Fort Lauderdale or Orange Beach?

Both towns are built around a long, excellent beach, and in summer there is little to choose between them. Fort Lauderdale has pale Atlantic sand backed by the palm-lined A1A promenade and lifeguard towers, and at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea you can snorkel from the shore over a reef. Orange Beach has finer, whiter quartz sand with low dunes behind it, and the Gulf water turns green and clear on calm days.

The real difference is the season. Fort Lauderdale's water stays warm all winter, while Orange Beach's is only a summer sea. Orange Beach's slowly shelving shallows suit waders, but its rip currents need watching. For space away from the towers, head to the state park beaches near Perdido Pass.

Neither is a food destination, but Fort Lauderdale has more range. Beyond the grilled grouper and stone crab served on docks along the Intracoastal, the Jamaican and Haitian communities in the western suburbs and the Cuban bakeries across Broward give it real character, and Miami is close for a serious dinner.

Orange Beach does one thing: Gulf seafood eaten casually. Royal Red shrimp, oysters and West Indies salad at the back-bay fish houses are worth planning around, but along the main road the menus soon start to repeat.

Neither town is a place for sightseeing. Fort Lauderdale at least has a day's worth: the eccentric Bonnet House estate in its gardens, the pioneer Stranahan House on the New River and the modern collection at the NSU Art Museum.

Orange Beach has only a small museum of local Native American and fishing history. Any history here means driving out to the forts and old quarters of Pensacola or Mobile.

Fort Lauderdale offers a real choice of evenings. There are beach bars on A1A, a younger and later crowd on Himmarshee Street, quieter wine bars on Las Olas, and Wilton Manors, one of the country's best-known gay districts. Club nights still mean a trip to Miami.

Orange Beach's night out centres on the Flora-Bama, a long-standing roadhouse with sand underfoot on the state line, plus a few bars by the marina. It is lively in spring break and summer, quiet the rest of the year, and needs a car or taxi between stops.

Both are flat coasts where the outdoors mostly means water, so they are close, but the activities differ. Fort Lauderdale is for paddling its canals past waterfront mansions, diving the reefs and sunken wrecks just offshore, and taking an airboat into the Everglades sawgrass to see alligators.

Orange Beach is better on two wheels. A paved backcountry trail runs through pine woods and wetland into Gulf State Park, and Bon Secour refuge is good for birding during the migrations. Dolphin cruises and charter fishing leave from Perdido Pass.

Fort Lauderdale has the stronger single outing: Miami, under an hour away by car or fast train, with the Art Deco district, Wynwood's murals and Little Havana. Palm Beach's Flagler Museum lies to the north, and Key Largo is a long but possible day.

Orange Beach's options carry more history, with Pensacola's Spanish quarter and naval aviation museum, antebellum Mobile, Fort Morgan and the ferry to Dauphin Island. None of them matches Miami as a draw, though, and every one needs a car.

Orange Beach is the more complete family resort, but the two suit different times of year. Fort Lauderdale is the better choice outside summer, because its sea stays warm through the winter school breaks. Lifeguard towers line the main beach, and older children can snorkel over the reef at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or ride an airboat among the Everglades alligators. Most outings need a car, and summer storms cut into the afternoons.

Orange Beach comes into its own in the long summer break, when the Gulf is at its warmest and the whole town runs on a family timetable of sandcastles and early nights. Teenagers can cycle the paved trails into Gulf State Park on their own. The weak point is the sea itself. Rip currents mean watching the flags and keeping young swimmers close.

Neither town is easy without a car, but Fort Lauderdale gives you a workable core. The beach, Las Olas and downtown on the New River are linked by water taxis and free trolleys, and trains run from downtown to Miami and the Palm Beaches.

Orange Beach is strung along a single highway with almost no useful public transport. Walking gets you little further than your own block, and summer traffic crawls. A bicycle on the paved trails is the only real alternative to driving.

Fort Lauderdale has more to browse. Las Olas Boulevard is a shaded stretch of boutiques, galleries and resort fashion, the vast outlet mall in Sunrise draws shoppers from abroad, and there is a long-running flea market.

At Orange Beach, shopping means swimwear, souvenirs and fishing gear along the main road, plus an outlet mall twenty minutes inland at Foley. Nobody comes here to shop.

Both charge American resort prices, with tips on meals and a hire car on top. Orange Beach is a little gentler on the budget, mainly because large shared condos with kitchens make it easier for groups and families to cut costs.

Their cheap seasons are opposites. Fort Lauderdale is most expensive in winter and cheapest in the stormy summer. Orange Beach peaks in summer, and its rates fall sharply from late autumn to spring, when the beach is too cool for swimming. For a warm beach at the lowest cost, Fort Lauderdale's summer is the better bargain.

Fort Lauderdale has a proper evening out at the Broward Center on the New River, with touring Broadway musicals, ballet and concerts, and the smaller Parker Playhouse adds to the programme. For opera or a full orchestra, you still go to Miami.

Orange Beach's live entertainment is music rather than stage shows. A marina amphitheatre hosts country and rock tours in the warmer months, and each November the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival fills the stages around the state line.

Fort Lauderdale is the better place to be looked after. With resort spas, day spas on Las Olas and yoga on the sand at dawn, a slow week can include some pampering. Unhurried days also have some variety: a stroll by the water, lunch under the palms, an afternoon drifting along the canals. None of it is unusual for an American resort town, but there is enough to choose from.

Orange Beach offers quiet rather than treatments. A massage at one of the few resort spas is about as far as it goes. The real draw is how little there is to do, with early hours when you have the sand almost to yourself and calm water in the back bays at dusk. That peace depends on the calendar, though. Spring break and summer weekends bring noise to the shore and the main road, so a restful stay means picking your weeks.