Gulf Shores or San Antonio?

Gulf Shores has the real thing: fine white quartz sand running unbroken from Fort Morgan to the Florida line, with low dunes in Gulf State Park and at the quieter western end. The water is warm enough for long summer swims, but keep an eye on the rip-current flags.

San Antonio is inland, so swimming here means floating the cool, clear Comal and San Marcos rivers on an inner tube less than an hour north, or using the reservoirs and Hill Country swimming holes. That makes a lovely summer afternoon, but it can't replace a beach vacation.

San Antonio is the better place to eat, because it does one cuisine very well. Breakfast tacos, puffy tacos, Sunday barbacoa and enchiladas in chili gravy are best in modest West and South Side places. Smoked brisket and the Pearl's farmers' market add to them.

Gulf Shores eats simply: fried and grilled shrimp, deep-water Royal Reds, oysters and gumbo at open-air shacks and beach-bar decks. It's fresh and satisfying, and plenty of visitors end up cooking market shrimp in their condo kitchen.

Here the gap is wide. San Antonio has the Alamo and four more 18th-century missions along the river, which together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also has San Fernando Cathedral, the German merchants' mansions of King William and two good art museums, enough for two or three full days.

Gulf Shores has Fort Morgan, the brick star fort from the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, plus a small local museum. A morning covers both, and anything more means driving to Mobile or Pensacola.

Neither is a place for late nights, but San Antonio gives you more range. Locals drink at cocktail bars and open-sided icehouses on the St. Mary's Strip, in Southtown and at the Pearl, and there are Tejano dance halls and margarita patios along the River Walk.

In Gulf Shores, going out means sand-floored beach-bar decks and the legendary roadhouse at the Florida line. These are loud in summer and at spring break, while the family crowd in the rest of the resort is asleep early.

The two are fairly evenly matched outdoors, though the landscapes have little in common. Gulf Shores is flat and watery. You can cycle Gulf State Park's paved trails through marsh and maritime forest, watch migrating birds at Bon Secour, go deep-sea fishing or on a dolphin cruise, and paddle the back bays or the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.

San Antonio has more relief, with limestone hills, cypress-lined rivers and the hiking and mountain-bike trails of Government Canyon. There are show caves to the north and bluebonnets along the back roads in spring. In both places the summer heat pushes activity into the early morning.

From Gulf Shores there are a handful of easy outings within about an hour. You can see Mobile's ironwork balconies, its Mardi Gras heritage and the battleship USS Alabama, visit bayside Fairhope with its long pier, or go to Pensacola for its historic district and naval aviation museum. The car ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island makes a pleasant crossing.

San Antonio gives you more choice. The best of it is in the German-settled Hill Country towns: Fredericksburg and the wineries along the road east of town, the old dance hall at Gruene, and quieter stops such as Boerne and Comfort, with Bandera adding a cowboy flavour. Austin, about an hour and a half away, puts the state capital within reach, though from either base you'll need to drive.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Gulf Shores is a beach resort built around families: condos with kitchens and pools, soft sand, and a water park, a small zoo and the Orange Beach Ferris wheel for time off the beach.

San Antonio is the theme-park option, with SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, plus the zoo, the Witte Museum's dinosaurs and a hands-on children's museum. Either way you'll need a car and a plan for the summer heat.

Both places mostly need a car, but San Antonio is easier. Its downtown is compact, and the shaded River Walk links the Alamo, the cathedral and the Pearl on foot. You can also cycle the river path out to the missions. Beyond the centre you'll still want a car or ride-hailing.

Gulf Shores has no such centre. The resort stretches for miles along one beach road with almost no public transport, and bikes are only really useful on the Gulf State Park trails.

San Antonio has more worth browsing. Market Square sells Mexican crafts, pottery and embroidered dresses, La Villita has artists' studios, and Western-wear specialists sell boots and hats. Malls and outlet centres cover the practical side.

In Gulf Shores, shopping means beachwear emporiums, surf and fishing shops and the big outlet mall in Foley. That's useful on a rainy day, but there's little to seek out.

San Antonio is generally the cheaper trip. Its convention trade means plenty of hotels, tacos and barbecue cost little, and the missions are free, although car hire and theme-park tickets add up.

In Gulf Shores, costs swing with the season. Beachfront condos are expensive in June and July but much cheaper in winter and the shoulder months, and the free beaches and a condo kitchen keep everyday spending down.

San Antonio has a proper stage. The symphony, opera and ballet perform at the Tobin Center, and Broadway tours play the ornate 1929 Majestic. Its own sound is conjunto and Tejano, which you can hear in dance halls and at a long-running festival.

In Gulf Shores, live music means bands on beach-bar stages, the state-line roadhouse's November songwriters' festival and touring country and rock acts at the Orange Beach amphitheatre. For anything classical, Mobile is about an hour away.

Neither has a bathing or spa tradition, and both rely on resort and hotel spas. What differs is the kind of rest. In Gulf Shores it is a quiet week of sea air and balcony sunsets away from summer weekends. In San Antonio it is a Hill Country resort or a slow morning by the Japanese Tea Garden's ponds, with the summer heat working against lazy days outdoors.