Clearwater or Pigeon Forge?

This is the clearest gap between the two. Clearwater Beach is fine, pale sand on a barrier island, sloping into calm, clear Gulf water that warms up well for most of the year. There is quieter sand at Sand Key, Caladesi Island and Honeymoon Island, and more beaches further down the Pinellas coast.

Pigeon Forge is in the Tennessee foothills and has no beach at all. In summer, swimming means the shore of Douglas Lake, rock pools in the mountain streams, the water park beside Dollywood or the hotel pool.

Neither place is a destination for food, but Clearwater eats a little better. Its open-air fish shacks serve grouper sandwiches, stone crab in season and smoked fish spread, and the Greek tavernas and bakeries of Tarpon Springs are an easy trip for a meal.

Pigeon Forge serves pancake houses, Southern buffets and barbecue along the Parkway, and moonshine tastings are the one local habit. Neither town does serious cooking. That means Tampa or St Petersburg on one side, and Knoxville or Asheville on the other.

Both are thin on sights, but in different ways. Clearwater has a modest old downtown on the bluff with a restored 1920s theatre, and real art museums in St Petersburg and Tampa within an hour. Pigeon Forge's sights are built entertainments such as the half-scale Titanic replica, plus the working 1830 Old Mill. Its real history lies in the log cabins and churches of the national park.

Clearwater has more of an evening. Crowds watch the sun go down from the beach and Pier 60, then move on to tiki decks and waterfront bars with cover bands, and spring brings a younger, louder crowd.

Pigeon Forge winds down around ten, once the go-karts and attraction complexes along the Parkway quieten. After that there are only a few sports bars, brewpubs and moonshine tasting rooms. Adults who want a drink out usually head to Gatlinburg.

Pigeon Forge has the stronger landscape, as long as you drive to it. The Great Smoky Mountains rise above 2,000m, with forested ridges, waterfalls such as Laurel Falls, black bears and turkey in Cades Cove, spring wildflowers and October colour. You can also go tubing on the Little River or horse riding.

Clearwater's nature is low and watery. Mangrove channels for kayaking, dolphins in the harbour, manatees in winter and ospreys on Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands make good mornings, but there are no hills, and nothing compares with the scale of the Smokies.

Clearwater has the richer choice of outings. The Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, the old cigar quarter of Ybor City in Tampa, the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs and the Ringling Museum in Sarasota are all within about an hour, and Orlando is further off.

From Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg's craft studios and Knoxville's Market Square are close. Cherokee and its Oconaluftee village lie over the mountains, and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville makes the best full day, but after these the list thins quickly.

Both work equally well with children; the difference is between a gentle sea and a theme park. In Clearwater, children paddle in calm, shallow water with lifeguards near Pier 60 and visit the dolphins and turtles at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and Busch Gardens is within forty minutes.

Pigeon Forge revolves around Dollywood and its seasonal festivals, with go-karts, mountain coasters and big cabins for groups. Both need a car, and summer heat is hard on small children in both.

Clearwater is a little easier without a car, at least on the island. Hotels, restaurants and sand are close together, a trolley runs down to Sand Key and a ferry crosses to downtown, although trips to Tampa or the state parks still mean driving.

Pigeon Forge is one long multi-lane strip. You can walk only inside the attraction complexes, the Parkway trolley is slow and does not reach the hillside cabins, and the park trailheads can only be reached by car.

Pigeon Forge has slightly more to buy. There are large outlet centres for American brands along the Parkway and towards Sevierville, quilts and stone-ground cornmeal at the Old Mill, and baskets, brooms and leatherwork from the craft studios above Gatlinburg. Clearwater has mostly beachwear and souvenirs, and its most local find is a natural sponge from Tarpon Springs.

Pigeon Forge is the cheaper stay. Thousands of motel rooms and cabins keep lodging reasonable outside the peak weeks, a cabin shared between two families costs little per head, and breakfast houses and buffets are inexpensive. The bills mount at the theme park and the dinner shows.

In Clearwater the beach itself is free, but rooms on the island are expensive in the late winter and spring peak, and meals cost the usual resort-town rates. Staying on the mainland or coming in summer brings lower rates.

Pigeon Forge puts on more shows. Dozens of Parkway theatres run country and gospel revues, magic acts and dinner spectacles every night, and Dollywood has bluegrass and gospel on its stages throughout the day. It is all broad and family-minded, and there is no orchestral music or serious theatre.

Clearwater has fewer shows but a wider range. Ruth Eckerd Hall brings in touring bands, comedians and the occasional orchestra, and the 1920s Capitol Theatre is an intimate room for smaller concerts.

Clearwater is the more restful of the two. Life in this low-rise retirement and resort town settles into pool, balcony and early nights, with the waterfront park and marina for quiet evenings, except during spring break.

Pigeon Forge offers quiet only up in the hills: a wooded cabin with a porch and a private hot tub looking over the ridges. Down on the Parkway there are neon lights, crowds and queues of traffic.