Charleston or Rehoboth Beach?

Both have good Atlantic sand, but you use it differently. Charleston's beaches are on barrier islands about half an hour from the old town, each with its own character, from surfy Folly to the quiet dunes of Sullivan's Island. The water is warmer and stays warm for longer, though it is greenish and tidal. You have to drive there, so beach days are kept apart from sightseeing days.

In Rehoboth the beach is the town. Pale sand runs in front of the boardwalk, a short walk from every rental, and there are wilder stretches at Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore. The water is cooler, and swimming is limited to high summer.

Charleston is a real food destination. Lowcountry cooking, shaped by Gullah Geechee and West African traditions, runs from she-crab soup and Carolina Gold rice to whole-hog barbecue, and the dining rooms in restored townhouses take it seriously. The good tables book up well ahead.

Rehoboth eats better than most beach towns, thanks to its long role as a summer escape from Washington. It has steamed blue crabs, raw bars and strong craft beer. Much of the rest is boardwalk fries and taffy, though, and the choice thins out once summer ends.

This is where the two differ most. Charleston's historic peninsula is a sight in itself, with Rainbow Row, the Battery and the single houses south of Broad Street. Its museums confront the slave trade directly, from the Aiken-Rhett House to the Old Slave Mart, and Fort Sumter is a boat ride across the harbour.

Rehoboth's history comes down to a Methodist camp meeting and some old cottages. The Rehoboth Art League is the main stop, and visitors interested in history usually head to Lewes.

Neither is a place for clubbing, and both wind down earlier than a big city. Charleston's evenings centre on the rooftop bars, oyster bars and sports pubs of upper King Street, with quieter taverns in the French Quarter, and they carry on all year. Rehoboth's nights are seasonal but have their own character: piano lounges and drag nights in one of the East Coast's best-known LGBTQ resorts, with the deck bars of Dewey Beach for a louder, younger crowd.

Both sit on flat, low coast with no hills, so the outdoors means water and marsh. Charleston's Lowcountry feels wilder. You can kayak through spartina creeks among dolphins, and the Francis Marion National Forest and the ACE Basin have alligators, but summer brings heat and mosquitoes.

Rehoboth's version is gentler and closer to hand. The tall dunes of Cape Henlopen are at the edge of town, a bike trail runs through woods to Lewes and the inland bays suit paddling. Assateague's wild ponies are about an hour away.

Charleston has the richer list. The plantations along the Ashley River, such as Middleton Place, Magnolia and Drayton Hall, plus McLeod on James Island, are about half an hour out and deal openly with slavery. Savannah and Beaufort make full days further afield.

Rehoboth's outings are pleasant but lighter. Historic Lewes is ten minutes away, the ferry crosses to the Victorian streets of Cape May, and Ocean City and Dover are reachable by road. Both cities need a car for all of these.

Charleston suits children old enough to enjoy a bit of history. The aquarium and the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry share the downtown waterfront, Patriots Point turns an aircraft carrier into a giant climbing frame, and the boat to Fort Sumter makes a history lesson feel like an outing. Toddlers tire of the house tours quickly, though, and the sand is a drive away, so every beach day has to be planned.\n\nRehoboth is built around what younger children like.

A day can move from the beach to the boardwalk rides and back without anyone getting into a car, and the town is small enough that older children can be given some freedom. The cost is timing: Rehoboth works as a family resort only in high summer, when it is also at its fullest, while Charleston's indoor sights make a spring or autumn visit with children just as rewarding.

Both are walkable at the centre and depend on cars beyond it. On Charleston's flat peninsula most sights lie within about 3km, with pedicabs and a free shuttle to fill the gaps, but the beaches and plantations mean driving or ride-hailing. Rehoboth's centre is smaller and full of bikes, with a seasonal trolley to Dewey Beach and a cycle trail to Lewes, but there is no train and the highway into town clogs on summer weekends.

Charleston offers the better browsing. King Street changes along its length, from antiques at the lower end to fashion brands and then independent design shops. At the City Market, Gullah weavers sell sweetgrass baskets, a craft with no equivalent in Delaware.

Rehoboth's appeal is practical: there is no sales tax and there are large outlet centres on the highway, with boutiques and beachwear downtown. Neither city has a luxury tier.

Charleston is dearest in exactly the seasons when it is best to visit. The inns on the historic peninsula cost big-city money, and spring and autumn weekends push them higher just when the weather suits walking. Staying in Mount Pleasant or the suburbs saves money but means driving in every day, and paid house and plantation tours add to the bill.

Rehoboth runs the other way. Summer is the costly season, with high-season premiums on rooms and rental houses near the beach, and prices fall sharply in spring and autumn once the summer rush is over. The lack of sales tax helps at the outlets, and in both places the beach itself costs nothing.

Charleston has much more on stage, largely thanks to Spoleto Festival USA, which brings over two weeks of opera, dance, chamber music and jazz every late spring. For the rest of the year the Dock Street Theatre, the symphony at the Gaillard Center and Gullah storytelling keep things going.

Rehoboth's offer is small and seasonal. There are free bandstand concerts on summer evenings, a local company staging musicals and cabaret, and an autumn film festival.

Charleston is the calmer place to unwind, and the calm lasts all year. The old town moves slowly, with shaded gardens, quiet church courtyards and long evenings by the water at White Point Garden. The resort spas on Kiawah Island add proper treatments for anyone who wants them.

Rehoboth is only quiet in some seasons. In June, September and on autumn weekends it slows to walks on an empty boardwalk and bike rides under the pines, but high summer is crowded and noisy. Its day spas and yoga studios are modest, and neither town has a bathing tradition.