Cocoa Beach or Williamsburg, Virginia?

Here the two are far apart. In Cocoa Beach the sand is the whole point of the place: one wide, firm strand along the barrier island, warm Atlantic water for much of the year, lifeguards near the pier and wilder stretches towards Cape Canaveral. The water is greenish rather than clear and rip currents need watching, but you are never more than a short walk from the shore.

Williamsburg is inland between two rivers, so swimming usually means the hotel pool. The calm little strip at Yorktown and the Chesapeake Bay beach at Hampton make a pleasant outing, and the big Atlantic beaches at Virginia Beach are an hour's drive. That is one beach day on a trip, not a beach vacation.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, but they eat very differently. Cocoa Beach is about fish: rock shrimp from the port, fish tacos, raw bars and dockside grills on the Banana River, all eaten in flip-flops. Williamsburg leans Southern and Virginian, with ham biscuits, peanut soup, Chesapeake crab cakes and candlelit tavern meals that are more about the setting. It also has a few bistros and wine bars by the college that Cocoa Beach lacks.

Williamsburg is the clear winner. Its restored eighteenth-century capital covers a large area of streets and greens, with original buildings, the Governor's Palace, the Capitol, costumed tradespeople and serious collections of folk and decorative art. Two or three days pass easily.

Cocoa Beach has almost nothing in this line beyond the pier. Its one great sight is a rocket rising from Cape Canaveral, watched from the sand, which is unforgettable but depends on the launch schedule. For museums you have to leave town.

Cocoa Beach has a little more life after dark. Its beach bars and open-air decks around the pier have cover bands, and spring break and long weekends bring a younger, louder crowd, though most nights still end early. Williamsburg is quieter still: student pubs in term time, a few taprooms, and a ghost walk after a tavern dinner. Whichever you pick, a proper night out means driving to Orlando or Norfolk.

Cocoa Beach has more wildlife and more on the water. The Indian River Lagoon gives you kayaking among manatees, dolphins and glowing plankton, Merritt Island and Canaveral National Seashore have alligators, winter birdlife and nesting turtles, and the surf is steady enough for learners.

Williamsburg's Tidewater countryside is gentler: forest and marsh along the James and York, a quiet parkway for cycling, the flat Capital Trail and creek paddling with ospreys and eagles. Neither place has hills, and both are at their best outdoors outside the hot summer.

Williamsburg has more to choose from. Jamestown and Yorktown are each under half an hour away, the James River plantations line Route 5, and Richmond's capitol and Civil War sites are about an hour off. That is a whole itinerary of American history within easy reach.

Cocoa Beach has a shorter list, but it includes something nowhere else can match: the Kennedy Space Center, with the Saturn V and the shuttle Atlantis. Beyond that, Orlando's theme parks and Winter Park are an hour inland, and St Augustine is a long day out.

Both are easy with children, and Williamsburg has a slight edge. It has a large European-themed park with coasters and small-child rides, a water park next door, and a Historic Area where children march with the fife-and-drum corps and climb aboard replica ships at Jamestown.

Cocoa Beach is simpler: a wide, lifeguarded beach, surf lessons, condos with kitchens, and the space centre and rocket launches to thrill them. The surf currents and summer lightning call for more care, and in town there is little else built for children.

Williamsburg is a little easier once you arrive. Its Historic Area, Merchants Square and the college form a flat, car-free core you can walk in about 20 minutes, and Amtrak stops near the centre. Cocoa Beach is a thin strip along one road, fine on a bicycle between your room, the pier and the sand, but the nearest major airport is an hour away. In both, the outlying sights need a car.

Williamsburg offers more variety. You can buy hand-made pewter, pottery and old-style printed books in the colonial shops, browse the brick-fronted stores of Merchants Square, and visit a large outlet centre on Richmond Road. Cocoa Beach is almost entirely surf gear and beachwear, anchored by a giant round-the-clock surf store that has been a landmark for decades. It is good for a board or a souvenir, but little else.

Costs are much the same: ordinary American prices plus tipping, and a hire car you can hardly avoid. Where the money goes is different. In Williamsburg, admission to the historic sites and theme parks is the biggest expense, so combination passes are worth it. In Cocoa Beach the beach itself is free, but room rates climb on launch weekends and in spring, and the space centre and Orlando tickets add up.

In Cocoa Beach, an evening's music usually means a cover band on a beach-bar deck. Anything more formal takes a short drive, to the regional arts centre in Melbourne or the community playhouse in Cocoa Village, and anyone serious about theatre or concerts goes to Orlando.

Williamsburg's performances come in eighteenth-century dress, and there are many more evenings worth planning around: candlelit recitals of period music, colonial theatre and the fife-and-drum corps marching down Duke of Gloucester Street. In term time the college adds student concerts and plays. You would still drive to Norfolk or Richmond for an orchestra or opera, but the setting makes these small shows part of the visit.

Neither town has a spa tradition, so the calm comes from the setting. Cocoa Beach offers early walks on the sand, beach yoga and sunsets over the river, with only small day spas. Williamsburg has proper resort spas at the historic inn and the riverside golf resorts, plus quiet mornings on the colonial greens and slow drives along the parkway.