Corsica or Menorca?

Both islands have Mediterranean beaches of the first rank, but the setting differs. Corsica's famous southern beaches, Palombaggia, Santa Giulia and Rondinara, are pale sand framed by pines and pinkish granite. The Agriates beaches in the north can only be reached by boat or a long track, which gives them the feel of an expedition.

Menorca's best swimming is in its south-coast limestone coves, Macarella, Turqueta and Mitjana, which are small, white and often have no buildings at all. Its north coast has red sand and gets rough when the tramuntana wind blows. Car-park limits and shuttle buses control access to the southern coves, while Corsica's crowds are managed simply by arriving early and walking further.

Both islands eat well when you leave the resort strips. Corsica's cooking comes from its mountains: chestnut-fed charcuterie such as lonzu and figatellu, brocciu in everything from omelettes to fiadone, and wild boar stews in village inns. It also makes serious wine around Patrimonio and Sartène, which gives it a slight edge for anyone who plans meals around a bottle.

Menorca's food is more about its harbours: lobster caldereta in Fornells, Mahón cheese bought at the farm gate, and a glass of pomada on the quay. On both islands the menus by the beaches are ordinary.

The two offer about as much sightseeing, from different eras. Corsica's heritage is a fortified frontier: Genoese citadels at Calvi and Bonifacio, the hilltop old capital of Corte, Napoleon's Ajaccio with the Palais Fesch paintings, and the carved standing stones of Filitosa. These sights are spread round a large island, so they make the stops on a road trip.

Menorca's distinctive layer is older and more concentrated. Hundreds of Bronze Age navetas, taulas and villages lie in farmland a short drive apart, and the island's two towns add Ciutadella's Gothic core and Mahón's British-era sash windows above its deep harbour. Two or three days covers it all.

Neither island is built for nightlife, and most evenings on both end over dinner and a drink by the water. Corsica's late nights are in a few big open-air clubs in the hills behind Porto-Vecchio and in the beach and harbour bars of Calvi in July and August.

Menorca's going-out is on the quays of Ciutadella and Mahón and at a club set in a sea cave near Cala en Porter. Its real high points are the town festes, above all Sant Joan in Ciutadella in June, when horses rear through the crowds and the streets party until dawn.

This is where the islands differ most. Corsica is a mountain range rising out of the sea, with high peaks in sight of the beaches. It has the GR20 along its spine, the red granite of Piana, the sea caves of Scandola and chestnut forest cut by rivers you can go canyoning in. An active traveller could spend weeks here without running out of things to do.

Menorca is a gentle biosphere reserve of dry-stone walls, wild olive and pine-lined gorges. Its best feature is the Camí de Cavalls, about 185km of coastal path in easy stages. It also has birdwatching at S'Albufera des Grau and calm sailing in Fornells Bay. It is pleasant walking country, but it has no high ground or wilderness.

Corsica gives you more to aim for. From the south there is stony Sartène and a ferry from Bonifacio to Sardinia in under an hour. From Calvi you can reach the craft villages of the Balagne, and from Bastia Cap Corse and the Patrimonio vineyards, while the narrow-gauge railway climbs to Corte. Slow roads mean each base has its own set of outings.

On Menorca a day out mostly means crossing to the other town, since Ciutadella and Mahón differ enough to fill a day each, or visiting Fornells and Binibeca. The ferry to Mallorca makes a long day, and after that most visitors go back to the beach.

Corsica entertains children with nature rather than attractions. Boat trips into the sea caves along the coast, cool river pools in the inland valleys and family campsites with pools on the east and south coasts can fill a week. There is no zoo, aquarium or theme park, though, so the island suits families who are happy with the sea and the outdoors and need nothing more.

Menorca has a little more aimed at children, and it is the easier choice overall. A small water park, farm and animal parks and glass-bottom boats break up the beach days. Older children usually enjoy scrambling around the Bronze Age villages and taulas or kayaking under the cliffs, and Arenal d'en Castell and Son Saura are gentle bays for small swimmers. The loveliest southern coves are about half an hour's walk from the car, so you have to carry everything in.

Menorca is far easier to get around. The island is about 50km long, one main road links Mahón and Ciutadella, and most drives take well under an hour. Summer buses reach the main resorts. The only hassle is the full car parks and shuttle-bus rules at the famous coves.

In Corsica a car is close to essential, and the narrow mountain roads turn short distances into long drives, with heavy summer traffic near the resorts. The scenic railway between Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia and Calvi is worth riding for its own sake, but it does not go to the south, where most of the famous beaches are.

On Corsica you mostly shop for food and blades: charcuterie, chestnut flour, honey, island wine and hand-forged knives, plus pottery and woodwork in the Balagne villages. Outside the summer boutiques of Porto-Vecchio and Calvi there is little else to browse.

Menorca's speciality is leather, which gives it a little more for those who like to shop. Avarques sandals are sold everywhere, Ciutadella and Alaior have a long tradition of making shoes, and both old towns have small boutiques. Summer evening craft markets also move from town to town.

Both islands are expensive in July and August, and neither is a budget option in high season. In Corsica, ferry crossings and the near-essential hire car add to room rates in Porto-Vecchio, Bonifacio and Calvi. Its many campsites and village inns are the best way to save.

On Menorca the savings come from renting an apartment, cooking with market produce and eating in the inland towns. Its beaches and most of its prehistoric sites cost nothing to visit. On both islands June and September are noticeably kinder to your budget.

Corsica's own sound is polyphonic singing, unaccompanied male voices in close harmony that you hear in village churches in summer. The season also brings jazz in Calvi and guitar evenings among the Patrimonio vines.

Menorca's tradition is classical. Mahón's Teatre Principal, built in 1829, is one of Spain's oldest opera houses, the great organ of Santa Maria gives summer recitals, and Ciutadella holds a long-running classical festival. On both islands there is little on outside summer.

On both islands rest comes from the pace rather than from spas. Corsica's version is long lunches, siestas and mountain villages that go quiet at dusk, along with a few simple old thermal springs such as Pietrapola.

Menorca's version is converted farmhouses, low-rise resorts and slow evenings by the harbour. Yoga and massage are easy to book in summer, and it is at its calmest in June and September.