Destin or Fort Lauderdale?

Both beaches are first-rate. The difference lies in the water and the season. Destin has fine white quartz sand and clear green Gulf water along Okaloosa Island and Henderson Beach State Park, plus the shallow Crab Island sandbar, but you can only swim there from late spring to October.

Fort Lauderdale's wide Atlantic beach along A1A can be swum all year, lifeguard towers line the main stretch, and at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea a reef lies close enough to snorkel from the shore. Destin's sand is the softer and whiter. Fort Lauderdale's summer brings afternoon storms and the odd mat of seaweed.

Neither is a place to travel for the food, and both are at their best with fish. Destin is all about Gulf catch from the charter boats, such as snapper, grouper and royal red shrimp, and some kitchens will cook what you caught. Most of the coast highway, though, is chain restaurants.

Fort Lauderdale has more variety. There are dockside fish shacks on the Intracoastal and stone crab in winter, plus Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban cooking in the inland suburbs and a strong brunch habit. For a more ambitious meal, Destin sends you east to 30A, while from Fort Lauderdale you go south to Miami.

Neither is a place for history, but Fort Lauderdale gives a curious visitor a worthwhile day. It has the Bonnet House and its subtropical gardens, the pioneer Stranahan House on the river and a respectable modern collection at the NSU Art Museum.

Destin has far less. Apart from its small fishing museum, the sights are in neighbouring Fort Walton Beach: a prehistoric temple mound and an outdoor collection of military aircraft. Anyone after architecture has to drive along the coast.

Fort Lauderdale has more choice after dark, and it lasts through the year. There are beach bars on A1A, late bars on Himmarshee Street and grown-up terraces on Las Olas. Wilton Manors has one of the country's best-known gay scenes, with drag shows along Wilton Drive.

In Destin, evenings centre on the harbour boardwalk and the beach bars of Okaloosa Island, and the liveliest scene is often in the afternoon, when boats raft up at Crab Island. Outside summer and spring break, most nights end early.

Both are flat coasts where the outdoors means the water, and Fort Lauderdale has a little more range. Its reefs and sunken wrecks give real scuba diving close to shore, and its canals are made for paddling. The Everglades, with airboats, alligators and wading birds, are less than an hour west.

Destin's strength is fishing. Deep water lies so close to shore that charters reach big game fish quickly, and the calm bay suits kayaking and watching for dolphins. On land it has high white dunes and rare coastal dune lakes in the state parks to the east.

Fort Lauderdale has the stronger list, mainly because Miami is under an hour away by car or fast train. A day there can take in Art Deco Miami Beach, Wynwood and Little Havana. Palm Beach's Flagler Museum to the north and Key Largo to the south add more options.

From Destin, the 30A towns of Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Grayton Beach make a pleasant afternoon. Pensacola, about an hour west, has a colonial historic district, a naval aviation museum and old brick forts. After that, the choice thins out quickly.

Destin is the more complete family resort. It has gentle, clear water, condos with pools, a long-running marine park with dolphin and sea-lion shows, a water park, go-karts, mini golf and pirate-ship cruises, so children rarely run out of things to do.

Fort Lauderdale is close behind but has fewer attractions built for children. It offers a lifeguarded beach, a good hands-on science museum with an aquarium, an Everglades airboat ride and a butterfly garden. Both need a car and both get hot and stormy in summer, and in Destin the rip currents make watching the beach flags essential.

Fort Lauderdale is easier without a car, as long as you stay between the beach, Las Olas and downtown, which are linked by water taxis and free trolleys. Trains also run to Miami and the Palm Beaches.

Destin is strung along one congested coastal highway with few safe crossings, so you need a car. The harbour boardwalk and the 30A bike trail further east are the only parts that really work on foot or by bike.

Both rely on outlets, but Fort Lauderdale has more to browse. Las Olas Boulevard is a shaded street of boutiques, galleries and resort fashion. Out in Sunrise is one of the largest outlet malls in the country, and a long-running flea market gives you somewhere to rummage.

Destin has an outlet centre near Miramar Beach, an open-air mall of chain stores and strips of swimwear and surf shops. Its more stylish boutiques and galleries are out in the 30A towns.

Both are expensive resort coasts, so the real difference is when the cheap months fall. Destin's rates drop from late autumn to early spring, when the sea is too cold for swimming.

Fort Lauderdale's low season is summer, which is hot and stormy but still has warm water, and winter is its most expensive time. On both coasts, a self-catering condo or apartment back from the sand is the usual way to save, and a hire car adds to the cost.

Fort Lauderdale has a proper venue in the Broward Center, with touring Broadway musicals, ballet, comedy and concerts. The Parker Playhouse and a few rock and indie venues downtown add to it.

For its symphony and touring shows, Destin relies on a college arts centre across the bay in Niceville. Otherwise there are small theatre companies, summer concerts on the lawns of the 30A towns and cover bands on bar decks.

Neither has a spa tradition, and both offer resort spas. Fort Lauderdale adds day spas on Las Olas and sunrise yoga on the sand, and its warm, dry winter makes months of slow days by the water easy.

Destin's resort spas are around Miramar Beach and Sandestin, and its calm depends on the season. Spring and autumn bring quiet walks on empty sand, but in summer traffic and crowds take much of the rest out of a stay.