Hilton Head or Siesta Key?

Both are very good beach destinations, but Siesta Key has the better sand and water. Siesta Beach is soft, almost pure quartz that stays cool underfoot, and the Gulf water is calm and clear. Crescent Beach has snorkelling at Point of Rocks, and Turtle Beach is the place for shells and shark teeth.

Hilton Head has more beach, a long Atlantic stretch of hard-packed sand that is wide enough to cycle on at low tide, from the busy beach at Coligny to the quieter Driessen and Folly Field. Its surf is just as gentle for children, but the tides and marshes leave the water green and sandy.

Food is about level on both islands, so the difference is in the local dishes. Hilton Head serves Lowcountry cooking: she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, Lowcountry boils, oyster roasts in the cooler months and May River oysters from Bluffton, where Old Town has the more local kitchens.

Siesta Key eats more simply on the island itself, with grouper sandwiches, fish tacos and stone crab claws in winter. For a serious dinner you cross to Sarasota, around St Armands Circle or downtown, which also has a Saturday farmers' market.

Neither island is a culture destination, but Siesta Key gives you more because Sarasota is so close. The Ringling estate there has major Rubens canvases, the Venetian Gothic Ca' d'Zan on the bay and the circus museum. Add the Selby gardens and the mid-century modern houses and you have a rewarding day or two.

Hilton Head's heritage is smaller and more personal. It centres on the Gullah people, at Mitchelville Freedom Park and in the old family neighbourhoods, and there are short stops at the Stoney-Baynard ruins and the Coastal Discovery Museum. For historic architecture you have to go off the island.

Evenings on Hilton Head rarely go beyond a sunset drink and a cover band on a waterfront deck at Coligny or one of the marinas, among families and golfers. Outside summer even those quieten, and most of the island is asleep by midnight.

Siesta Key has a little more to offer. Siesta Village packs a few blocks of open-air bars with live bands and frozen cocktails, and it gets loud during spring break in March and April. For a more grown-up night, downtown Sarasota has cocktail bars and rooftops.

The two are broadly level here. Both are flat coasts where the attraction is wildlife and water rather than scenery. Hilton Head has spartina marsh, tidal creeks and live oaks hung with moss, dolphins feeding in Calibogue Sound, and herons and alligators on Pinckney Island. Its long path network makes cycling the main way to get out into it.

Siesta Key's version is mangroves. You can paddle through the mangrove tunnels on Lido Key, and there are manatees in the bays in winter and sea turtles nesting on the beaches in summer. Myakka River State Park, inland, adds a canopy walkway and wide wetlands.

Hilton Head has the better day trips, mainly because Savannah is under an hour away. Its squares and historic district make a full, memorable day. Beaufort's antebellum mansions, the ferry to Daufuskie Island, which has no bridge, and a long day in Charleston give you plenty more choice.

From Siesta Key the best day out is St Petersburg, for the Dalí Museum and its waterfront, with Ybor City in Tampa a little further on. Anna Maria Island, Venice and Boca Grande are pleasant, but none of the outings on the Gulf coast matches Savannah.

Hilton Head is the stronger choice for a family trip, because so much of the island was laid out for children. Paved paths let them cycle between the beach, the shops and the rental house away from traffic, and the days fill easily with dolphin cruises, mini golf, crabbing from the docks, summer evening entertainment at Harbour Town and the butterfly house at the Coastal Discovery Museum. What it lacks is a big outing, with no aquarium or theme park to fall back on.

Siesta Key holds its own at the water's edge. Siesta Beach slopes so gradually that toddlers can paddle a long way out, and it has lifeguards, showers and a playground beside the soft sand. Away from the beach there is less to do. Mote Marine Aquarium on Lido Key is the main outing, and Busch Gardens and the Orlando parks mean a long day in the car.

Hilton Head is easier to get around. Its paved paths link the beaches, villas and shopping villages, so many visitors park the car on arrival and cycle everywhere. The car is still needed for Savannah and for the airport run, and the single main road slows down on summer changeover days.

Siesta Key is small enough to manage on foot, by bike or on the free trolley if you only want the beach. Anything beyond that means driving over one of two bridges, and they jam in the winter high season when beach parking also fills early.

Shopping is a sideline on both islands, and the two are about level. Hilton Head has open-air villages at Coligny, Shelter Cove and Harbour Town and outlet malls in Bluffton, and its best souvenir is a Gullah sweetgrass basket. Siesta Village mostly sells beach basics, so the better browsing is at St Armands Circle's boutiques and the independent shops on Sarasota's Main Street.

Both are expensive American resort islands with tipping on top, and the real difference is when they are dearest. Hilton Head peaks from June to August, and spring and autumn are cheaper. Siesta Key is most expensive from January to April, when northern visitors fill the condos, and cheaper in the hot, stormy summer. On both, renting a place with a kitchen is the main way to keep costs down.

Siesta Key has much more live performance, as long as you count Sarasota. It has a resident opera company in a 1920s opera house, the Asolo Repertory Theatre at the Ringling, a ballet company and the Van Wezel hall on the bay. The season runs from autumn to spring.

Hilton Head's calendar is smaller but respectable for a resort. The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina puts on musicals, the island's symphony plays in winter, and there are jazz and Gullah festivals and free summer concerts at Harbour Town.

For relaxing, the two islands come out even, and both offer slow days rather than a spa tradition. Hilton Head's calm comes from bike rides under the live oaks and evenings by the marsh, and the big resorts have full spas. Siesta Key is more about the beach itself, with yoga on the sand, sunset walks and the especially quiet stretch around Crescent and Turtle beaches.