Corfu or Hvar?

For swimming, the two are evenly matched, but the shore underfoot is different. Corfu has sand: long west-coast beaches such as Glyfada and the dune-backed Issos, shallow sandy water along the north, and pebble coves only in the northeast and around Paleokastritsa.

Hvar is pebble and rock almost everywhere, so you swim from coves and stone ledges, often reached by taxi boat to the pine-fringed Pakleni Islands. If you want to lie on sand, go to Corfu. If you want clear water off a rock, Hvar delivers it.

The two eat equally well, and both reward leaving the harbour menus behind. Corfu's cooking is the more unusual, with Venetian-influenced dishes such as pastitsada and sofrito, kumquat liqueur and ginger beer. Hvar is straight Dalmatian, with peka-cooked lamb and gregada, and it scores on wine: Plavac Mali from the southern slopes, poured at family cellars.

On both islands the best tables are inland, in Corfu's village tavernas and in Hvar's konobas in Pitve or Velo Grablje.

Corfu has clearly more to see. Corfu Town is a whole UNESCO-listed Venetian old town with two fortresses, the Liston arcades, a museum of Asian art and the Gorgon pediment. Outside town are the Achilleion and the clifftop ruins of Angelokastro.

Hvar's highlights are fine but compact: the white-stone square and cathedral of Hvar Town, the 1612 theatre above the Arsenal, and the ancient Greek field pattern of the Stari Grad Plain. A couple of unhurried days covers them.

Hvar is the livelier summer night out. Its harbour bars, stepped lanes and offshore beach clubs draw yacht crews and young travellers into one stylish, crowded and costly scene centred on Hvar Town.

Corfu's nightlife is spread out and comes in separate kinds: all-night clubbing at Kavos at the southern tip, a looser mix in Ipsos and Dassia, and grown-up cocktails under the Liston. It has more variety, but nowhere matches Hvar Town's peak-season energy.

Corfu has a slight edge outdoors, mainly because it is greener and larger. Its olive groves and spring wildflowers, the 900m Mount Pantokrator with views into Albania, and the island-long Corfu Trail give walkers more to work with, and the Korission lagoon adds birdlife.

Hvar is drier and gentler: limestone terraces, lavender around Velo Grablje in early summer, and a short climb to Sveti Nikola. Its best outdoor asset is kayaking and snorkelling around the Pakleni Islands.

Both islands depend on boats for outings, and the range is similar, but the destinations differ. From Corfu you can cross to another country: Saranda and the Roman and Venetian ruins of Butrint in Albania, as well as Paxos, Antipaxos and mainland Parga.

Hvar's catamarans reach Split and Diocletian's Palace in about an hour, along with walled Korčula and quiet Vis. Its own towns, Stari Grad, Jelsa and Vrboska, also make easy outings from one another.

Corfu is much the better family island. Gently shelving sandy beaches at Roda, Acharavi and Issos, resorts built around pools and kids' clubs, and a large water park give children more to do. You just need to avoid Kavos and Ipsos.

Hvar can work for a simple seaside week from Jelsa or Stari Grad, but it has no attractions for children, the shore is mostly pebbles and Hvar Town's steps and party nights are hard going with small children.

Getting around is about equally awkward on both islands, for different reasons. Corfu is the bigger island, about 60km long, with sparse buses and twisting roads, so most visitors hire a car or scooter. It has its own airport, though, so arriving is easy.

On Hvar the towns are small and walkable, but reaching the island at all means a ferry or catamaran from Split. Taxi boats then do much of the local work, and a car is mainly useful for the south coast.

Neither island is a shopping destination, but Corfu Town has more to browse. Its lanes around Nikiforou Theotoki sell olive-wood bowls, kumquat products and jewellery, and ordinary clothing chains are close by. Hvar's shopping is a handful of island products, such as lavender, cellar wine and nuns' lace, plus some resort boutiques in Hvar Town.

Corfu is noticeably easier on the budget. Package resorts on the north and east coasts offer reasonable rooms, and tavernas and buses are fairly priced. Only the Kassiopi villa coast and Corfu Town in midsummer push costs up.

Hvar Town in high summer is priced for the yacht crowd, from rooms to loungers to taxi boats. Even staying in Jelsa or Vrboska, July and August stay expensive, so June or September makes the biggest saving there.

Corfu has the richer musical life. Its historic philharmonic bands play in the Spianada and village squares through the summer, Easter processions fill the town with music, and kantades serenades survive in tavernas.

Hvar's remarkable 1612 theatre has no regular season. What it offers is summer chamber concerts in churches and the Franciscan cloister, and klapa singing at village feasts.

The two are level on rest: neither has a spa tradition, and both rely on resort hotels plus seasonal yoga. The calm comes from choosing the right base. On Corfu that means a hill village or the quiet northeast coast. On Hvar it means Vrboska or Stari Grad, ideally in June or September, well away from Hvar Town's summer noise.