Halkidiki or Paros?

Both are excellent for beaches, but the coastlines are different. Halkidiki has hundreds of kilometres of shore. Kassandra has organised sand with sunbeds and beach bars, while Sithonia has wilder granite coves, often backed by pine forest. Weekend crowds from Thessaloniki fill the easier beaches in high summer.

Paros has smaller bays around one island. They range from the boulder-framed coves at Kolymbithres to the wide sand at Golden Beach, and Antiparos is just across the water. The difference is the meltemi wind. On a strong northerly day you choose a beach on the sheltered side, which Halkidiki's calmer gulfs rarely make necessary.

Both run on the Greek taverna, with grilled octopus and fresh fish, but Paros eats a little better. Naoussa's harbour, with octopus drying in the sun, is a lovely place for dinner. Chickpeas baked in clay pots, local cheeses, souma and the island's own wines make the food feel distinctly Parian, and Naoussa also has more polished modern Greek kitchens.

Halkidiki is at its best in fishing villages like Nikiti and Toroni and in the hill villages, and it has its big green olives, pine honey and Athos wines. In the Kassandra resorts, though, menus aimed at package visitors become repetitive, and serious eating means a trip into Thessaloniki.

Paros gives you more to see without leaving the island. The Ekatontapiliani in Parikia is one of Greece's oldest surviving churches. Around it are the Frankish castle built from reused marble, Naoussa's Venetian fort and the ancient quarries at Marathi, so heritage is part of daily wandering.

Halkidiki's great monument, Mount Athos, is largely closed. Women cannot enter, and men need a permit, so most visitors see the monasteries from a boat out of Ouranoupoli. Olynthos, Stagira and Afytos fill a pleasant afternoon, but they are scattered across a region you have to drive.

Paros has the better evenings. Naoussa's harbour and back lanes fill with cocktail bars and a well-dressed crowd past midnight, while Parikia's seafront is cheaper and younger. It is all close enough that you can go out and still make the beach in the morning.

Halkidiki's nightlife sits almost entirely on Kassandra. Kallithea has open-air clubs and Pefkohori and Hanioti have bar strips, livened up by young Greeks driving in at weekends. Stay in Sithonia or near Athos and your evenings will be a quiet waterfront taverna.

Halkidiki offers more landscape. Pine forest meets the sea along Sithonia, where granite headlands and Mount Itamos make for good coastal drives and walks. Kayaking among the coves and boat trips to Diaporos and its lagoon add a lot.

Paros is classic Cyclades, with dry terraced hills, thyme and no forests. The Byzantine path from Lefkes and the Agios Ioannis Detis headland are its best walks. Its real outdoor draw is wind: Golden Beach and Pounta are serious windsurfing and kitesurfing spots, something Halkidiki's sheltered gulfs do not offer.

There is little to choose between them overall, but the day trips run in different directions. From Halkidiki you drive. Thessaloniki, with its Byzantine churches and food, is the obvious city day, and the royal tombs at Vergina, Pella and Kavala reach deeper into Macedonian history.

From Paros you take a boat. Antiparos and its cave are a short hop, Naxos makes a full day, and in summer Mykonos, Sifnos or Delos are within reach. Ferries thin out outside the season, and a hard meltemi can cancel the small ones.

Halkidiki is the easier family base. Beaches on Kassandra and around Gerakini and Psakoudia stay shallow a long way out on usually calm water, and large resorts come with pools and children's clubs. The effort lies in midsummer heat and long drives between peninsulas.

Paros works for a simpler stay at shallow bays such as Livadia, Logaras or Golden Beach. However, the wind means you sometimes have to pick a beach with the children in mind, and there are no resort-style facilities to fall back on.

Paros is far easier to get around. You can cross the whole island in under half an hour, a summer bus network runs from Parikia to Naoussa, Lefkes and the main beaches, and small boats cross Naoussa's bay. A scooter or car helps with the remoter coves but is not essential.

In Halkidiki you really need a car. The airport is one to two hours from the resorts, and buses are sparse. Each peninsula is a long finger, so moving from Kassandra to Sithonia or Athos means driving back to its base first.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Paros gives you more to browse. Naoussa's whitewashed lanes and Parikia's old market street have linen, resort wear, Greek designer jewellery and ceramics, and Lefkes has a few workshops. The range is narrow and Naoussa is pricey.

Halkidiki has resort strips of beachwear and souvenirs. The things worth taking home are olive oil, honey, wine and the icons and incense sold at Ouranoupoli. For anything else, people go to Thessaloniki.

Halkidiki is easier on the wallet. Much of its trade is Greek and Balkan families arriving by car, which keeps plenty of simple rooms and fairly priced tavernas in business. Costs rise mainly at the big Kassandra hotels in August.

Paros is expensive in high summer. Naoussa's rooms and harbour tables carry resort prices, and over a week, ferries, car hire and sunbeds add up. Basing yourself in Parikia or the inland villages helps, and on both, June and September give the same warm sea for noticeably less.

Neither is a place for performing arts, but Halkidiki has a short formal season: the Kassandra Festival's concerts and theatre in the open-air amphitheatre at Siviri, and jazz and classical evenings at the Sani Festival in July and August.

On Paros, live music is folk tradition rather than staged performance. Island violin and lute play at village feast days, the great mid-August feast of the Virgin centres on the Ekatontapiliani, and Naoussa re-enacts a pirate raid with music and fireworks.

Halkidiki has a slight edge here thanks to the thermal springs at Agia Paraskevi, warm mineral pools above the sea on Kassandra's southern tip, and the substantial spas at its large resorts. Sithonia and the road towards Ouranoupoli are the calmest places to slow down.

Paros has no bathing tradition. It offers hotel spas, a few yoga and retreat centres, and the restful pace of inland villages such as Lefkes and Marpissa, or a crossing to Antiparos. On both, quiet means staying away from the main nightlife hub in August.