Daytona Beach or Myrtle Beach?

The two are very close, both built on wide, flat, greenish Atlantic beaches that warm to about 28°C in summer, but they feel different. Daytona's sand is packed so hard that cars drive on marked stretches, and the surf usually has waves and strong rip currents, so lifeguarded zones matter.

Myrtle Beach has a slight edge in length and gentleness: the Grand Strand runs for around 100km and the water shelves gently with small waves. For quieter sand, Daytona has Ormond Beach and Ponce Inlet, and Myrtle has the dune-backed beaches of Surfside and Garden City.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, and both rely on casual seafood and chains. In Daytona the best meals are at the old fish camps on the Halifax River and towards Ponce Inlet, with smoked fish dip and grouper sandwiches eaten on decks over the water.

Myrtle Beach leans towards huge all-you-can-eat buffets on the strip, but the waterfront kitchens of Murrells Inlet, Calabash-style fried seafood and Lowcountry dishes such as shrimp and grits give it a slightly more regional flavour.

Daytona has the more to see. Daytona International Speedway and the land-speed history of its sand give the town a real identity, the Museum of Arts and Sciences holds a notable Cuban art collection and a planetarium, and the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse can be climbed.

Myrtle Beach is a twentieth-century resort with little past on show. Its one major sight is Brookgreen Gardens, a sculpture garden on a former rice plantation, with the Moorish-style Atalaya next door; after that, most visitors are back on the sand within a day.

Evenings are loud and casual in both, but the crowds differ. Daytona's going out centres on beach bars, sports bars and the biker saloons of Main Street, which come fully alive during Bike Week, Biketoberfest and race weeks and are quiet otherwise.

Myrtle Beach has more dancing: the entertainment complexes keep a cluster of clubs going late in summer, and North Myrtle Beach still dances the shag in its long-standing clubs. Neither has much to offer anyone after serious cocktail bars.

Daytona has the richer wildlife. Canaveral National Seashore protects miles of undeveloped dunes and the Mosquito Lagoon, where kayakers paddle among dolphins, Merritt Island ranks with Florida's best birding, and manatees gather at Blue Spring in winter. Surfers also have the breaks near Ponce Inlet.

Myrtle Beach's outdoors is gentler: maritime forest in Myrtle Beach State Park, herons and alligators at Huntington Beach State Park, and cypress swamps on the Waccamaw River. Its real outdoor draw is golf, with dozens of courses along the Strand.

Daytona is far better placed. St Augustine's Spanish fort and old streets are about an hour north, Kennedy Space Center a little more to the south and Orlando's theme parks an hour inland, so three very different days out lie within easy reach.

From Myrtle Beach the standout is Charleston, which is a long two hours each way. Closer outings are smaller in scale: the old port of Georgetown, the beach village of Pawleys Island and the riverwalk at Conway.

Myrtle Beach is the more complete family resort. It has small waves for small children, hotels with lazy rivers and kiddie pools, and a large aquarium, a seaside amusement park with a wooden coaster, water parks and a boardwalk observation wheel.

Daytona works well enough, with arcades and rides by the pier and Orlando's parks an hour away, but rip currents mean children must stay near lifeguards. Bike Week and race weekends also bring crowds that families tend to avoid.

You will need a car in either town, since buses in both are too sparse to rely on. In Daytona things are strung out along wide roads on both sides of the river, and traffic seizes up during big events. Myrtle's sprawl along the 100km Strand is longer still, with slow summer queues on Kings Highway, though some visitors manage locally with bicycles or golf carts.

Myrtle Beach gives shoppers more to do, though it is still not a shopping destination. It has two big outlet centres, lakeside complexes mixing shops with attractions, and The Market Common on the old air force base, which feels more like a town centre. Sweetgrass baskets are sold along the coast road to the south.

Daytona has one outlet centre, a regional mall and beach shops, plus motorcycle gear on Main Street and a few independent galleries on Beach Street.

Myrtle Beach comes out slightly cheaper, mainly because there are so many motel and condo rooms that off-season oceanfront stays can be remarkably cheap. Daytona is also good value for an American resort. In both, a car and tipping add to the bill. The dates to avoid differ: Daytona's prices spike for the Daytona 500 and Bike Week, Myrtle's in July and on long weekends.

Both have modest calendars, but of different kinds. Daytona's best offer is classical: a long-established winter series brings visiting orchestras and soloists, while the Peabody Auditorium hosts touring Broadway shows and the oceanfront bandshell has free summer concerts.

Myrtle Beach goes for polished variety: country, gospel and Christmas revues in large theatres, plus dinner shows with knights or pirates. It suits a family evening out more than a serious concert-goer.

Neither has any bathing tradition, so wellness in both means resort spas and a slow pace. In Daytona that calm depends on avoiding race weeks and Bike Week, and it is best found on early walks along the firm sand. In Myrtle Beach the quieter southern end around Pawleys Island, in spring or autumn, is the place to rest, away from the loud summer strip.