms with ladders, and the best water is off Punta Carena or from a boat under the Faraglioni. The sea is beautifully clear, but there is hardly any sand to lie on and space is tight.

Sardinia is one of the great beach islands of the Mediterranean, with many different kinds of shore. There are granite coves around La Maddalena, cliff-backed bays on the Gulf of Orosei and long, shallow sand at Chia and Stintino. When the mistral blows on one coast, there is usually a calm one on another.

Capri's own dishes fit on one menu: insalata caprese, ravioli capresi, torta caprese and lemon in everything. Around the Piazzetta most of the cooking is aimed at day-trippers, so the meals worth having are in the trattorias of Anacapri.

Sardinia has a whole cuisine to explore, and it is unlike the rest of Italy. Inland there is suckling pig roasted over myrtle, culurgiones and pecorino. The coast adds bottarga, Alghero lobster and Carloforte tuna, and Cannonau and Vermentino are poured with most meals. Long farm-made menus at the hill agriturismi and Cagliari's San Benedetto market give you a reason to eat your way round the island.

Capri's sights are a few fine sites you can see in a couple of days. They are Tiberius's Villa Jovis on its headland, Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele and the Certosa monastery, set among the whitewashed lanes of two small towns.

Sardinia has an ancient culture you will not find anywhere else. Bronze Age nuraghi stand all over the countryside, led by Su Nuraxi at Barumini, and Cagliari's museum holds the Mont'e Prama stone giants. Phoenician Nora and Tharros, Pisan churches and Alghero's Catalan old town add more. You will need a car and several days to see it properly.

Capri's nightlife takes place in one square. You have aperitivo at the Piazzetta's café tables once the day-trippers have gone, then move on to piano taverns where Neapolitan songs go on late. It is glamorous, but there are no clubs, and the island goes quiet outside the summer.

Sardinia has a little more choice, and what you get depends on where you stay. The Costa Smeralda has proper beach clubs and late nightclubs in July and August. Cagliari has wine bars all year and kiosks along Poetto, and Alghero's ramparts fill on summer evenings. Most of the island's small towns end the evening with dinner and a stroll.

Capri packs dramatic scenery into a small space. There is the chairlift up Monte Solaro, the paths to the Arco Naturale and past the Faraglioni, the Fortini trail along the western cliffs and a boat round the sea caves. All of it is beautiful, and it is all seen within a few days.

Sardinia's outdoors is on a larger, wilder scale. You can walk down the Gorropu gorge, trek the Selvaggio Blu, climb sea cliffs at Cala Gonone and walk the oak forests of the Gennargentu. Off the coast there are diving and sailing in the Maddalena marine park and kitesurfing at Porto Pollo, and flamingos feed in the lagoons.

From Capri, the whole Bay of Naples is within reach by boat. Sorrento is half an hour away, Naples a little under an hour, and in season there are boats to Positano and Amalfi. Pompeii can be managed in a long day. The catch is that rough seas can cancel sailings.

Sardinia's day trips are drives to smaller places, and what you can reach depends on your base. From the north there are Castelsardo, Alghero and Bosa, plus the ferry to Bonifacio in Corsica. From Cagliari there are Carloforte and the Sulcis, and from the east the Barbagia villages. They are pleasant outings, but none of them matches Naples or Pompeii.

Capri suits older children who swim well. They will enjoy the Blue Grotto, snorkelling and the Monte Solaro chairlift. For toddlers the deep-water ladders, steep steps and crowded buses make every day hard work.

Sardinia is an easy choice for a beach vacation with children. There is shallow sandy water at Chia, the Costa Rei and La Pelosa, and the resort villages have pools and kids' clubs. The main things to plan around are the drives and the midday heat in high summer.

On Capri you will not miss a car. The funicular lifts you from the ferry to Capri town, small buses and open taxis link the two towns and the marinas, and most of the centre is on foot. The hard parts are the steep lanes and the summer queues.

In Sardinia a hire car is almost a must. Apart from the fast Cagliari to Sassari road, the coastal and mountain roads are slow. Trains are few, and buses seldom reach the beaches. Flying into whichever of the three airports is nearest your base saves a lot of driving.

Capri has a lot of shopping in a few lanes. Via Camerelle and Via Vittorio Emanuele hold a long run of luxury labels and resort fashion. Alongside them you will find sandals made to order, linen, ceramics and perfumes made on the island.

Sardinia's shopping is mostly crafts, and they are spread across the island. Look for Alghero's red coral, filigree gold, Pattada folding knives, woven rugs and pecorino to take home. Porto Cervo's boutiques echo Capri's, but only in summer.

Capri is expensive across the whole island in every season. Rooms are scarce and the bathing clubs, boat trips and Piazzetta cocktails are all priced for a wealthy crowd. You can save with the cheap buses, the free walks and simple meals in Anacapri.

Sardinia costs much less if you choose where to stay. The Costa Smeralda in August is as costly as Capri. Cagliari, Alghero, Ogliastra and the inland villages are moderately priced for Italy, and agriturismo meals are generous. June and September cut the cost of rooms and car hire noticeably.

Capri has hardly any performing arts. There are occasional summer concerts in the Certosa cloisters or at Villa San Michele, and Neapolitan songs late at night in the piano taverns. For opera you need the boat to Naples.

Sardinia has more, and much of it is its own. Cagliari's Teatro Lirico runs an opera and concert season, and in the villages you can hear canto a tenore shepherd singing and launeddas pipes. Summer brings the Time in Jazz festival at Berchidda, and Cagliari's procession of Sant'Efisio is a great show of costume and music. Away from the capital, though, there is little to see for most of the year.

Rest on Capri depends on timing. The island is calm and smells of lemon early in the morning and in the evening, but it is crowded at midday. Its spas are in the upmarket hotels, and for thermal baths you take the boat to Ischia.

Sardinia has its own warm springs, at Fordongianus beside the Roman baths and in the thermal hotels at Sardara. Its large beach resorts have thalassotherapy centres. Above all it has the slow pace of Ogliastra and the inland agriturismi, which a few nights on Capri cannot match.