Culebra or US Virgin Islands?

These are two of the finest beach destinations in the Caribbean, and they are evenly matched. The difference is in how the beaches are spread. Culebra's centrepiece is Flamenco, a single long horseshoe with its painted tanks. Around it are snorkelling beaches at Tamarindo and Melones near Dewey, and Tortuga on Culebrita, reachable only by water taxi or kayak. There are few facilities, so you bring your own shade.

The US Virgin Islands spread their beaches across three islands. St John's north shore, with Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho Bays inside the national park, is the best stretch, Magens Bay is St Thomas's sheltered curve, and St Croix adds Sandy Point. When winter swell hits the north shores on both, the US Virgin Islands also have calmer south-facing coves to fall back on.

On Culebra you eat to refuel. Dewey has a handful of casual seafood places and food trucks selling mofongo and empanadillas, menus are short because supplies come by ferry, and many visitors stock a cooler from the grocery stores.

The US Virgin Islands give you much more to try. There is a real West Indian kitchen of kallaloo, fungi, saltfish and pates at roadside stands and festival food fairs, the best local cooking is in Christiansted and Frederiksted, and St Croix has rum distilleries. It is still not a destination for food lovers, and the resort menus on St Thomas lean American.

Culebra offers little beyond the charm of Dewey's canal and drawbridge, a small museum in an old navy powder magazine telling the story of the bombing years, and the ruined lighthouse on Culebrita.

The US Virgin Islands carry nearly two centuries of Danish rule. Christiansted's arcaded streets and yellow fort, the red Fort Christian and the sand-floored synagogue of 1833 in Charlotte Amalie, and plantation ruins such as Annaberg on St John make for several good half-days of history, though not a cultural trip.

On Culebra the night out is a sunset drink at an open-air bar near the ferry dock, perhaps with a band at the weekend, and then bed.

The US Virgin Islands have real bar strips. Red Hook and Cruz Bay fill with charter crews and visitors spilling into the street, and Christiansted's boardwalk is St Croix's evening centre. It is still bars rather than clubs, but the St Thomas carnival and the Crucian Christmas festival bring weeks of late street parties.

Both are strong on the outdoors, with a difference in kind. Culebra's nature is underwater and on the outer cays: the Luis Pena marine reserve's healthy reefs, turtles and rays off Tamarindo and Carlos Rosario, seabird colonies, and turtles nesting in spring and summer. On land it is low, dry scrub with a few short hikes.

The US Virgin Islands add green hills and sailing. St John's national park has forest trails such as Reef Bay, past petroglyphs, and the sheltered waters suit day sails and charters. Buck Island's snorkel trail and the bioluminescence of Salt River Bay add evening and boat outings that Culebra lacks.

From Culebra, the outings are boat trips to Culebrita and the empty cays. Vieques and Fajardo are possible but take real effort, so most people never leave.

The US Virgin Islands offer far more choice. St Thomas and St John are a short ferry apart, Water Island is minutes from Charlotte Amalie, and with a passport you can reach Jost Van Dyke, Tortola or Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands in about an hour. Almost all of these are still islands and beaches, so the trips vary the scenery more than the type of day.

Culebra works for school-age children who love the sea. Flamenco is calm and shallow and the turtles at Tamarindo start in waist-deep water, but there are no attractions, few shops, limited medical care, and you have to manage the ferry or a small plane.

The US Virgin Islands are easier with children. Maho Bay offers the same shallow turtle snorkelling, Coki Point adds touch pools and an underwater observatory, and resorts with their own beach on the east end of St Thomas cut out the travel. American families need no passport. The steep roads can still tire younger children.

Neither is easy, but the difficulty comes at a different point. With Culebra, the hard part is getting there: the ferry from Ceiba fills up and runs late, or you take a small plane. Once you arrive, the island is compact, with shared vans to Flamenco and a golf cart for the rest.

In the US Virgin Islands, the effort is in moving around. You drive on the left on steep, narrow roads with few pavements, rely on safari taxis, and need a long ferry or a flight to reach St Croix. In exchange, the Red Hook to Cruz Bay ferry makes it easy to combine St Thomas and St John.

Culebra has a few souvenir and beachwear shops and some local artists in Dewey, and you are told to buy anything you need before the crossing.

The US Virgin Islands have a real shopping street. Main Street in Charlotte Amalie runs through old Danish warehouses full of duty-free jewellers and watch dealers, and you will find island-made pottery and art in Cruz Bay and Christiansted, plus St Croix's hook bracelets. It is a draw if you want gems or a watch, though there is no fashion scene.

Neither is cheap, and both price everything at US levels plus the cost of shipping it in. Culebra comes out somewhat easier because there are no big resorts. You stay in guesthouses, inns and rentals, and cooking in your own kitchen keeps daily spending down, although hiring a golf cart or jeep adds to it.

The US Virgin Islands cost more, especially in the winter high season, when resorts and villas on St John and the east end of St Thomas are expensive and per-person taxi fares add up. St Croix and St John's campgrounds are the gentler options, and rates fall in summer and autumn.

Culebra's music is the occasional weekend band in a Dewey bar and the yearly patron saint festival.

The US Virgin Islands have a living tradition of their own. Quelbe scratch bands, steel pan and calypso, and mocko jumbie stilt dancers at carnival all have roots in the islands, and the university amphitheatre on St Thomas hosts touring concerts. You mostly catch these by timing your visit, not by checking a programme.

Culebra's rest comes from what is missing: no resorts, little traffic, early nights. Beyond that there are only a few independent massage therapists and yoga in some guesthouses.

The US Virgin Islands give you the same slow pace on St John and St Croix's east end, plus proper spas at the larger resorts on St Thomas and St John. That makes it easier to combine a quiet stay with a massage or a treatment.