Culebra or Sint Maarten?

These are two excellent beach islands, but they offer different things. Culebra's beaches centre on Flamenco, a long white horseshoe in a sheltered bay with the old army tanks at one end. Around it are quiet snorkelling coves such as Tamarindo, Melones and Tortuga Beach on Culebrita. There is little shade, few kiosks and few people.

Sint Maarten offers variety and convenience rather than solitude. You have the Dutch side's Mullet Bay and Dawn Beach, plus Orient Bay, Pinel Island and Baie Rouge across the open border, and the planes landing low over Maho Beach. Facilities are much better, but cruise days crowd Great Bay and Maho.

Sint Maarten eats far better. Grand Case on the French side has French and Creole restaurants and the lolos grilling ribs and lobster, and Marigot has French bakeries for breakfast. Johnnycakes, conch and guavaberry liqueur give the island its own flavours.

Culebra has a handful of seafood places, bars and food trucks in Dewey, plus fritter kiosks at Flamenco. Supplies come in by ferry, so menus are short, and many visitors bring a cooler and cook for themselves.

Neither island is worth visiting for sights, and both can be covered in a morning. On Culebra the story is military and fairly recent: a small museum in an old navy powder magazine, the tanks on Flamenco and the ruined lighthouse on Culebrita. Sint Maarten's heritage is colonial, with the 1793 Courthouse on Front Street, Fort Amsterdam above Great Bay and Fort Louis over Marigot.

Sint Maarten has by far the bigger nightlife. Simpson Bay and the Maho area have sunset beach bars, cocktail lounges, late casinos and a few dance clubs that keep going into the small hours, especially in the winter season. The French side is calmer, with long dinners in Grand Case and parties on Orient Bay.

Culebra has a few open-air bars near the Dewey ferry dock that fill at sunset, and most of the island is asleep soon after dinner.

Culebra wins on nature, almost all of it underwater. Much of the island lies in a national wildlife refuge, and the Luis Pena reserve and the cays have healthy reefs, green turtles and rays close to shore. Seabird colonies and nesting sea turtles add to it, though the island itself is low, dry scrub.

Sint Maarten has more on land, with trails and zip lines on Pic Paradis and Sentry Hill, and the trade winds make Orient Bay good for kitesurfing and sailing. Its snorkelling at Creole Rock and dives in Man of War Shoal are pleasant, but not as rich as Culebra's.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. From Sint Maarten you can take a ferry to St Barths and Gustavia, to Anguilla's quiet beaches or to steep volcanic Saba, or fly to Sint Eustatius, and the French side is a day out in itself. Rough seas can make those crossings uncomfortable.

Culebra's outings are boat trips to Culebrita and the empty cays. Vieques and the main island are reachable but awkward, so most visitors stay on the island.

Sint Maarten is the easier choice for families, particularly with young children. Simpson Bay, Mullet Bay and Pinel Island have calm, shallow water, and there are resorts with pools and kids' clubs, self-catering apartments, zip lines and treetop courses. Rainy days are still hard to fill.

Culebra suits school-age children who love the sea. They can wade out to see turtles at Tamarindo, and the island is safe and slow. But there are no attractions, medical care is limited, and the ferry or small plane makes it harder with toddlers.

Getting around is similar overall, but the problems are different. On Culebra the hard part is getting there, on a ferry from Ceiba that is often full or late, or on a small plane. Once you arrive, the island is small, and a golf cart, a shared van or a water taxi covers it.

Sint Maarten is easy to reach but slow to cross. The roads are narrow and hilly, traffic builds around Simpson Bay and Philipsburg on cruise days, and the minibuses have no timetables, so most visitors hire a car.

Sint Maarten has real shopping and Culebra does not. Front Street in Philipsburg is a duty-free strip of jewellers, watch sellers and liquor shops, and Marigot adds French perfume, fashion and its harbour market. Culebra has a few souvenir and beachwear shops and some local artists in Dewey, so anything else is best bought before the crossing.

Neither island is cheap, but Culebra is easier on the budget. On both, imported food pushes up meal prices. Culebra has only guesthouses, inns and rentals, and its beaches and snorkelling cost little.

On Sint Maarten, beachfront resorts, villas and car hire make the winter season clearly expensive. Apartments around Simpson Bay, supermarkets and the Grand Case lolos help, and rates drop in the hurricane months.

Neither island has a theatre or concert hall, but Sint Maarten has more music. Its spring Carnival is one of the larger ones in the Caribbean, with calypso and soca contests, steel pan and late jump-ups, and beach bars host bands and DJs the rest of the year. On Culebra, live music means an occasional weekend band in Dewey and the yearly patron saint festival.

The two are fairly even here, but the rest they offer is different. Culebra has no spas beyond a few massage therapists and guesthouse yoga, but it is quiet all over, with no big resorts and little traffic. Sint Maarten has proper resort spas, but to find calm you need to stay near Dawn Beach or on the French side, away from cruise-day crowds and the Simpson Bay roads.