Clearwater or Wilmington?

Both have good sand, but Clearwater comes out clearly ahead. Its beach starts right where the hotels are, on a barrier island of powder-white sand that shelves gently into calm, clear Gulf water, and quieter stretches at Sand Key, Caladesi and Honeymoon Island are close by.

Wilmington's beaches are a short drive from the city, which sits on the Cape Fear River rather than the sea. Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure Beach each have their own character, but the open Atlantic brings rip currents on some days, lifeguards work only in season and the swimming months are fewer.

Neither is a place to travel for the food, but Wilmington eats better. Its downtown has modern Southern cooking in old brick buildings, raw bars on the waterfront, eastern Carolina whole-hog barbecue and a strong craft brewery culture.

Clearwater keeps to grouper sandwiches, shrimp baskets and stone crab at dockside grills, with a lot of chain restaurants along the beachfront. Its best meal may be an outing to the Greek tavernas of Tarpon Springs.

This is where Wilmington pulls well ahead. Its historic district of antebellum and Victorian houses, the Bellamy Mansion and Burgwin-Wright House, the old riverfront warehouses and the battleship across the river make a real two or three days of sightseeing.

Clearwater has a restored 1920s theatre and a few older buildings on the downtown bluff, but nothing to plan a day around. Its art and architecture are in St Petersburg and Tampa.

Wilmington has the slightly livelier night out, because it has a real downtown. Front Street fills with bars, rooftop terraces and pubs at weekends, and students from the university help keep it busy.

Clearwater's evening is built around the sunset at Pier 60, followed by tiki decks and cover bands by the water. It gets louder in spring, but for a proper night out people cross the bay to Ybor City.

Both are flat, watery coasts with no hills, so the difference is in the kind of nature. Clearwater has mangrove channels for kayaking, dolphins in the harbour, manatees in winter and the long Pinellas Trail for easy cycling.

Wilmington has salt marsh, longleaf pine and boat-only Masonboro Island for paddling and birdwatching. It also has surf off Wrightsville and wild Venus flytraps in Carolina Beach State Park, a plant found nowhere else on earth.

Clearwater has the richer surroundings. The Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, 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's parks are within reach.

Wilmington's outings are smaller and quieter: Southport and the ferry to car-free Bald Head Island, the earthworks of Fort Fisher, and colonial New Bern and Beaufort further north. They make pleasant days, but they are small-town ones.

Clearwater is the easier place to bring children. The water is calm and shallow enough for small children to paddle, there are lifeguards and a playground near Pier 60, and the rescue aquarium, pirate boat trips and Busch Gardens give you plenty for the days off the sand.

Wilmington works well for families in summer, with the Carolina Beach boardwalk rides, the aquarium at Fort Fisher and the battleship decks. The rougher Atlantic surf and a shorter warm season make it less effortless with young children.

You will want a hire car in either place, but what you can manage without one is different. In Clearwater you can stay on the beach and walk between your hotel, the restaurants and the sand, with a trolley down to Sand Key and a ferry or water taxi across to downtown.

Wilmington is the other way round. You can walk the compact, flat historic district along the riverwalk, but the beaches are 15km or more away across suburban roads, so every beach day means driving. Buses in both are slow or infrequent, and summer traffic holds up the trip to the sand.

Shopping is a minor part of either trip, though Wilmington has a little more character. Front Street and the restored Cotton Exchange have independent boutiques, galleries, bookshops and antique dealers.

Clearwater offers mostly beachwear, souvenirs and mainland malls. Its most distinctive thing to take home is a natural sponge from Tarpon Springs.

Wilmington is somewhat easier on the budget. Rooms in the city are reasonable outside summer, and casual seafood and barbecue are fair value, though a hire car is hard to avoid.

Clearwater costs more, particularly on the beach during the late winter and spring peak. Mainland motels, condos with kitchens and the hot summer months are the ways to bring the bill down.

The two are broadly level, each with a few good venues rather than a resident opera. Clearwater leans on touring acts, with rock, comedy and Broadway tours at Ruth Eckerd Hall and smaller concerts in the 1920s Capitol Theatre.

Wilmington's scene is more home-grown. It has the 19th-century Thalian Hall, a community symphony, small theatre companies, and outdoor stages and jazz and blues festivals in the warm months.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and both offer resort and day spas rather than anything worth travelling for. Clearwater is the slightly better place to switch off, because its days run on hotel pools, balconies and long lunches with nothing to get up early for.

Wilmington is calm too, especially on the waterfront and outside summer weekends. Because the beach is a drive away, though, its days involve a bit more planning.