Charleston or West Palm Beach?

In both cities the beaches are on barrier islands a short drive from the centre, but the water is different. Charleston's Folly Beach, Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms each have their own character, from surf town to quiet dunes, but the sea is greenish and tidal and only warm from late spring to October.

West Palm Beach has the better swimming. The Gulf Stream brings clear Atlantic water to Midtown Beach and Singer Island and keeps it warm through the winter, and Peanut Island adds calm lagoon water for snorkelling, which Charleston has nothing to match.

Charleston is by far the stronger food city. Lowcountry cooking, with its Gullah Geechee roots, Carolina Gold rice and whole-hog barbecue, gives meals a sense of place, and the dining along upper King Street and in the French Quarter is good enough to plan a trip around.

West Palm Beach eats well but plainly, with grilled grouper and stone crab, waterfront terraces on Clematis Street and clubby lunches on Palm Beach. Its most interesting cooking is in the Haitian and Cuban bakeries away from the centre, which offer the kind of cheap international range Charleston lacks.

Charleston is the place for sightseeing. The whole peninsula south of Broad is the attraction, and its house museums, Fort Sumter and the museums on the slave trade tell a hard American story with unusual directness.

West Palm Beach has less to offer, and its history is younger: the Norton Museum's art collection, Flagler's Whitehall mansion and the Mediterranean Revival villas of Palm Beach. They fill a couple of pleasant days, but there are no historic streets to wander.

Neither is a clubbing destination, but Charleston has more going on after dark. Upper King Street has a long run of rooftop bars, cocktail rooms and oyster bars, and the French Quarter has old taverns for a calmer drink.

West Palm's going-out area is a few blocks of Clematis Street and Rosemary Square, quiet on weeknights and in summer, and Palm Beach goes to bed early. Its one advantage is a couple of dance spots, and Miami is within reach for a big night.

Both are flat, watery coasts, so the difference lies in the kind of water. Charleston's Lowcountry is marsh and tidal creek, best seen by kayak alongside dolphins, with live oaks and alligators in the Francis Marion forest and the ACE Basin.

West Palm Beach adds the subtropical sea: reef dives along the Gulf Stream, the well-known snorkel under the Blue Heron Bridge and the sea turtle nesting beaches at Juno. Inland, Grassy Waters and Loxahatchee give a taste of the Everglades.

Charleston's outings are more varied. The Ashley River plantations, from Middleton Place to McLeod, are half an hour away, Savannah fills a full day, and Beaufort is a way into Gullah sea-island culture.

From West Palm Beach the standout is Miami, an hour away by fast train with no car needed, which Charleston cannot offer. Beyond that, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Jupiter are pleasant but similar coastal towns, so they don't feel much like a change of scene.

West Palm Beach is the easier family base. The calm, warm water at Peanut Island and the guarded beaches is backed up by Lion Country Safari, the zoo, the science centre and the manatees at Manatee Lagoon, which fill the days away from the sand.

Charleston works well with school-age children, who enjoy the aircraft carrier at Patriots Point, the aquarium and the boat to Fort Sumter. But it has no major zoo, and younger children quickly lose interest on the house tours.

Both have flat, walkable centres and become car towns beyond them, but Charleston's centre holds more of what a visitor wants. The peninsula's streets, houses and restaurants are all within walking distance, with pedicabs and a free shuttle to fill the gaps.

In West Palm Beach the walkable part is smaller, essentially a trolley loop between the waterfront and Rosemary Square, and the beaches, zoo and safari park are spread along wide roads. The pleasant exception is cycling over the bridges and along the Lake Trail into Palm Beach.

West Palm Beach has the luxury shopping Charleston lacks. Worth Avenue's fashion and jewellery houses and its tiled vias make even window shopping a pleasure. Consignment shops resell designer pieces, and Antique Row on South Dixie Highway is good for furniture and decorative pieces.

Charleston's King Street is a good, varied browse, from antiques to independent boutiques. It also has something West Palm lacks: a local craft, the Gullah sweetgrass baskets woven and sold at City Market.

Neither is cheap. Charleston is at its most expensive on spring and autumn weekends, when inns on the peninsula and well-known restaurants charge big-city rates. Staying in Mount Pleasant saves money but means driving in every day.

West Palm Beach is dearest in winter, when Palm Beach hotels are among the costliest on the coast, but summer rates drop sharply if you can put up with the heat and storms. In both, the beaches are free and a car adds to the bill.

The two are close, but their year has a different shape. Charleston's big moment is Spoleto Festival USA in late spring, more than two weeks of opera, dance and jazz. The rest of the year is quieter, with plays at the Dock Street Theatre, concerts at the Gaillard Center, and Gullah storytelling and song.

West Palm Beach has a steadier season from late autumn to spring, built around the Kravis Center's touring musicals and the Palm Beach Opera, with serious plays from Palm Beach Dramaworks. Summer is thin.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so in both it comes down to spas and the pace of life. West Palm Beach relies on large oceanfront resort spas and the manicured calm of Palm Beach, with promenades along the lagoon for early walks. Charleston's version is gentler and more urban: shaded walled gardens, church courtyards and evenings at White Point Garden, with resort spas out on Kiawah.