Clearwater or Gatlinburg?

Clearwater's beach is the whole point of going. It is a long stretch of fine white sand on a barrier island, sloping so gently into the calm Gulf that you can wade far out. Pier 60 is the busy centre, and quieter sand lies at Sand Key to the south and on the undeveloped shores of Caladesi and Honeymoon islands to the north.

Gatlinburg, deep in the mountains, has nothing like it. Swimming there means cold, clear river pools in the national park, tubing on the Little River near Townsend or the lakeshore at Douglas Lake. All of them are chilly, and some have strong currents. For most visitors the cabin hot tub is the closest they get to a swim.

Neither place is somewhere to travel for the food, but Clearwater eats a little better because the sea gives it a dish of its own. Grouper sandwiches, stone crab and smoked fish spread at dockside grills, followed by a sunset drink on a beach deck, make a pleasant routine, and the Greek tavernas of Tarpon Springs are close by.

Gatlinburg cooks for crowds: pancake houses, barbecue and comfort food along the Parkway, plus fudge shops and moonshine tastings. Appalachian dishes such as trout, country ham and stack cake do exist, but you find them in the odd restaurant rather than everywhere. Keen eaters drive to Knoxville or Asheville, much as Clearwater's go to Tampa and St Petersburg.

Both are thin on sights, so the choice comes down to what little each has. Clearwater has a small downtown with early twentieth-century buildings and a restored 1920s theatre, while the real museums are an hour away in St Petersburg and Tampa. Gatlinburg's heritage is living craft, found in the studios of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community and in the log cabins, mills and churches left by the old mountain families at Cades Cove and along the Roaring Fork.

Clearwater offers more of an evening. The sunset crowd at Pier 60 drifts on to beach bars and tiki decks with cover bands, and in spring a younger crowd keeps the beach loud until late. It is still a relaxed resort night, though, and for clubs people go to Ybor City or downtown St Petersburg.

In Gatlinburg an evening means a walk along the lit Parkway with some fudge, a moonshine tasting and perhaps a brewery terrace, then back to the cabin. By late night the strip is empty.

Clearwater's wild side is gentle and watery. You can kayak the mangrove channels, watch dolphins in the harbour and manatees in winter, and see ospreys on Caladesi and Honeymoon islands. It is pleasant but completely flat, and the summer heat pushes most of it into the mornings.

Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, and here it is in a different league. Within minutes of town you are in deep hardwood forest, with waterfall walks, the long climb up Mount LeConte and the road towards Clingmans Dome at about 2,025m. Add black bears, deer at Cades Cove, fireflies in spring and autumn colour, and the trip can fill itself.

Both make good bases for outings, and both need a car, but the trips are of a different kind. From Clearwater they are urban and cultural: the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, the old cigar factories of Ybor City, the sponge docks of Tarpon Springs, the Ringling Museum in Sarasota and Orlando's theme parks two hours away.

Gatlinburg's are scenic and historical. You can drive over Newfound Gap to Cherokee and the museum telling the story of the Eastern Band, carry on to Bryson City's heritage railway, or go an hour and a half to Asheville and the Biltmore Estate. Pigeon Forge's theme park and dinner shows are closer to hand for a rainy day.

Children are well looked after in both, and what differs is the kind of vacation. Clearwater gives you a beach week, with shallow, calm water and lifeguards at Pier 60, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium with its rescued dolphins and turtles, and Busch Gardens within forty minutes.

Gatlinburg is a vacation of cabins and attractions: mirror mazes, alpine coasters, a big aquarium and Dollywood next door, then waterfall walks and junior ranger badges in the park. The hard parts differ too. In Clearwater it is summer storms. In Gatlinburg it is Parkway queues and winding cabin roads in winter.

Neither works well without a car. In Clearwater you can walk the beach strip and take the trolley to Sand Key or the ferry downtown, but Tampa, St Petersburg and the state parks mean driving through low-rise sprawl, and the causeway backs up at busy times.

In Gatlinburg the walkable part is the compact Parkway, with a trolley out to Pigeon Forge, but most cabins sit up steep hillside roads. The park roads and trailheads jam in October, so an early start matters even more here.

Clearwater's shopping is mostly beachwear, souvenirs and mainland malls, and its most distinctive buy, natural sponges, comes from Tarpon Springs. Gatlinburg has more worth taking home. In the Arts and Crafts Community you buy quilts, pottery, brooms and woodwork from the studios that make them, and the big outlet malls in Pigeon Forge cover the brands. Neither has luxury or fashion shopping.

Clearwater is the pricier stay. Beachfront rooms cost most in the late winter and spring peak, so savings come from mainland motels, condos with kitchens and the free beaches, or from putting up with summer heat and storms.

Gatlinburg costs less overall, especially for a group sharing a big cabin midweek or in winter, and the national park itself costs little. Watch the extras, though. Parkway attractions and Dollywood soon add up for a family, and rates climb sharply in October's leaf season and over Christmas and New Year.

Clearwater has the better venues. Ruth Eckerd Hall brings touring bands, Broadway tours and orchestral concerts, and the restored Capitol Theatre hosts smaller shows. Gatlinburg's entertainment is folksier, with bluegrass in the tasting rooms, mountain music at Dollywood and nightly dinner shows and gospel revues in Pigeon Forge. Opera means a drive to Tampa from one and to Knoxville from the other.

In both, rest comes from the setting rather than the spas, which are mostly resort treatment rooms. In Clearwater it is the slow resort day of pool, balcony and an evening by the marina, which spring break and the summer heat can spoil. In Gatlinburg it is a secluded hillside cabin with a hot tub and mist on the ridges, provided you stay above the noisy Parkway rather than on it.