Charleston or Tampa?

On beaches the two are close, but they feel different. Charleston's barrier islands are nearer, about half an hour out, and each has its own character: surfy Folly with its pier, quiet Sullivan's Island backed by dunes and forts, wider Isle of Palms. The Atlantic here is greenish and tidal, with rip currents on some days.

Tampa's beaches are a longer drive across the bridges, but Clearwater, Pass-a-Grille and Fort De Soto have finer, whiter sand and a calmer, warmer Gulf. For a trip centred on swimming, many people stay on those islands rather than in Tampa itself.

Charleston is the stronger place to eat. Lowcountry cooking, from shrimp and grits and she-crab soup to Carolina Gold rice and winter oyster roasts, gets serious treatment in restored townhouse dining rooms and whole-hog barbecue pits. The catch is that there is little cheap or international food, and the best tables need booking well ahead.

Tampa's strength is narrower and older: the Cuban, Spanish and Sicilian cooking of Ybor City, with pressed Cuban sandwiches, deviled crab croquettes and café con leche, plus grouper and stone crab by the bay. It costs less for lunch, but there is little to rival Charleston's top tables.

Charleston has much more to see. Its peninsula of Georgian and antebellum houses south of Broad Street, Rainbow Row and the Battery is a sight in itself, and the Nathaniel Russell and Aiken-Rhett houses, the Old Slave Mart and the International African American Museum give the history real weight.

Tampa's heritage fits into a smaller space: the brick cigar factories and social clubs of Ybor City and the minareted Plant hotel, now the Henry B. Plant Museum. For serious art, people usually cross the bay to St Petersburg.

Tampa is the better night out. Seventh Avenue in Ybor City has real dance clubs and a young crowd that stays out until late, SoHo offers polished cocktail patios, and the craft beer culture runs deep. In winter, the Gasparilla pirate invasion becomes one of Florida's biggest street parties.

Charleston's evenings centre on bars rather than clubs: rooftops and oyster bars on upper King Street, old taverns in the French Quarter. It is pleasant, but most places shut by about 2am.

Both are flat, watery and best explored by kayak, but the settings differ. Charleston means spartina marsh, tidal creeks with dolphins and live oaks hung with Spanish moss, with the Francis Marion forest and ACE Basin for quiet trails.

Tampa leans more tropical: cypress swamp on the Hillsborough River, mangrove tunnels, manatees near Apollo Beach in winter and the clear springs around Crystal River. Tampa's outdoor season runs through winter and spring, Charleston's through spring and autumn.

Charleston's day trips go deeper into history. The Ashley River plantations such as Middleton Place and Drayton Hall are about half an hour away, and McLeod Plantation tells the story of the enslaved. Savannah's squares and Beaufort's Gullah sea islands make full, worthwhile days.

Tampa offers more variety than age: the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, Tarpon Springs' Greek sponge docks, the Ringling estate in Sarasota and Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings in Lakeland. All are pleasant, but none has the historic pull of Savannah.

Tampa is far better set up for children. Busch Gardens pairs roller coasters with an animal park, ZooTampa and the Florida Aquarium add easy afternoons, the shallow Gulf beaches suit toddlers, and Legoland and the Orlando parks are within a long day's reach.

Charleston is calm and friendly, with its aquarium, Patriots Point's aircraft carrier and the boat to Fort Sumter, but it has no theme park or major zoo, and its house tours lose younger children quickly.

Charleston is easier without a car, at least downtown. The flat historic peninsula is a pleasure on foot, with a free shuttle and pedicabs to help, though you will still need to drive to the beaches and plantations.

In Tampa, only the streetcar strip from downtown to Ybor City and the Riverwalk work without a car. Busch Gardens, the beaches and South Tampa all mean driving, often in bridge traffic at rush hour.

Charleston makes for better browsing. King Street shifts from antiques and galleries at its lower end to independent boutiques further up, all in a handsome old setting, and the City Market is where Gullah weavers sell sweetgrass baskets.

Tampa mostly means malls, though its big upscale mall does carry the luxury labels Charleston lacks. Hyde Park Village is a small open-air alternative, and the hand-rolled cigars of Ybor City are the one local craft worth seeking out.

Tampa costs less, though it isn't cheap. Summer hotel rates drop noticeably and Cuban bakeries keep lunch affordable, but a hire car is close to essential and theme park tickets weigh heavily on family budgets.

Charleston is the more expensive stay. Peninsula inns rival those in much larger cities, especially on spring and autumn weekends, and paid house tours add up. Its saving grace is that the old streets, the Battery and the beaches cost nothing.

The two are broadly level, but the offer works differently. Charleston's peak comes each late spring with Spoleto Festival USA, two-plus weeks of opera, dance, theatre and jazz, plus the historic Dock Street Theatre and Gullah storytelling the rest of the year.

Tampa is steadier through the year. The Straz Center hosts touring Broadway shows, opera and ballet, the ornate 1926 Tampa Theatre holds concerts, and Ybor City has small rock venues.

Neither city has a bathing culture, so both rely on hotel and resort spas. Charleston relaxes you better through its pace: shaded gardens, quiet church courtyards and evenings at White Point Garden, with Kiawah's resort spas nearby.

Tampa itself is sprawling and humid. Its restful side lies across the bay on the Gulf islands, where days slow down to long lunches and sunsets.