Crete or Sicily?

Both islands have excellent beaches, and the difference is in their character. Crete's best are in the far west: the pink-tinged sand and shallow lagoons of Elafonissi, the turquoise bay at Balos and the long strand of Falassarna. The north coast has easy resort beaches, and the south coast has pebble coves reached by boat or on foot.

Sicily's coast changes as you go round it. It runs from the white crescent of San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingaro coves to the marl cliffs of the Scala dei Turchi and the swimming platforms of Ortigia. Its real extra is offshore, with Favignana's rock pools and the black volcanic beaches of the Aeolian Islands, though August brings Italian families to most of the coast.

Sicily is the stronger island for eating. Its Arab, Norman and Spanish roots show in Palermo's market street food, Catania's fish market and pasta alla Norma, and a pastry culture of cannoli, cassata and summer granita. Each area adds its own speciality, from Trapani's fish couscous to Bronte pistachios and Etna wines.

Crete's cooking is distinctive in its own right: olive oil, wild greens, mountain cheeses, slow-cooked lamb and dakos, often best in village tavernas and in Chania's and Rethymno's backstreets. Its weak point is the north-coast resort strips, which have little of that character.

Sicily has the wider spread of history to see. The Doric temples at Agrigento and Segesta, the theatres of Syracuse and Taormina and the mosaics at Piazza Armerina sit alongside Palermo's gold Arab-Norman interiors and Monreale. The towns of Noto, Ragusa Ibla and Modica were rebuilt in baroque after 1693.

Crete's strength is narrower but deep. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the core of Minoan civilisation, and Chania's Venetian harbour and Rethymno's Ottoman balconies add later layers. On both islands the best sites are spread out, but Sicily needs more bases to cover them.

Evenings on the two islands are broadly level, and the difference lies in the kind of night out. Crete has full party strips at Malia and Hersonissos, loud and late all summer and aimed at young groups, with a more grown-up scene of cocktail bars in Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion.

Sicily has no package-resort party towns. Its busiest scene is among students in the piazzas of Catania's centre and in the street bars around Palermo's Vucciria, moving to open-air clubs at Mondello and below Taormina in summer.

Both islands are first-rate for the outdoors, but on Crete it is mountains and gorges and on Sicily it is volcanoes. On Crete you walk down Samaria to the Libyan Sea, follow the coast path between Loutro and Sfakia, or climb on the cliffs at Agiofarago.

On Sicily you cross Etna's lava fields with a guide, or climb Stromboli in the evening to watch it erupt. The Zingaro cliff path, the Madonie beech woods and diving around the Egadi and Aeolian Islands complete the picture.

Sicily offers far more variety within a day's reach of a base. From Syracuse you can tour the baroque towns of Modica, Ragusa and Scicli, from Catania the Etna wine villages, and from Palermo Cefalù, Erice and Marsala. Ferries take you to Favignana or Lipari.

On Crete the obvious days out are the other main towns, the wine villages around Peza and Archanes, and boat trips to Chrissi or Gramvousa. Santorini is a long day by fast ferry, and the length of the island limits how far a single base can reach.

Crete is better set up for children. Its north coast and the area around Chania combine gently shelving sand with resort hotels that have pools and children's clubs, waterparks and the large aquarium at Gournes, and Elafonissi's warm lagoon suits toddlers.

Sicily welcomes children just as warmly at late dinners and has shallow bays such as Mondello and San Vito Lo Capo. Beyond a theme park near Catania, though, little is built for them, and hill towns and long drives make it harder work.

On either island a hire car is the realistic way to see much, and neither is easy driving. The difference is in the layout. Crete's main towns, Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos, lie in a line along the north coast, so a single dependable bus route ties them together. The effort starts when you head south over the mountains, on steep, winding roads to villages that are sometimes served only by summer boats.

Sicily's towns are spread around a roughly triangular island rather than strung along one shore, its trains are slow and infrequent, and its buses link the main towns but not much beyond them. Traffic and parking in Palermo and Catania are an ordeal that Crete's compact towns spare you. The offshore islands also add ferry crossings that rough seas can cancel.

Sicily has more to buy. Caltagirone's ceramics, Trapani's coral work, Palermo's puppet makers and food such as Modica chocolate and Bronte pistachio cream make good souvenirs, and Via Libertà, Via Etnea and Taormina's Corso Umberto add some fashion.

Crete's shopping is limited to produce and crafts: Chania's leather-makers' lane and covered market, thyme honey, raki and pottery from Margarites, with no fashion streets to speak of.

Sicily is somewhat easier on the budget. Street food, pastry and simple trattorie cost little, and B&Bs in Palermo, Catania and the baroque south east stay fairly priced even in summer.

Crete is mid-priced and gentler than the Cyclades, with good-value village tavernas and family-run rooms, but Elounda and Chania's old town push costs up. On both islands, car hire in July and August is the expense that hurts.

Sicily has a real stage. Palermo's Teatro Massimo runs a full opera and ballet season, Catania has the Teatro Bellini, Greek tragedy is performed in the ancient theatre of Syracuse each spring, and the opera dei pupi puppet theatre is a tradition of its own.

Crete's music is lyra and lute in Rethymno's and Chania's music tavernas and at village saints' day festivals, with Anogia known for its players. It is a living folk tradition, but beyond summer festivals in its fortresses there is little formal theatre or concert life.

Neither island has a bathing culture, and both are more restful for their pace than for their spas. Crete's serious spas are in the resorts around Elounda and the Gulf of Mirabello, and its quietest retreat is car-free Loutro on the south coast.

Sicily adds natural waters that Crete lacks: hot springs near Sciacca and Segesta, volcanic mud on Vulcano and the crater lake on Pantelleria. Salina and Favignana outside August are its slower islands.