Devon or Isle of Skye?

Devon has a proper beach summer. There are wide Atlantic sands for surfing at Croyde and Saunton, sheltered estuary beaches around Bantham and Bigbury, and family resort beaches in Torbay, with lifeguards and rock pools on many of them. The water is chilly, but from June to September a day on the sand is a realistic plan.

Skye's shore is for looking at. The coral-sand beach at Claigan and the black sand at Talisker are striking, but the sea stays several degrees colder than Devon's even in late summer. A swim there means a quick plunge, in the sea or in the Fairy Pools.

Seafood leads in both places, but Devon has far more places to eat it. Brixham fish, Dartmouth crab, estuary mussels and the cream tea turn up across the county, and Exeter, Plymouth and the South Hams harbour towns give you real choice. Farm shops and markets help if you are self-catering.

Skye's langoustines, scallops and Loch Harport oysters are superb, and a few remote restaurants around Dunvegan and Sleat are worth a long drive. Away from those, choice thins out to Portree pub meals. Tables need booking in summer, and many places close for winter.

Devon has more to see. Exeter Cathedral's Gothic vault, the city's Roman walls, Plymouth's Barbican and Mayflower Steps, and a string of country houses from Castle Drogo to Greenway can fill several days, alongside wandering towns such as Totnes and Dartmouth.

On Skye, history is clan and crofting history, told at a few scattered sites: Dunvegan Castle, Armadale and the thatched cottages at Kilmuir. It is atmospheric, but there is no historic town to explore, and a couple of days covers it.

Neither is a place for late nights, but Devon at least has the student-driven weekend scene of Exeter and Plymouth's Barbican and Union Street, plus a few summer bars in Torquay. Elsewhere it is harbourside pubs and moorland inns. Skye has no clubs at all. Evenings mean a dram in a Portree bar or a walkers' inn such as the one at Sligachan, and things wind down well before midnight.

Both are superb for the outdoors, but Skye's landscape is wilder and more dramatic. The jagged Black Cuillin, the Quiraing's landslip pinnacles and the Old Man of Storr have no equal in southern England, and sea eagles, otters, minke whales and dolphins add to the draw. The price is frequent rain, cloud on the tops and summer midges.

Devon is gentler and more varied in what you can do. There is open moorland on Dartmoor, Exmoor's high sea cliffs, the Jurassic Coast and the South West Coast Path along both shores. Surfing, estuary sailing and flat cycle trails such as the Tarka Trail broaden it beyond walking.

Devon is far better placed for outings. Bath, Wells and Bristol are within reach of Exeter, Dorset's Lyme Regis lies just east, and from Plymouth you can reach Cornwall's Eden Project and Fowey. Inside the county, there are Dart river boats, Clovelly and the sailing to Lundy.

Skye's day trips are fewer and depend on the weather and the ferries. Eilean Donan and Plockton are over the bridge, Raasay is a short crossing away, and longer sailings reach Mallaig or Harris. There is no sizeable town anywhere near.

Devon is the classic British family county. It has lifeguarded, gently shelving beaches, rock pools, Paignton Zoo, the National Marine Aquarium and steam railways for wet days, and cottages and caravan parks are set up for children.

Skye can work for hardy, outdoor families. Hunting for dinosaur footprints at Staffin and watching seals from a boat are memorable. But there is little made for children, the walks are often steep or along cliff edges, and the long drives and midges test young patience.

Both need a car, but Devon gives you more without one. Main-line trains link Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay, including the sea-wall run at Dawlish, and branch lines reach Exmouth and Barnstaple. Its high-hedged lanes and summer queues are a nuisance rather than a barrier.

On Skye the car is essential. A few buses run out of Portree, but they will not get you to trailheads. Single-track roads make every distance slow, and the Trotternish loop and Fairy Pools car parks clog early on summer days.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Devon has more variety. Totnes has independent shops and a market, Honiton has antiques, and Exeter and Plymouth have high streets. Skye's appeal is in the maker's workshop: tweed, knitwear, pottery and silver bought from studios down farm tracks in Waternish and Sleat, with Portree offering little beyond gifts and outdoor gear.

Devon is the easier of the two on the wallet, though neither is cheap in summer. Torbay, Plymouth and inland villages offer good value, and the wider supply of cottages and caravan parks gives you more choice.

Skye is pricier than it looks. Rooms are scarce and book up early, cheap meals are rare outside Portree, and a hire car is unavoidable. On both, the landscape is free, and visiting in spring or autumn brings costs down noticeably.

Devon has real stages. Plymouth's Theatre Royal brings touring musicals, opera and ballet, Exeter has the Northcott and choral music in the cathedral, and Dartington keeps up a summer music tradition. Skye's live culture is traditional and small-scale, with fiddle sessions in Portree pubs, village ceilidhs, Gaelic music at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and piping at the August Highland Games. It is charming, but there is no theatre or concert season.

Neither has a bathing tradition. Devon offers more for a pampered stay, with country-house and clifftop spa hotels, the Art Deco Tinside Lido in Plymouth and a sociable cold-water swimming habit along the south coast. Skye's rest is simpler and more remote: a cottage on a sea loch in Waternish or Sleat, long light evenings and very little to do after dark, with only a handful of treatment rooms and shoreside saunas.