Cocoa Beach or Naples, Florida?

Cocoa Beach sits on a barrier island facing the open Atlantic. Its long, firm strand has steady small surf that suits learners on boards, but the water is greenish and rip currents send families to the lifeguarded stretches by the pier. Wilder sand towards Cape Canaveral is a short drive north, and through the winter the Atlantic stays as warm as the Gulf, sometimes a degree warmer.

For most swimmers, Naples still has the better beach. The Gulf of Mexico is calm, shallow and clear, which is ideal for wading. Shelling is good after winter storms, and the sun sets over the water each evening. Vanderbilt Beach, the mangrove boardwalk at Clam Pass and the dunes of Barefoot Beach feel wilder, though algae blooms and stingrays sometimes spoil a day.

Cocoa Beach eats in flip-flops. Fish comes fried or grilled at open-air beach grills, the dockside seafood houses on the Banana River and at the port do it best, and chain restaurants fill much of the main road. There is no dressed-up dinner scene to speak of.

Naples dines more ambitiously, though it is no food destination either. White-tablecloth dining rooms, terraces and wine bars along Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South serve steak and Italian cooking. Stone crab in the cooler months and grouper at the fish houses around Tin City add a local flavour, at a high price.

Naples has a little more to see, though still not enough to fill more than a day. The Baker Museum's American and modern art, the Revs Institute's historic racing cars, Palm Cottage and the Mediterranean-style streets of Old Naples give a sightseeing morning or two.

Cocoa Beach has almost nothing in town beyond the pier. Its one remarkable experience is watching a rocket climb from Cape Canaveral, and for museums visitors have to drive out of town.

Neither town keeps late hours, but Cocoa Beach is the livelier of the two. Its beach bars, sports bars and open-air decks with cover bands gather around the pier and the downtown strip, and spring break brings a younger, louder crowd.

Naples goes out for dinner and a sunset drink, then home. Its wine bars and piano lounges on Fifth Avenue South suit an older crowd, and the town is quiet well before midnight, especially in summer.

Both offer flat, watery wildlife country rather than hills, and both are at their best outdoors in the drier months. They differ in setting. Naples borders true wilderness: Big Cypress, the western Everglades, Corkscrew Swamp's cypress boardwalk and the mangrove maze of the Ten Thousand Islands, which is ideal for kayaking.

Cocoa Beach's nature is the lagoon and the coast. You can paddle among manatees in the Indian River Lagoon, glide through bioluminescent water on summer nights, take the drive-through trails of Merritt Island refuge and watch turtles nesting on the beach. It is also the better of the two for surfing.

Cocoa Beach has the stronger list, mainly because of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which fills a whole day. Orlando's theme parks and the museums of Winter Park are also about an hour inland. Historic Cocoa Village makes a gentle half day.

From Naples the outings are pleasant but less memorable. Options include the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, shelling and cycling on Sanibel and Captiva, and the old fishing settlement of Everglades City. Sarasota and Miami are each about two hours away, which is a long day.

Cocoa Beach suits children better, mostly because of what lies around it. Watching rocket launches, a day at the space centre and Orlando's theme parks an hour away keep most children excited. Condos with kitchens and pools make life easy, though the Atlantic surf needs watching.

Naples has the gentler sea, which is shallow and calm for paddling toddlers. It also has a zoo with a boat tour, a children's museum and a children's garden at the botanical garden. However, it has no big theme park within easy reach, since Orlando is well over three hours away.

Both are car towns, with thin buses and every outing a drive. What differs is the shape of the town. Old Naples is a compact, flat grid where you can walk between the beach, restaurants and shops, although its roads clog in the winter season.

Cocoa Beach is a long strip along one main road. The sand is always close, and a bicycle covers downtown and the pier, but there is no real centre to stroll. The nearest major airport is about an hour away in Orlando.

Naples is far better for shopping. Galleries, jewellers and resort-wear boutiques line Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South under the palms, an open-air luxury mall gathers the designer labels, and outlet malls are half an hour north.

Cocoa Beach's shopping is surf culture. A giant round-the-clock surf store on the main road has been a landmark for decades, and smaller shops sell boards from local shapers. For anything else, visitors go to Cocoa Village or Orlando.

Cocoa Beach is noticeably easier on the wallet. Motels and older condos keep rooms affordable outside busy spring and launch weekends, and the beach grills are fair value. You will still pay for a hire car and the space centre.

Naples is costly from January to April, when beachfront resorts and restaurants charge premium rates. Summer is much cheaper but hot and stormy. Staying inland or in Fort Myers and cooking in a rental makes a real difference.

Naples is well ahead here. Its wealthy winter residents support the Naples Philharmonic in its own hall, touring Broadway shows, chamber music and a professional theatre company downtown, although the programme thins to very little in summer.

In Cocoa Beach, live performance mostly means cover bands on beach-bar decks. The community playhouse in Cocoa Village and the performing arts centre in Melbourne are a short drive away for anyone who wants a show.

A spa break is not really on offer in Cocoa Beach, which has only a few day spas, massage studios and yoga classes on the sand. Its rest costs nothing: an early walk along the shore, the sunset over the river and quiet weekdays outside the busy weeks.

Naples is far better set up for unwinding. Its big beachfront resorts run large spas with pools that non-guests can use, golf is everywhere, and the whole town moves at an unhurried, sunset-walk pace.