Crete or Mallorca?

Both islands have top-class beaches, so the choice is about style. Crete's best are wilder and further apart. There is the pink sand and lagoon at Elafonissi, the turquoise bay at Balos and sunset at Falassarna in the far west. On the Libyan Sea, the pebble coves of the south coast are reached by boat or on foot.

Mallorca's strength is its calas: small white-sand inlets between pines in the southeast, plus the long dunes of Es Trenc. The shallow northern bays suit long, lazy days. Its Tramuntana coves are pebbly and better for snorkelling than lying on a towel.

Crete eats better across the whole island. Its cooking is one of the Mediterranean's most distinctive: wild greens, graviera and mizithra cheeses, slow-cooked goat and dakos. Often the best of it is found in an ordinary village taverna rather than in the towns.

Mallorca's rustic pork-and-oil cooking, sobrassada and ensaïmadas are good, but the rewarding meals cluster in Palma's tapas bars and in the cellers of Inca and Sineu. On both islands, avoid eating on the resort strips.

Crete has the deeper history. It was the home of the Minoans, and Knossos, Phaistos and the frescoes in the Heraklion museum are the reason to come. On top of that sit Venetian harbours and walls, Ottoman balconies in Rethymno, Spinalonga and frescoed Byzantine chapels. The catch is that seeing it all means crossing the island by car.

Mallorca's heritage is concentrated in Palma, where La Seu cathedral, the Almudaina, round Bellver Castle and the Miró studios can be seen in a couple of days. Beyond the capital come smaller pleasures, such as Chopin's cell at Valldemossa and the Bronze Age villages near Artà.

Mallorca has more nights out to choose from. Palma's old town and Santa Catalina have wine and cocktail bars, and the clubs along the Paseo Marítimo run until dawn in summer. Magaluf and Playa de Palma are party resorts on a bigger scale than anything on Crete.

Crete divides the same way, with Malia and Hersonissos as its party strips. Its grown-up side is spread across three towns: Chania's harbour, Rethymno's waterfront and Heraklion's café-bar quarter. Greek students and locals fill them, so they do not depend on visitors alone.

Both islands are excellent for the outdoors, but the landscapes differ. Crete's mountains are higher and wilder, rising above 2,400m and holding snow into spring. Gorges such as Samaria run down to the Libyan Sea, vultures circle the cliffs, and a European long-distance path crosses the whole island.

Mallorca's Tramuntana is lower and more compact, dropping sheer into the sea, with the Dry Stone Route linking its stone villages. Road cyclists come for the Sa Calobra hairpins, climbers come for deep-water soloing on the sea cliffs, and birdwatchers visit the S'Albufera wetlands in spring.

Mallorca's outings are easier to manage. Almost every town is within about an hour and a half, the old wooden train runs to Sóller, and the weekly markets at Sineu and Santanyí make a day in themselves. Boats go to Cabrera, and a ferry crosses to Menorca.

Crete has just as much variety, with its wine villages around Archanes, Anogia in the mountains and boats to Chrissi and Gramvousa. Distances are much longer, though: getting from one end of the island to the other takes most of a day. The fast ferry to Santorini is popular, but it makes for a long day.

Mallorca is the more natural choice with children. The bays of Alcúdia, Pollença and Cala Millor shelve gently into calm water, with flat promenades and resorts built for families. Short drives to the water parks, the aquarium and the boat ride through the Caves of Drach keep the days easy.

Crete works well if you stay put on the north coast or near Chania, and the shallow lagoon at Elafonissi is ideal for toddlers. Midsummer heat and long, winding drives make it harder going for little ones, though.

On Crete a hire car is close to essential. Buses link the four northern towns well, but the gorges, southern beaches and mountain villages lie down steep roads that take far longer than the map suggests. Some villages can only be reached by summer boats.

Mallorca is small enough to cross in about an hour and a half, and Palma's buses, the regional network and the rail lines are enough for a resort stay with a few outings. You will still want a car for the coves, and parking at them in summer can be a struggle.

Mallorca is better for shopping because it has a real city. Palma's Passeig des Born and Avinguda Jaume III carry fashion labels, and the old-town lanes have espadrille makers and delicatessens. There is leather from Inca and pearls from Manacor.

Crete is about bringing home what the island produces: thyme honey, olive oil and raki from Heraklion's market street, knives and leather from Chania's old lanes, and pottery from Margarites.

Crete is the cheaper island, and the gap is widest for travellers who go independently. Moving between family-run rooms and village tavernas, where generous plates often end with raki and dessert on the house, costs noticeably less than a similar trip on Mallorca. Two things narrow the gap: Elounda's luxury resorts and Chania's old town in high summer, and a hire car you can hardly do without, which costs more in July and August.

On Mallorca it works the other way round. The big package resorts in the northern bays and on the east coast are the cheapest way to stay, and from there you can get around by bus and train. Summer costs climb with the independent choices: a boutique hotel in Palma, a Tramuntana country estate or a room near the best coves. Set lunch menus and the inland cellers are where you eat for less.

Neither island is a place to come for the stage, but Mallorca offers more formal culture. Palma's nineteenth-century Teatre Principal has a short opera season and the Balearic Symphony plays through the winter. In summer there are concerts in Bellver's courtyard and the Chopin festival in Valldemossa.

Crete's music is folk rather than concert hall. Lyra players and improvised mantinades fill the music tavernas of Rethymno and Chania, and village saints' days end in dancing. Anogia is the place to hear it at its best.

The two are much alike: neither has its own bathing tradition, so the spas are in hotels. Crete's best gather around Elounda and the Gulf of Mirabello. Mallorca has the small Roman-era spring at Font Santa, though only one hotel spa uses it.

The real rest differs. Crete offers boat-only Loutro and hill villages among olive groves, while Mallorca has its converted country estates and yoga retreats.