Havana or Naples, Florida?

Naples wins easily for beach time. Pale sand runs along the whole town, with access paths at the end of the streets in Old Naples, and the water is calm and shallow. North of town are wilder stretches at Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach.

Havana's centre meets the sea with a sea wall, so swimming means a taxi to the Playas del Este. The white sand and warm water there are lovely, but facilities are basic, and the beach is a day off from the city rather than part of every day.

Neither city is a reason to travel for food, and Naples has a slight edge at the table. Its white-tablecloth dining rooms on Fifth Avenue South and its dockside fish houses serving grouper and stone crab are reliable, if expensive.

Havana's best meals are in paladares set in mansions and on rooftops, while state-run places are often dull and menus depend on supplies. What it has that Naples does not is the bar: daiquiris and mojitos where they became famous, aged rum and strong Cuban coffee.

The gap is wide. Havana's UNESCO-listed old town, with its four great squares, baroque churches, the Morro and La Cabaña fortresses and the Capitolio, can fill days. Vedado's art deco and mid-century buildings and the Museo de la Revolución add more.

Naples is a young resort town. The Baker Museum, the Revs Institute's racing cars and Palm Cottage make a pleasant morning or two, and after that most visitors head back outdoors.

Havana is the place for a night out. Rum bars in the old town, serious salsa dancing in Vedado and Miramar clubs and crowds on the Malecón keep evenings going late, though the scene is spread out and needs taxis.

In Naples the evening means dinner, a sunset drink at a tiki bar or a piano lounge on Fifth Avenue South, and bed before midnight. Anyone wanting more drives to Fort Myers Beach or Miami.

Naples has far more wild country on hand. Big Cypress, the western Everglades, Corkscrew Swamp's boardwalk and the mangrove channels of the Ten Thousand Islands lie within an hour, with alligators, wading birds and manatees. Kayaking there is the stand-out outing, best in the dry winter.

Havana's outdoors is mostly the Malecón and the shady Almendares park. The nearest real landscape is the forest and river pools of Las Terrazas, about an hour away, and Viñales is a much longer trip.

Neither city is a strong base for excursions, but the outings differ in character. From Havana you can visit Hemingway's Finca Vigía, Cojímar and the rumba city of Matanzas, while Cuba's best places, such as Trinidad and Viñales, really need an overnight stay.

From Naples the outings are tidier and all by car: the Edison and Ford estates in Fort Myers, the shelling islands of Sanibel and Captiva, and Sarasota's Ringling museums further up the coast.

Naples is much the easier place with children. The gentle Gulf, shell hunting, the zoo's boat ride past primate islands, the Golisano Children's Museum and mangrove boat trips cover most ages. Its weak points are the lack of a big theme park and the summer storms.

Havana gives children a warm welcome, along with the aquarium, classic-car rides and cannons at the fortresses. But broken pavements, heavy heat and scarce supplies make it better suited to older children curious about music and history.

Havana is the easier city to manage without a car. The old town is walkable, the Malecón links it to Vedado on foot, and classic-car taxis, almendrones and coco-taxis cover everything else, as long as the fare is agreed first.

Naples has only a small walkable core around Fifth Avenue South and the pier. The northern beaches, the Everglades and every outing depend on a rental car, and winter traffic adds to the time.

Naples offers more for shoppers: boutiques, jewellers and galleries on Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, an open-air designer mall and outlets half an hour north. The range is pleasant but narrow.

Havana has almost no fashion or department stores. What it has is what Cuba makes: cigars, aged rum, coffee and original art from studios in Habana Vieja and Vedado, which make far more memorable souvenirs.

Havana is the cheaper trip by some way, as long as you stay in casas particulares and eat simply. Music, museums and shared taxis cost little, though state hotels and imported goods are dear, and you need to carry cash.

Naples is expensive in nearly every respect, especially in the winter high season, and a rental car adds to the bill. The free beaches, inland chain hotels and the cheaper, stormy summer are the main ways to save.

Music is where Havana leaves Naples behind. Son, bolero and rumba play in bars and courtyards from midday, Vedado's jazz clubs host top players, and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba performs at the Gran Teatro. There is street rumba at the Callejón de Hamel too.

Naples does well for its size with the Philharmonic, touring Broadway shows and local theatre, but its programme runs only from late autumn to spring and thins out almost completely in summer.

Naples is the more restful choice. Its big beachfront resorts have full spas that are open to non-guests, and quiet streets, golf and long sunset walks set the pace. Neither city has a bathing tradition.

In Havana, rest means a rocking chair on a colonial patio or a leafy guesthouse in Vedado. Spas are scarce, and the noise, heat and exhaust fumes make real quiet hard to find.