Clearwater or Myrtle Beach?

Both are beach towns first, but the beach is better in Clearwater. Its sand is fine and powder-white, and the clear, shallow Gulf water lets you wade a long way out. Pier 60 draws the crowds, Sand Key is quieter, and the undeveloped beaches of Caladesi Island are close by.

Myrtle Beach makes up for it with size. The Grand Strand runs for about 100km of wide, pale sand, from the busy boardwalk blocks to the dune-backed beaches of Surfside, Garden City and the state parks. The Atlantic here is greenish rather than clear, and its warm season is a good deal shorter.

Neither place is a food destination, and both rely on casual seafood. Clearwater's signature is the grouper sandwich from dockside fish shacks, and the Greek tavernas and bakeries of Tarpon Springs make the best meal out.

Myrtle Beach leans towards all-you-can-eat buffets and pancake houses. Its better eating is in the waterfront seafood places of Murrells Inlet, in Calabash-style fried fish and in Lowcountry dishes such as shrimp and grits.

Culture is thin in both, and neither will fill more than a day. Clearwater has its old downtown on the bluff and a restored 1920s theatre but no real museum, so visitors go to St Petersburg or Tampa for art. Myrtle Beach has one sight worth the drive, Brookgreen Gardens, a sculpture garden on a former rice plantation with exhibits on the people enslaved there. Next door is Atalaya, a 1930s winter house built in Moorish style.

Myrtle Beach has the bigger night out. In summer, the oceanfront bars, rooftop decks and entertainment complexes include dance clubs that stay open late. North Myrtle Beach adds something you won't find in Clearwater: long-standing clubs where people still dance the shag, the Carolina beach dance.

In Clearwater the evening is built around watching the sunset at Pier 60, followed by tiki decks and cover bands. Most people are in bed early unless they cross the bay to Ybor City.

Clearwater has more wildlife close at hand and more ways to get out on the water. Dolphins swim in the harbour, manatees shelter there in winter, and you can kayak through mangrove channels or explore the pine flatwoods trails of Caladesi and Honeymoon Island. The Pinellas Trail is good for easy cycling.

Myrtle Beach has its own wild corners. Huntington Beach State Park is one of the better places on the coast for birdwatching, and alligators live in its lagoon. Inland, you can paddle through the cypress swamps of the Waccamaw River. Golf is the main outdoor pursuit for many visitors, and there are dozens of courses.

Clearwater has more to see within easy reach. The Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, the old cigar-making quarter of Ybor City in Tampa and the Greek sponge-diving harbour at Tarpon Springs are all within about an hour. Sarasota's Ringling Museum and the Orlando theme parks are a longer drive.

From Myrtle Beach the outstanding trip is Charleston, but it is two hours each way. Closer to hand there are smaller places: the old port of Georgetown, the beach village of Pawleys Island and the riverwalk at Conway.

Both work very well for children, but in different ways. Clearwater is the gentler of the two. Its calm Gulf water is good for paddling, and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium's rescued dolphins and turtles are a favourite. Busch Gardens and a water park are within a short drive.

Myrtle Beach has more of everything to do. There is a seaside amusement park with a wooden roller coaster, a large observation wheel, resort lazy rivers and themed mini-golf all along the strip. Steer clear of the rowdier oceanfront blocks at night.

You will want a car in both, but Clearwater is a little easier without one. Its beach strip is compact, a trolley runs down to Sand Key, and a ferry links the beach with downtown.

Myrtle Beach is spread along about 100km of multi-lane highway with few pavements. Walking only really works within a single resort area, and some visitors get around locally by golf cart or bicycle.

Myrtle Beach is better for shopping, mostly because of its two large outlet centres and The Market Common, which has the feel of a town centre. It also has the more local souvenir: sweetgrass baskets sold along the coast road to the south.

Clearwater has little beyond beachwear and mainland malls, and its most local purchase is natural sponges from Tarpon Springs. For bigger stores, people drive to Tampa.

Myrtle Beach is the cheaper stay. It has so many motels and condos that oceanfront rooms outside the summer peak can cost surprisingly little. Prices jump in July and on long weekends.

Clearwater costs more, and its peak falls at a different time, in late winter and spring when northern visitors arrive. Summer is cheaper but brings heat and storms. In both places, kitchens in condos help keep food costs down.

Clearwater has the slightly broader programme. Ruth Eckerd Hall puts on Broadway tours and orchestral concerts as well as rock and comedy, the intimate Capitol Theatre hosts smaller shows, and Tampa's large arts centre is close for opera and ballet.

Myrtle Beach goes in for large family revues, with country, gospel and Christmas shows and knights-and-pirates dinner theatre. They are polished evenings, but there is no classical or serious drama.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and in both a spa usually means a room in a resort hotel. Clearwater is the more restful place to be. It is a quiet, low-rise town with nothing that demands an early start, and the waterfront park and marina are good places to sit out the evening.

In summer, Myrtle Beach's main strip is loud and crowded. For a slower pace, go to the quieter southern end around Pawleys Island in spring or autumn.