Clearwater or Panama City Beach?

Both have fine white Gulf sand, and the difference is in character. Clearwater's beach sits on a barrier island and slopes very gently into calm, clear water you can wade far out into. Pier 60 is the busy centre. Sand Key to the south and the wild beaches of Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands to the north are quieter.

Panama City Beach has one much longer strip of about 43km, mostly lined with condos, and its water turns a clear green when the sea is calm. Rip currents are a real danger here, so the flags matter. For calm water, go to the jetty-sheltered lagoon in St Andrews State Park or take a boat out to Shell Island.

Both serve the same casual Gulf menu of grouper sandwiches and shrimp baskets on open-air decks, and both have beachfronts full of chain restaurants. Clearwater has a little more range: stone crab in season and smoked fish spread, a few local places downtown, Greek tavernas and bakeries in Tarpon Springs, and serious cooking in the cities across the bay. In Panama City Beach the local speciality is oysters from the nearby bays, and the best of the more careful kitchens are near the lagoon.

Neither has much for sightseers, but Clearwater has a little more. It has a downtown on the bluff with early twentieth-century buildings and a restored 1920s theatre, and the art museums of St Petersburg and Tampa are less than an hour away. Panama City Beach was mostly built after the mid-twentieth century. Apart from the small Man in the Sea Museum and the older streets of St Andrews across the bay, you have to drive a long way for history.

Both offer the same kind of resort evening: sunset drinks, tiki decks and cover bands rather than clubs. Clearwater's evenings are built around the crowd watching the sun go down from Pier 60. If you want a real night out, Ybor City and downtown St Petersburg are a drive away.

Panama City Beach sees more dancing on summer weekends around Pier Park and the lagoon. In March, spring break turns Front Beach Road very loud. In winter, many of its bars close for the season.

Both coasts are flat, and most of the outdoor life is on the water, but the scenery differs. Around Clearwater you get mangrove channels for kayaking, manatees in sheltered water in winter, ospreys on Caladesi Island, and the long Pinellas Trail for easy cycling.

Panama City Beach has tall white dunes in St Andrews State Park and a rare coastal dune lake at Camp Helen. Offshore there is diving on wrecks and artificial reefs, which the Clearwater coast does not offer in the same way.

Clearwater has far more to see within a day's drive. In St Petersburg there is the Dalí Museum and a lively waterfront. In Tampa there is the old cigar quarter of Ybor City. Tarpon Springs has its Greek sponge-diving harbour, Sarasota has the Ringling mansion, and the Orlando theme parks are about two hours away.

From Panama City Beach, the best outings are to the pastel planned towns along Scenic Highway 30A and to the old oyster port of Apalachicola. Pensacola's historic district is at the edge of a day trip. Both places need a car for these.

Clearwater is slightly better for young children because its water is so calm. The shallow, gently sloping beach has little surf, and there are lifeguards and a playground by Pier 60. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is its own draw, and Busch Gardens and the Florida Aquarium are within reach.

Panama City Beach has more entertainment along its strip: a big water park, a marine park with dolphin shows, go-karts and mini-golf. Parents have to watch the rip-current flags, though, and should avoid March.

Clearwater is easier without a car, at least on the beach itself. Hotels, restaurants and sand are close together, a trolley runs down to Sand Key, and a ferry crosses to downtown. Panama City Beach stretches about 43km along one road. Pavements come and go and the trolley-buses are sparse, so you will drive almost everywhere. In both places, outings beyond the beach need a car.

There is little to choose between them. Neither is a shopping destination, and each has beachwear shops and chain stores. Panama City Beach has the open-air Pier Park centre, souvenir warehouses with shark-mouth entrances, and the boutiques of the 30A towns nearby. Clearwater's best souvenir is natural sponge from Tarpon Springs, and for bigger stores you go to Tampa.

Panama City Beach is easier on the budget. Condos with kitchens are the norm, and outside summer and spring break rates fall sharply, especially for long winter stays.

Clearwater's peak season is late winter and spring, the same months when its weather is best, so a beachfront room is expensive just when you most want one. Staying on the mainland or further down the coast helps. Eating out costs about the same in both.

Clearwater has more live performance. Ruth Eckerd Hall brings touring bands, Broadway tours and orchestral concerts, the restored Capitol Theatre hosts smaller shows, and Tampa's large arts centre is close for opera and ballet. In Panama City Beach it is mostly cover bands on restaurant decks and summer concerts at the shopping centre, plus a modest season at the historic theatre across the bay.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Clearwater is the more restful place to stay. It has resort hotel spas, a slow pace as a retirement town, and a waterfront park and marina for quiet evenings. Its mild winters let that routine continue outdoors all year.

Panama City Beach has few spas, and it only becomes peaceful from autumn to spring, when the beach empties and long sunset walks are easy. That is also when it is cool and grey more often.