Costa Blanca or Menorca?

These are two of the best beach destinations in Spain, but they suit different days on the sand. Costa Blanca's strength is its long beaches: the wide, gently shelving bays of Benidorm, San Juan near Alicante and the dune-backed strands of Guardamar. Around Jávea there are coves, and Altea's pebble shore has clearer water.

Menorca is best known for its undeveloped coves, Macarella, Turqueta and Mitjana, set between pine-covered cliffs on the south coast, with red-sand bays on the wilder north coast. Many have no buildings at all, and in high summer you arrive early or walk in. On the Costa Blanca you can simply walk down from the promenade.

Costa Blanca has more to eat. Its rice dishes, Dénia's red prawns, Alicante's tapas around the Mercado Central and turrón from Xixona give you plenty to explore, as long as you stay away from the international menus of the resort strips.

Menorca's cooking is good but narrow: lobster stew in Fornells, Mahón cheese bought at the farm and pomada on the quay. It gives you some memorable meals but is not a destination for food, and many kitchens close outside the summer season.

Neither is a place to come to mainly for sightseeing, and each has enough for a few days. Costa Blanca's heritage is spread across its towns: Alicante's castle and the MARQ archaeological museum, Elche's palm grove and the hilltop villages of Altea and Guadalest. In summer, festivals such as the Moors and Christians parades add to it.

Menorca's heritage is older and more unusual. Its Bronze Age tombs, taula sanctuaries and stone villages stand in open farmland, and the towns add Ciutadella's cathedral and palaces and the Georgian houses left by British rule in Mahón, above its deep harbour.

This is the widest gap between the two. Benidorm runs late all summer and never fully stops in winter, with bars, cabaret and clubs that open after midnight. Alicante's El Barrio offers a more Spanish night of small bars and terraces.

Menorca goes to bed early. Evenings mean drinks on the harbour fronts of Ciutadella and Mahón, a sunset club in a cave in the cliffs and, once a year, the street parties of Sant Joan in June. Anyone who wants to go dancing more than once should choose the mainland.

Costa Blanca has the more dramatic landscape. Limestone mountains meet the sea at the Peñón de Ifach and Montgó, and inland the Aitana range, above 1,500m, and the crags around Sella offer serious hiking and climbing.

Menorca is gentle by comparison: a biosphere reserve of dry-stone walls, wooded gorges and low hills. Its great asset is the Camí de Cavalls, a path that runs right round the coast in easy stages. It also has the wetland of S'Albufera des Grau for birdwatching and sea kayaking along the cliffs.

From the Costa Blanca you can reach real cities: Valencia, Murcia and Cartagena with its Roman theatre. There are also castle towns such as Xàtiva and Villena and the boat to the island of Tabarca. Which trips are easy depends on which end of the coast you stay on.

On Menorca, a day out usually means going to the other end of the island, to Ciutadella or Mahón, or to a village such as Fornells. The only trip off the island is the long ferry to Alcúdia on Mallorca, which takes up the whole day.

Costa Blanca is the easier choice for families. Benidorm's calm, shallow beaches are close to a theme park, water parks and animal and marine parks, and the pools at the Fonts de l'Algar make a cool day out in summer.

Menorca is gentle and the drives are short, and Cala Galdana and Son Bou have sheltered sandy beaches. But there is much less built for children, and the prettiest coves need a walk with all the beach gear. It suits families who are happy with the beach and the sea every day.

Neither is easy without a car, but the Costa Blanca has more public transport. The coastal TRAM runs from Alicante through Benidorm towards Dénia, buses link the larger resorts, and most of the resorts are within an hour of the airport. You still need a car for the mountain villages, the theme parks and the coves.

Menorca is small, so the drives are short. But summer buses miss most of the wild coves, and at the best southern bays the last stretch depends on car parks with restricted access, shuttle buses or a walk.

Alicante gives the Costa Blanca something Menorca does not have at all: proper high streets and a large Spanish department store. Elche's shoe factory outlets are close by, and the weekly markets in Jávea, Altea and Benidorm sell leather, ceramics and produce.

Menorca's shopping is small and local. Avarques sandals, leather from the old shoemaking towns of Ciutadella and Alaior, cheese and gin are the things to take home. Mahón's covered market sits in an old cloister.

Costa Blanca is far easier on a budget, at least in Benidorm and around Torrevieja, where there are plenty of apartments, package hotels and set lunch menus. The northern towns such as Jávea and Moraira cost noticeably more.

Menorca is expensive in summer, from rooms and villas to car hire and harbour restaurants. You can save by coming in June or September, cooking for yourself and eating in the inland towns. The beaches and many of the prehistoric sites cost nothing.

Alicante gives the Costa Blanca a programme that does not depend on the summer, with touring theatre, musicals and dance at the Teatro Principal and an orchestral season at the ADDA auditorium. In August, Elche stages the Misteri d'Elx, a sung medieval play performed inside its basilica. Benidorm's cabaret and tribute shows are entertainment rather than art.

Menorca's music mostly happens in summer: Ciutadella's classical festival, organ recitals at Santa Maria in Mahón and concerts in squares and cloisters. Mahón's Teatre Principal, one of Spain's oldest opera houses, has a modest season. For the rest of the year, evenings are about dinner rather than a show.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and in both places the spas are mostly in hotels. The difference is where you find the calm. On the Costa Blanca it is in the northern towns of Altea, Jávea and Moraira and at a few health retreats in the hills, and the mild winter suits long stays.

Menorca is quiet across the whole island, with farmhouse stays, low-rise resorts and slow evenings on the harbours, especially in June and September.