Catskills or The Hamptons?

This is where the Hamptons pull furthest ahead. The Catskills have no coast, so swimming means North-South Lake's small sandy beach, Pleasant Pond and cold rock pools along the Esopus and in the Peekamoose valley. They are lovely for a dip, but not for a beach vacation.

The Hamptons have mile after mile of broad Atlantic sand backed by dunes, with real surf, lifeguards and calm bay beaches on the Peconic for small children. The one catch is parking permits, which makes staying within cycling distance of the sand worthwhile.

Both regions eat from the farms around them, but the Hamptons have the edge thanks to the sea: Peconic oysters, bay scallops, striped bass and lobster rolls in Montauk's harbour shacks, plus North Fork wines. The village restaurants are polished, though there is little in between the farm stand and the white tablecloth.

The Catskills are dairy and orchard country, with maple syrup, cider, local cheese, diners and craft breweries scattered through the hills. Kingston has the widest choice, and elsewhere the options thin out quickly.

Neither region is a reason to come for sightseeing alone, and both have about two days of it. What differs is the story. The Catskills are about the Hudson River School painters, with Thomas Cole's house and the views at Kaaterskill Falls, along with the Woodstock arts colony, the 1969 festival museum at Bethel and Kingston's old stone Stockade district.

The Hamptons offer colonial English villages with windmills and saltbox houses, Sag Harbor's whaling streets and the Montauk Point Lighthouse. Their art story is more modern, centred on the Pollock-Krasner House and the Parrish Art Museum.

The Hamptons have a real summer night scene. Montauk's bars stay loud and late from late June to Labor Day, and Southampton and Bridgehampton add lounges and clubs with strict doors, though much of the famous partying happens at private houses.

In the Catskills a night out is a taproom, a country tavern or a cocktail bar in Kingston or Woodstock, and most evenings end around a fire pit.

The Catskills are the outdoor destination of the two. Forested summits rise above 1,000m, the Devil's Path is a serious ridge hike, and the cloves, fire towers and waterfalls offer gentler walking. The Beaverkill brings fly-fishing, the Esopus brings tubing, and the region has skiing and snowshoeing in winter and blazing autumn colour.

The Hamptons are flat and soft by comparison: potato fields, salt ponds, dunes and the clay bluffs at Montauk. Their strengths are on the water, with sport fishing, surfing, kayaking and easy cycling.

From the Catskills the Hudson Valley opens up: Olana across the river, the antique shops of Hudson, the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park, the Vanderbilt mansion, Beacon's art museum and Storm King. Cooperstown and Saratoga Springs are reachable to the north and west, so a week can be varied, provided you drive.

The Hamptons have fewer options. The best are the North Fork vineyards and Greenport via the Shelter Island ferries, plus Block Island by boat from Montauk in summer, while New York sits too far away through the traffic for an easy day out.

The Hamptons are the easier choice with children, at least in summer. Shallow bay beaches suit toddlers, lifeguarded ocean beaches suit older children, and pick-your-own farms, the lighthouse climb and the Riverhead aquarium fill out the days.

The Catskills offer cabin space, waterfall walks, tubing and beginner ski slopes, but there is little made for children, and a rainy day far from town can be long.

You need a car in both, but the Catskills are the less frustrating drive. Their roads are quiet outside peak weekends, though winding cloves mean thirty to sixty minutes between towns and winter storms slow the passes.

In the Hamptons everything funnels onto Montauk Highway, which crawls on summer weekends. The compensation is that the flat back lanes make a bicycle useful for reaching the beach, and the train links the villages to New York.

The Hamptons offer more to buy. East Hampton's Main Street and Southampton's Jobs Lane carry high-end fashion and resortwear, and interiors shops and antique dealers line the highway around Bridgehampton and Water Mill.

Catskills shopping means rummaging through antique barns along Route 28, Woodstock's potters and jewellers, general stores and farm-stand maple syrup. It is pleasant browsing, but there is no fashion.

Neither is cheap, but the Catskills are clearly easier on the wallet. Woodstock and Hunter are pricey on summer and autumn weekends, yet campgrounds, old motels, the western valleys and midweek stays all offer real savings, and the hiking and swimming holes are free.

The Hamptons are expensive at almost every level in July and August. Rentals often go by the week or season, cheap rooms are scarce and village prices are set for the very wealthy. June, September or a base on the North Fork help, but only so much.

Both have small summer stages and quiet winters, so the difference is in style. The Catskills lean towards music: Woodstock's folk and roots concerts in barns, the Maverick chamber series in its wooden hall in the woods, bluegrass weekends and big touring acts at the Bethel amphitheatre.

The Hamptons lean towards theatre and the classics, with Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival and an autumn film festival.

The Catskills have a slight edge for real switching off. Cabins and farmhouses are made for porch-sitting and wood stoves, and there is a contemplative streak too, with the Zen monastery at Mount Tremper, the Tibetan centre above Woodstock and retreats that take guests.

The Hamptons have better seaside spas in Montauk and Southampton and lovely early beach walks. Their busy midsummer weekends can be anything but restful, so June and September suit anyone who wants calm.