Costa Brava or Menorca?

Both coasts are made for swimming, and they are close enough to call level, with Menorca a shade ahead. The difference is in kind. The Costa Brava's coves at Aiguablava, Sa Riera and Tamariu have green water under pine cliffs, and there are kilometres of open sand at the Bay of Roses and Pals. Its town beaches at Lloret and Platja d'Aro are packed in summer.

Menorca's best coves on the south coast, such as Macarelleta and Mitjana, have whiter sand and more turquoise water, and many have no buildings at all, so you bring your own shade. The north offers wilder, red-sand bays, and the sea is a little warmer through the summer.

The Costa Brava is the clear choice for anyone who travels to eat. Empordà cooking pairs seafood with meat and game, the auctions at Palamós and Roses supply fish to the whole coast, local wine comes with every meal, and the country around Girona has long drawn serious food lovers.

Menorca has a real identity of its own: lobster caldereta in Fornells, Mahón cheese, pomada and pastries. Beyond the harbours and the farms the choice narrows quickly, and many kitchens close outside summer.

The Costa Brava has more to see. Its sights include the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres and his house at Portlligat, Girona's cathedral steps and Jewish quarter, the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries, and Sant Pere de Rodes above Cap de Creus. They are spread across the province, though, so seeing them takes a car and several days.

Menorca's offer is smaller but unusual. Its UNESCO-listed Bronze Age monuments, such as the Naveta des Tudons and the taulas at Torralba d'en Salord, exist nowhere else. Add Ciutadella's palaces and the Georgian streets of British-era Mahón, and two or three days covers it.

The Costa Brava has a proper party scene in Lloret de Mar and Platja d'Aro, with big clubs open until dawn all summer. Away from those resorts the villages are as quiet as anywhere on Menorca.

Menorca's nights mostly mean drinks on the quays at Ciutadella and Mahón and a sunset at the cave club near Cala en Porter. Its liveliest nights are the summer town festivals, especially Sant Joan in Ciutadella with its rearing horses.

The Costa Brava's landscape is more dramatic and more varied. The Camí de Ronda runs past red cliffs between Calella de Palafrugell and Tamariu, and the coast ends at the bare headland of Cap de Creus. The Medes Islands reserve offers some of Spain's best diving, the Garrotxa volcanoes are an hour inland and the high Pyrenees are about two hours away.

Menorca is gentler: dry-stone walls, wild olive and southern gorges such as the Barranc d'Algendar. Its great asset is the Camí de Cavalls, about 185km of coastal path right round the island, and there is birdwatching at S'Albufera des Grau. There are no mountains.

This is where the two differ most. From the Costa Brava, Barcelona is an easy day out by fast train from Girona, and there are many smaller trips too: Collioure and Perpignan over the French border, Besalú's fortified bridge, Vic's market square, the Empordà wine villages and Montserrat.

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

Both work well for children, but in different ways. The Costa Brava has more laid on: large campsites behind the shallow Bay of Roses, water parks near Lloret and Roses, and the cliff-top gardens at Blanes. You do need to keep clear of Lloret's party strip when choosing a base.

Menorca is simpler and calmer. It has low-rise resorts by sheltered beaches such as Cala Galdana and Son Bou, and every drive is short. There are few attractions built for children, so the sea has to do most of the work.

Menorca is the easier of the two to get around. The island is about 50km long, one main road links Mahón and Ciutadella, and summer buses reach the main resorts. The catch is the controlled access to the popular southern coves, where you often have to take a shuttle or walk in.

On the Costa Brava you cover more distance. None of the beach towns has a railway station, the coastal buses are sparse, and the narrow roads down to Begur and Cadaqués jam in August, so a car is close to essential.

Neither is a place to go for shopping, though the Costa Brava offers a little more. It has the pottery workshops of La Bisbal d'Empordà, the best range of independent shops in Girona and Barcelona within reach for a proper spree. Menorca's shopping is avarques sandals, leather goods from Ciutadella and Alaior, and cheese and gin from the cloister market in Mahón.

The Costa Brava is the cheaper of the two. Prices range widely, from the boutique hotels of Begur and Cadaqués down to the low-cost rooms of Lloret and the campsites around Roses, and inland set lunches are good value. A hire car and parking still add to the bill.

Menorca is expensive in July and August, when rooms, villas and car hire all peak and harbour restaurants charge island prices. Renting an apartment and coming in June or September helps, and the beaches and many of the prehistoric sites cost nothing.

Both are quiet outside summer, but the Costa Brava's summer season is bigger. It has opera and ballet in the castle grounds at Peralada, international acts in the garden at Cap Roig, the Porta Ferrada festival, and the havaneres sea songs at Calella de Palafrugell.

Menorca's offer is smaller and more intimate. Mahón's Teatre Principal dates from 1829, the Santa Maria organ gives summer recitals and Ciutadella holds a classical festival.

The two are about level, and on both the main restorative appeal is the slow pace of June and September, in a rural farmhouse or by a quiet cove. Only the Costa Brava has real spa culture, with the Roman baths and mineral springs of Caldes de Malavella near Girona. Menorca has no bathing tradition, but its low-rise calm makes winding down easy.