Guadeloupe or Saint-Martin?

Both islands are first-rate for the beach, and the difference is range against convenience. Guadeloupe has more kinds of shore. Grande-Terre's south coast has white sand and reef-sheltered lagoons, Basse-Terre has wilder beaches such as Grande Anse, you can snorkel straight off the beach at Malendure, and the bays of Les Saintes and Marie-Galante are a ferry ride away.

Saint-Martin fits its beaches into a short drive. Orient Bay is the lively one, with water sports, the west-coast bays such as Baie Rouge are calm and clear, and Le Galion and Pinel are the gentlest. Sargassum can reach east-facing shores on both islands, and switching to the other coast is quicker on Saint-Martin.

The two eat about equally well, but in different ways. Guadeloupe's strength is everyday Creole cooking found all over the island: colombo curries, bokit from roadside vans, meals at lolos and in market towns, and agricultural rum tasted at the distilleries of Basse-Terre and Marie-Galante.

Saint-Martin's eating is concentrated in Grand Case, where French and Creole dining rooms over the water sit beside barbecue lolos, so a week of dinners can be planned around one street. It has a little more French polish, with good bakeries and wine, but on both islands the choice runs out within about a week.

Guadeloupe has much more history to see. The Mémorial ACTe in Pointe-à-Pitre is a serious museum worth planning a visit around. Beyond it are Fort Delgrès, the Amerindian rock carvings at Trois-Rivières, Hindu temples, and the windmills and sugar estates of Marie-Galante. Even so, it is an extra layer on a beach trip rather than the reason to go.

Saint-Martin has far less: the ruins of Fort Louis above Marigot, a few streets of painted creole houses and a small museum, all of which fit into a morning.

Nights are quiet on both islands and built around dinner, but the late options differ. Guadeloupe's clubs and bars are clustered in Le Gosier, where zouk and dancehall play late at weekends, and the rest of the island goes to bed early. Carnival, from January to Ash Wednesday, is when the whole island stays up.

On Saint-Martin, evenings centre on the street music and terraces of Grand Case. For anything past midnight, the casinos and clubs of Simpson Bay and Maho are a short drive across the open border.

This is where Guadeloupe pulls furthest ahead. Basse-Terre is volcanic and covered in rainforest, most of it national park. It has the climb up La Soufrière to 1,467m, trails to the Carbet falls and the Route de la Traversée under giant trees. The Cousteau Reserve around the Pigeon islets has the better diving of the two islands.

Saint-Martin's outdoors is gentler: forest walks up Pic Paradis, turtles and rays in the Orient Bay reserve, and steady trade winds for kitesurfing. It is good for active days, but not a landscape to travel for.

Guadeloupe's ferries stay within its own French archipelago. Terre-de-Haut has a painted fishing village on its bay, Marie-Galante has rum and windmills and repays a night's stay, and La Désirade is quieter still. Only Dominica, a longer crossing, takes you out of France.

From Saint-Martin the boats go to neighbours that are mostly under other flags and each different in character: unhurried Anguilla, polished St Barths, and Saba and Sint Eustatius for a long day. Without leaving the island, Philipsburg and the low-flying planes at Maho fill half a day.

Guadeloupe is the easier choice with children. Its biggest draw is the knee-deep lagoons at Sainte-Anne. Nearby are the aquarium at Le Gosier, the zoo at Parc des Mamelles, the botanical garden at Deshaies and short walks to waterfalls, with snorkelling at Malendure for older children.

Saint-Martin has calm water at Le Galion and Pinel and plenty of villas with pools, but little else made for children beyond a treetop park and the planes at Maho. Neither island has a theme park.

You need a hire car on both islands, but Guadeloupe is the easier drive. Its roads are good and French-style, the ferries to the outer islands are simple to use, and a scooter is all you need on Les Saintes. The drawback is distance and traffic at the bridges, so many visitors stay on one wing.

Distances on Saint-Martin are short, but the roads are narrow and winding, with jams around Marigot and the lagoon bridges. Minibuses link the towns rather than the beaches, and water taxis cover the short hops to Pinel and Tintamarre.

Saint-Martin is the better place to shop, mainly because it has two sides. Marigot has a waterfront market and French boutiques, and Philipsburg's Front Street adds duty-free jewellery, watches and electronics.

Guadeloupe has the spice market in Pointe-à-Pitre, madras cloth and rum from the distilleries, with chain stores and malls for everything else. The most characterful things to take home are rum from Guadeloupe and guavaberry liqueur from Saint-Martin.

Neither island is cheap, but Guadeloupe makes a budget go further. Prices are at or above those of mainland France, but villas, apartments and guesthouses with kitchens suit families and groups, and bokit vans and market food are good value.

Saint-Martin charges high Caribbean rates for rooms in the popular bays, restaurants cost French prices or more, and boat trips add up quickly. Winter is the dearest season on both islands, and Saint-Martin becomes noticeably cheaper in late spring and summer.

Guadeloupe has a living music culture that Saint-Martin lacks. Gwoka drumming, recognised by UNESCO, brings drummers, singers and dancers together at léwòz evenings. L'Artchipel in Basse-Terre puts on theatre and dance, and Marie-Galante holds the Terre de Blues festival around Pentecost.

Saint-Martin has no stage at all. Live music means steel pan, soca and reggae bands at beach bars and in Grand Case, heard over dinner, with carnival as the year's high point.

Guadeloupe has something Saint-Martin cannot match: volcanic hot springs. You can bathe in the Bains Jaunes in the forest below La Soufrière, the warm shoreline pools near Bouillante and the small thermal spa at Ravine Chaude. Les Saintes and Marie-Galante are ideal for slowing right down.

On Saint-Martin, wellness means resort spas, massage studios and yoga on the beach. The quiet is found in a villa above Anse Marcel or a calm west-coast cove, away from the traffic around Marigot.