Fort Myers or Sarasota?

Both have calm, shallow Gulf water that suits children, but Sarasota's beaches are the bigger draw. Siesta Key's powdery quartz sand stays cool underfoot, and Lido Key is only a short hop across the causeway from downtown.

Fort Myers has no beach of its own. Its sand lies on the barrier islands, half an hour or more away by car. What it offers instead is variety, from the busy strip at Fort Myers Beach to quieter Lovers Key, and Sanibel's shelling, which has no real match on Sarasota's shore beyond the shark teeth at Venice.

Neither is a food destination, and both rely on grouper sandwiches, stone crab and waterfront seafood. Fort Myers is the more casual of the two, with shrimp and fish tacos on decks over the water, a few craft breweries in the River District and a lot of highway chains.

Sarasota has more polish, with wine bars and more ambitious dining rooms on Main Street and St Armands Circle. It also has one oddity, the Amish and Mennonite family restaurants of Pinecraft, where you come for pie rather than seafood.

Sarasota has far more to see. The Ringling alone is worth a full day, with its Baroque collection, the bayside mansion and the circus museum, and architecture fans can look for the mid-century houses of the Sarasota School.

In Fort Myers, the Edison and Ford Winter Estates make a good half day under the royal palms of McGregor Boulevard, and after that there is little to see. Many visitors based there drive north to the Ringling for their main dose of art.

Evenings are quiet in both, with an older winter crowd and few clubs. Fort Myers has a little more going on: the pier area of Fort Myers Beach gets rowdy at spring break, and the monthly art walk livens up the River District. Sarasota's nights are more about wine bars on Main Street and sunset drinks in Siesta Key Village, and anyone wanting a big night drives up to Tampa or St Petersburg.

Fort Myers has the richer wildlife. The Ding Darling refuge on Sanibel is one of the country's great birding spots, Corkscrew Swamp has a boardwalk through ancient bald cypress, and the mangrove tunnels of the Great Calusa Blueway can fill several days of paddling. In winter, manatees gather on the Orange River.

Sarasota's best counterpart is Myakka River State Park. It is a different landscape of open prairie and treetop walkways, with alligators on the riverbanks, and it is half an hour inland. There is also good kayaking off Lido Key, but overall there is less of it.

Both cities have about as many good day trips, but they lead in different directions. From Fort Myers they go south and out to the islands: smart Naples, the island villages of Sanibel and Boca Grande, and Everglades City on the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands.

From Sarasota they go north to bigger cities: the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, Ybor City in Tampa and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs. Each city is also on the other's list. Sarasota goes to Fort Myers for the Edison and Ford estates, and Fort Myers goes to Sarasota for the Ringling.

Both are gentle beach towns for young children, and Sarasota has a little more for them. Mote Marine Laboratory's aquarium, with sharks, turtles and manatees, is a proper rainy-day outing, children enjoy the circus model at the Ringling, and Busch Gardens is close enough for a day.

Fort Myers has no zoo or aquarium, and Orlando is a long drive. It makes up for this with shell hunting on Sanibel, dolphin boats, the Shell Factory's animal park and spring-training baseball in March.

You need a car in both, but Sarasota is the easier of the two. The keys, the museums and Myakka are all close together, downtown, St Armands and Siesta Key Village are each walkable, and cycling works on the keys.

Fort Myers spreads across a wide county, and the beaches and Sanibel are a real drive from town. Its walkable River District and beach trolley don't get you far, and the bridge queues in winter add to every trip.

Shopping is a sideline in both, but the kind differs. Fort Myers is about bargains, at the outlet mall and open-air centres towards Estero, with shell shops and galleries on Sanibel's Periwinkle Way. Sarasota is better for a browse: resort wear, jewellery and galleries around St Armands Circle, independent boutiques on Palm Avenue and a Saturday farmers' market downtown.

Fort Myers is the cheaper base, as long as you sleep in town or near the interstate and drive to the sand. Sanibel's beachfront in high season is still expensive, and the causeway and some beach car parks charge fees.

Sarasota costs more across the board. The keys are priced for affluent winter visitors and so is the restaurant scene, so the main savings come from staying on the mainland or coming in summer. In both, the beaches and parks cost little.

Sarasota is in a different league for a city of its size. It has a resident opera in a restored 1920s theatre, a ballet known for its Ashton repertoire, a full orchestral season, the Asolo Rep on the Ringling grounds and touring shows at the purple Van Wezel.

Fort Myers has a smaller winter programme: touring musicals at the Barbara B. Mann hall, a repertory company in a 1908 theatre and a regional symphony. Both go quiet in summer.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Sarasota offers more ways to unwind. It has day spas on Lido and Longboat Keys, sunrise yoga on the sand and, forty minutes south, the warm, spring-fed pool at Warm Mineral Springs.

Fort Myers relaxes in a quieter way. Sanibel and Captiva have low buildings, bike paths and early nights, but the spas are confined to resort hotels.