Daytona Beach or Pensacola?

Both have long, wide beaches and warm summer water, but they feel quite different. Daytona's 37km of hard-packed sand faces the open Atlantic. It is firm enough to drive on in places, the water is greenish and the waves are steady, which suits surfers at Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, but rip currents keep swimmers close to the lifeguards.

Pensacola's beaches are across the bay on Santa Rosa Island, a short drive from downtown. They have very white quartz sand, clearer green Gulf water and usually gentle surf. The national seashore keeps long stretches undeveloped, and the calm sound side is the better place for small children to wade.

Neither city is a food destination, and in both the best meals are seafood eaten by the water. Pensacola has more range: Gulf oysters, royal red shrimp and gumbo with a Creole touch, plus modern Southern restaurants, craft breweries and a Saturday market downtown around Palafox Street.

Daytona's best meals come from the old fish camps on the Halifax River and down towards Ponce Inlet, where you eat smoked fish dip and grouper sandwiches on a deck. Away from those, the main roads are lined with chains and there is little worth planning an evening around.

Pensacola has more history to see. Its Spanish, French and British past survives in the restored houses of the Seville district and around Plaza Ferdinand, and Fort Pickens stands at the western tip of the island. The National Naval Aviation Museum is a big draw, although it is on an active base where you should expect ID checks.

Daytona has fewer sights, and most of them are about speed: the Speedway tour and the story of land-speed records set on the sand. The Museum of Arts and Sciences, with its Cuban art, and the climb up the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse are worth the time, but a day or two covers the town.

Nights out are low-key in both cities, but the crowds are different. In Daytona, going out means biker saloons on Main Street, sports bars and tiki bars. The town fills up during Bike Week, Biketoberfest and race weeks, then goes quiet again.

Pensacola is more about an evening downtown, with cocktail bars, rooftop terraces and brewery taprooms around Palafox Street and the Seville Quarter, plus sand-floored beach bars on the island in summer. Neither city has much for anyone who wants to go dancing.

Both coasts are flat and watery, good for paddling, and dolphins and wading birds are common in both. Pensacola has the edge for time outdoors. The national seashore's bike path and boardwalks run along the island itself, the Blackwater River has clear-water canoeing and tubing, and divers can explore the sunken aircraft carrier offshore.

Daytona's best nature is a drive away: the Mosquito Lagoon and Merritt Island refuge to the south, winter manatees at Blue Spring and the live oaks of Tomoka State Park. Its surf breaks near Ponce Inlet are something Pensacola lacks.

Daytona is clearly the better base for outings. Within about an hour you can reach St Augustine's Spanish fort and narrow streets, Kennedy Space Center or the Orlando theme parks, three very different days out. Winter Park and DeLand are there for quieter days.

From Pensacola, the best outing is Mobile, with its antebellum streets and the battleship on the bay, and Fairhope across the water. Beyond those, the trips east are mostly other beach towns such as Destin and Seaside, so you run out of options sooner.

Both work for a family beach stay in a condo with a pool, and the difference is what fills the other days. Daytona has boardwalk arcades, small rides and a water park close at hand, with Orlando's theme parks an hour inland. Its rougher surf and the noise of Bike Week and spring break both need planning around.

Pensacola has calmer water, including shallow spots on the sound side that are ideal for toddlers. Children who love planes get the aviation museum and the Blue Angels, but families who want theme parks will find nothing like them nearby.

Both are car towns, with highways and bridges between the sights and buses too infrequent to rely on. Pensacola at least has a compact, walkable downtown around Palafox Street and a seasonal trolley on the beach. In Daytona the nicest way to get around on foot or by bike is along the hard sand itself, and the roads clog during big events.

Daytona's shopping is about brand names and biker gear. You get a large outlet centre and a regional mall for clothing, and Main Street specialises in motorcycle apparel. Pensacola is more for browsing, with independent boutiques, antique shops and the Saturday craft market along Palafox Street. Otherwise the two are much alike: an ordinary mall inland and beach shops selling swimwear and souvenirs.

Costs are much the same in both, moderate for a US beach resort, and both need a hire car. Daytona's older motels and condos keep it a little gentler on the budget, but rates jump during the Daytona 500 and Bike Week.

In Pensacola the island is most expensive in summer, but staying in town or inland saves money, and the aviation museum is free.

Pensacola has more on stage for a city its size. The restored Saenger Theatre, built in 1925, is home to the local symphony, an opera company and a ballet, and it also hosts touring shows, so you have a fair chance of a proper evening out.

Daytona has no orchestra or opera of its own. Its strongest offer is a winter series of visiting orchestras, along with touring Broadway at the Peabody Auditorium and free summer concerts at the oceanfront bandshell. For more choice, people drive to Orlando.

Neither has a spa tradition beyond resort spas and massage studios, so relaxing comes down to the slow pace of a beach town. In Daytona that means early walks on the firm sand and sunsets over the river, but race weeks and Bike Week break the calm. In Pensacola the summer peak is the time to avoid, and outside it Perdido Key and the island are slow and uncrowded.