Gatlinburg or Naples, Florida?

On beaches, the two aren't close. Gatlinburg is hundreds of kilometres from the sea. Swimming there means cold, fast river pools in the park or a drive to Douglas Lake, so for most visitors the water feature is the cabin hot tub.

Naples is built around its beach: fine, pale sand along the Gulf, calm shallow water that is warm for much of the year, and wilder stretches at Clam Pass, Delnor-Wiggins Pass and Barefoot Beach. The things to watch for are the occasional algae bloom and stingrays in the shallows.

Neither is worth travelling to for the food, but you'll eat better in Naples. Gatlinburg's Parkway runs on pancake houses, barbecue and family restaurants cooking in volume, with moonshine tastings as the local drink. Good Appalachian cooking, such as mountain trout and country ham, turns up only here and there.

Naples is more polished, with white-tablecloth dining rooms along Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, and grouper, shrimp and stone crab at the dockside fish houses around Tin City. It costs a good deal more for the privilege.

Gatlinburg's landmarks are an observation tower and mountaintop amusement areas, not historic buildings or museums. Its real heritage is in the working studios of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community, and in the log cabins, mills and churches out at Cades Cove and along the Roaring Fork, which are outings into the park rather than sights in town.

Naples gives you more for a day indoors. The Baker Museum has modern and American art, the Revs Institute holds historic racing cars, and Palm Cottage and the Mediterranean-style streets of Old Naples show how the resort began. It is still only enough for about a day.

Both towns go quiet early, in different ways. A Gatlinburg evening means a stroll along the lit Parkway, a moonshine tasting with some bluegrass, then back to the hot tub, and the strip is empty by late night.

Naples is more grown-up, with wine bars and piano lounges on Fifth Avenue South, tiki bars for the sunset and an older crowd heading home well before midnight. Neither has clubs to speak of.

Both sit beside great wild landscapes, but Gatlinburg's is the stronger and more varied. The Great Smoky Mountains start where the Parkway ends, with hardwood forest, waterfall walks, Clingmans Dome at close to 2,025m, and bears and elk. Each season changes the scene.

Naples looks out on flat wetland wilderness: Big Cypress, the western Everglades, Corkscrew Swamp and mangrove kayaking in the Ten Thousand Islands, with alligators, wading birds and sometimes manatees. It is rewarding in the dry winter but hard going in the summer heat, and there is nothing to climb.

Gatlinburg has the better day trips. Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, the drive over Newfound Gap to Cherokee and its museum, and Knoxville's old market square are all within about an hour and a half.

From Naples, the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers and the shelling islands of Sanibel and Captiva make pleasant outings, but Sarasota and Miami are each about two hours away. In both places every trip needs a car.

Gatlinburg is the stronger choice with children. The Parkway is lined with an aquarium, mini golf, alpine coasters and mountaintop parks, Dollywood is a short drive away, and the national park adds creek wading and bear sightings. The cost is crowds, queues and traffic.

Naples is gentler and simpler, with calm, shallow Gulf water, shelling, the zoo's boat tour and a children's museum. Orlando's theme parks are more than three hours away, so it suits young children happy with beach days better than older ones looking for thrills.

You need a car in both, but Gatlinburg is slightly easier without one. Its compact Parkway strip is walkable, and a trolley loops through town and on to Pigeon Forge. Cabins up steep roads and every trailhead still mean driving, though, and October traffic can stall.

Naples has the flat, walkable grid of Old Naples, which is also good for cycling. Beyond it the city sprawls along wide roads with a thin bus service, so the northern beaches and the Everglades are out of reach without a car.

Naples has the more polished shopping. Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South mix galleries, jewellers and resort-wear boutiques, and an open-air mall north of downtown carries the international designer labels.

Gatlinburg's Parkway is mostly souvenirs, fudge and T-shirts, but its Arts and Crafts Community has something Naples lacks: quilts, pottery, brooms and woodwork bought straight from the maker. Both have big outlet malls a short drive away.

Gatlinburg is clearly the cheaper of the two. Shared cabins and older motels keep accommodation affordable, especially midweek and in winter, and the national park costs little. The Parkway attractions and Dollywood do add up for a family.

Naples is expensive in its winter high season, with premium beachfront rates, restaurants priced for a wealthy clientele and a rental car on top. Summer is much cheaper, but that is also when the heat and storms arrive.

Naples has the more serious arts programme. The Naples Philharmonic plays in its own hall, and touring Broadway shows, chamber music and a professional theatre company fill the downtown calendar, though nearly all of it runs from late autumn to spring.

Gatlinburg's entertainment is lighter and runs year-round: dinner shows and country and gospel revues in Pigeon Forge, bluegrass in the tasting rooms and mountain music at Dollywood. For a classical concert you have to drive to Knoxville.

Gatlinburg's calm comes from the cabins: a hot tub on the deck, a rocking chair and mist settling on the ridges, well away from the crowds and amusement noise of the Parkway. Spas are few, so a treatment day is hard to arrange.

Naples is easier for a restful trip. Its beachfront resorts run large spas open to non-guests, and the whole town is set up for slowing down, with quiet streets, golf and long sunset walks along the Gulf. Neither has thermal springs or a bathing tradition.