Daytona Beach or Gulf Shores?

In both towns the beach is the reason to come, and both are equally strong. The difference is in the sand. Daytona has 37km of wide, hard-packed Atlantic sand, firm enough to drive on in marked stretches, with steady waves, greenish water and surf around Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach.

Gulf Shores has soft white quartz sand that squeaks underfoot, and calmer Gulf water that turns clear and green on still days. Behind it are dunes in Gulf State Park and towards Fort Morgan. Rip currents are a hazard on both coasts, so swim near the lifeguards and watch the flags.

Fried shrimp, grouper sandwiches and smoked fish dip are the staples in Daytona. They are best eaten on a deck at the old fish camps over the Halifax River or down towards Ponce Inlet, with Southern breakfasts in the mornings. Gulf Shores looks towards Louisiana, with Royal Red shrimp from deep water, chargrilled oysters and gumbo at open-air seafood shacks.

Away from the seafood, there is little in either town. Chain restaurants line Daytona's main roads, and in Gulf Shores fine dining stops at a few dining rooms on the Orange Beach waterfront. A good habit on the Alabama coast is to buy fresh Gulf shrimp at a seafood market and cook it in the condo kitchen.

Daytona Beach has a real story to tell. The Speedway, home of the Daytona 500, can be toured, and the town's history of speed began with land-speed records on its own sand. The Museum of Arts and Sciences holds a notable Cuban collection and a planetarium, and the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest in Florida.

Gulf Shores has Fort Morgan, the brick star fort that played its part in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, and a small history museum. That fills a morning rather than a stay. Anyone who needs sights will get a couple of full days out of Daytona but only a single outing on the Alabama coast.

Daytona has the livelier evenings, mostly because of its biker culture. The Main Street saloons spill onto the street during Bike Week and Biketoberfest, race weeks bring a similar crowd, and tiki bars and hotel lounges cover the quieter months.

Going out in Gulf Shores means beach bars and little else. The long-famous roadhouse on the state line at Perdido Key stays loud late, and spring break brings a younger crowd. Neither town has clubs or cocktail bars worth seeking out.

Both are flat, watery coasts where the draw is wildlife rather than scenery. Near Daytona you can paddle among dolphins in Canaveral National Seashore and the Mosquito Lagoon, go birding at the Merritt Island refuge, and see manatees at Blue Spring in winter.

Gulf Shores has the paved bike trails of Gulf State Park, deep-sea fishing from Orange Beach and bird migration on the Fort Morgan peninsula in spring and autumn. Inland lies the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, a vast river swamp best explored by kayak. In both places the summer heat pushes outdoor plans to the early morning.

Daytona has the stronger day trips, and the destinations are famous. St Augustine's Spanish fort and old streets lie to the north, Kennedy Space Center to the south and Orlando's theme parks inland, each about an hour away.

From Gulf Shores the outings are pleasant rather than memorable. You can see Mobile's ironwork balconies and the USS Alabama, bayside Fairhope and Pensacola's naval aviation museum, or take the car ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island. From either town you need a car.

Gulf Shores is built for families in a way Daytona is not. The usual stay is a condo with a pool, and the soft sand and unhurried pace suit small children. A water park, a small hands-on zoo, the Ferris wheel at Orange Beach, and the nature centre and pier in Gulf State Park fill the afternoons.

Daytona works well enough for children, with boardwalk arcades, a water park and the Orlando theme parks an hour away. However, Bike Week, race weekends and spring break bring noise and crowds that families have to plan around.

Both are car towns, spread along long roads, with buses too infrequent to rely on. What differs is the car-free option. Daytona's hard sand makes a walking and cycling route along the shore, while in Gulf Shores the best way to go without a car is the trail network inside Gulf State Park. In both towns traffic jams on busy weekends and during big events.

Nobody goes to either town to shop, and both depend on a large outlet centre for brand names. Daytona adds a regional mall, biker gear on Main Street and a few galleries on Beach Street. Gulf Shores has huge beachwear and souvenir shops, surf and fishing shops and a few boutiques on the Orange Beach waterfront, with the Foley outlets as the standby for a rainy day.

Costs are similar in the two towns, but they peak at different times. In Daytona, room rates jump for the Daytona 500, Bike Week and other big events, so avoiding those weeks makes the biggest difference. Gulf Shores is dearest in June and July and gets much cheaper in winter, when long stays are common. Both need a hire car, and in both a condo kitchen keeps food costs down.

Neither town has a real arts scene, but what they offer is different. Daytona has a more formal side: a winter series of visiting orchestras, touring Broadway shows at the Peabody Auditorium, a community playhouse, and free summer concerts at the oceanfront bandshell.

Gulf Shores is about bands on beach-bar stages, the songwriters' festival held every November at the roadhouse on the state line, and touring country and rock acts at the Orange Beach amphitheatre. For more choice, Daytona looks to Orlando and Gulf Shores to Mobile.

Daytona's calm comes with conditions. During race weeks and Bike Week the engines and crowds take over, so check the calendar before you book a restful stay. Outside those weeks the rest comes from early walks on the hard sand and sunsets over the river.

Gulf Shores stays quiet for longer, and only summer weekends break its early nights. For many visitors, a slow week of sunsets from a condo balcony is the whole point. As for treatments, each town has only a few resort and day spas, with no thermal baths and no retreats.