Hilton Head or Poconos?

Hilton Head has the real beach. About 12 miles of wide, hard-packed Atlantic sand curve along the island, with mild surf and a gentle slope where small children can paddle safely. You can pick busy Coligny with its facilities or the quieter stretches at Driessen and Folly Field. The water is greenish and sandy rather than clear, and jellyfish turn up in some summers, but you can swim from May into October.

Swimming in the Poconos is a smaller pleasure in every way. The lake season lasts barely three summer months, against about six on the island. The lakes peak at around 24°C, several degrees cooler than the Atlantic off Hilton Head in high summer. The guarded beaches at Promised Land or Hickory Run are grassy patches that fill up on summer weekends, not a strand you can walk for an hour. What the lakes offer instead is calm fresh water beside a cabin, which some families prefer to surf and salt.

Hilton Head eats better, and it is better for one thing in particular: Lowcountry seafood. Local shrimp, she-crab soup, Lowcountry boils and May River oysters eaten by the water give meals a sense of place, even if the rest of the resort dining is ordinary.

The Poconos offer diners, taverns, pizza and resort dining rooms, with some Pennsylvania Dutch baking such as shoofly pie. The better meals are in the bistros and brewpubs of Stroudsburg, Jim Thorpe and Milford, and in the small wineries on the back roads.

Neither place is a cultural destination, but each has a distinct story to tell. Hilton Head's history is Gullah heritage: Mitchelville Freedom Park, old family neighbourhoods and a small museum. Beyond those there are plantation ruins and a Civil War fort, but very little old architecture.

The Poconos have coal, railways and Victorian money, and Jim Thorpe gives them a real historic town of steep brick streets with the Asa Packer Mansion. Eckley Miners' Village and Grey Towers make good half-day trips.

Both places go to sleep early, but Hilton Head has a little more going on in summer. Waterfront bars around Coligny and the marinas have cover bands, and a couple of places stay open late for a younger crowd. In the Poconos, the evening options are the casino resort at Mount Pocono, après-ski bars on winter weekends and a few brewpubs. Most evenings there are spent by the fire in a cabin.

The Poconos have more varied scenery. The Delaware cuts through Kittatinny Ridge, with the Appalachian Trail along the crest and waterfalls such as Bushkill and Dingmans in the side valleys. There is whitewater in the Lehigh Gorge, skiing in winter and black bears in the woods.

Hilton Head is flat, and its nature is all about water. You can paddle the tidal creeks and spartina marsh, watch dolphins feeding in Calibogue Sound and see herons and alligators on Pinckney Island. More than 60 miles of paved paths make cycling the island's main outdoor pleasure after golf.

Hilton Head has the stronger day trips because Savannah is so close. In less than an hour you are among its oak-shaded squares and its historic district. Beaufort's antebellum port and the ferry to car-free Daufuskie Island add variety, and Charleston is a long but worthwhile day.

From the Poconos, the best outing is Bethlehem's 1740s Moravian settlement beside the old steel blast furnaces, with Scranton's railway and coal-mine museums as another option. New York and Philadelphia are within reach, but interstate traffic makes them tiring for a single day.

Both work very well for families, but the days look different. Hilton Head is built around sand, bikes and water: safe paths away from traffic, crabbing off docks, dolphin cruises and a playground by the Harbour Town lighthouse. It has no big attraction, though, and summer storms need some planning.

The Poconos make up for weather with indoor waterpark resorts around Mount Pocono. There is also an alpine coaster at Camelback in summer and gentle ski hills for beginners in winter. The catch is that you need a car for every outing.

Both places need a car, but on Hilton Head you can mostly leave it parked once you arrive. Bike paths connect the beaches, villas and shops, and the hard sand at low tide is good for cycling. The main problem is the island's single main road, which jams on summer weekends.

The Poconos spread across four counties of forest, so most outings mean a drive of twenty minutes to an hour. Only Jim Thorpe, Stroudsburg and Milford are good for walking, and winter roads after snow call for care.

Shopping is something to do on a rainy day in both places, and each has an outlet centre: Bluffton just off the island, Tannersville beside the interstate. What differs is the browsing. Hilton Head has open-air shopping villages with galleries and resort wear, and sweetgrass baskets made by Gullah craftspeople. The Poconos have antique dealers in Jim Thorpe and along the Delaware, plus maple syrup and farm stands.

The Poconos are the cheaper trip. Midweek cabins, older motels and shared houses are good value, and the best of the region is free: trails, state-park lakes and the national recreation area. Summer weekends, the autumn-colour season and ski weekends still cost more.

Hilton Head is priced as an upmarket resort, especially from June to August. Beachfront rentals, resort-level restaurant bills with tips on top, and paid extras such as golf and boat trips all add up. Coming in spring or autumn, or staying in Bluffton, helps.

The two are broadly level, and each has a modest programme with its own character. Hilton Head has professional theatre and musicals at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, a symphony orchestra with a winter season and a Gullah celebration of music and storytelling.

In the Poconos, music centres on jazz in the village of Delaware Water Gap, roots acts at the restored Mauch Chunk Opera House and summer-stock theatre in the old resort tradition.

Both are good places to slow down, but the Poconos have more resorts built around rest. They offer secluded couples' resorts with in-room hot tubs and fireplaces, and big destination spas in the lake country around Wallenpaupack and Hawley.

On Hilton Head, relaxation comes from the pace of the place: beach walks, bike rides under the live oaks and quiet evenings by the marsh, with full spas at the large resorts if you want more.