Ibiza or Menorca?

The beaches are equally good on both islands, but the coves feel different. Ibiza's best swimming is on the west coast, where Cala Comte and Cala Bassa have sandbars and turquoise shallows facing the sunset, and in the south among the dunes of Ses Salines. Formentera's Ses Illetes is a short ferry ride away, and beach restaurants and sunset drinks keep the coast busy all day.

Menorca's famous southern coves, such as Macarella and Turqueta, are mostly undeveloped, between pine-covered cliffs. You often walk in and bring your own shade and water. Its north coast adds red sand and wilder water that gets rough when the tramuntana blows.

The food is similar in quality on both islands, and on both the best of it is found away from the resort strips. Ibiza's character is in its inland country restaurants around Santa Gertrudis and Sant Josep, serving bullit de peix and sofrit pagès, with polished but costly dinners in the marina and Dalt Vila.

Menorca's cooking is more tied to its harbours and farms. You can have caldereta de langosta in Fornells, buy Mahón cheese at the farm gate and drink pomada on the quays of Mahón and Ciutadella. Neither island has much street food.

Both islands have about two days of sightseeing, but the history is very different. Ibiza's is concentrated in one place: the Renaissance walls and bastions of Dalt Vila and the Phoenician tombs of Puig des Molins below it, plus fortified white churches around the island.

Menorca's oldest layer is spread across its farmland as hundreds of Bronze Age monuments, from Naveta des Tudons to the taula sanctuaries, best seen on short drives. It has two towns as well: aristocratic Ciutadella, and Mahón with its Georgian sash windows above a great fortified harbour.

Here the islands are complete opposites. Ibiza's clubs along Platja d'en Bossa and near Sant Rafel host residencies by the world's best-known DJs, with parties going on past sunrise and boat parties and Sant Antoni's West End in between.

Menorca has harbour bars in Ciutadella and Mahón, one well-known cave club near Cala en Porter and its summer festivals, with Sant Joan in Ciutadella running until dawn. Most of its nights end early.

Menorca is the better island for walking. The whole island is a biosphere reserve, and the Camí de Cavalls circles it for about 185km in easy stages, through southern gorges such as the Barranc d'Algendar and past the wetland birdlife of S'Albufera des Grau.

Ibiza has fewer long trails but one sharper sight in the sea stack of Es Vedrà off Cala d'Hort, and flamingos on the salt pans of Ses Salines. On both islands the clear water is ideal for snorkelling and kayaking.

Neither island has much to do further afield, but the best outing differs. Ibiza has the simplest trip off the island: Formentera is about half an hour by boat, with quiet beaches you can tour by bike. Otherwise there are the white villages and hippy markets inland.

Menorca's best days out are on the island itself, because Ciutadella and Mahón are different enough to fill a day each. The ferry to Alcúdia on Mallorca is a long day, not an easy hop.

Menorca is the more natural choice for families. Cala Galdana, Son Bou and Arenal d'en Castell have shallow, sheltered water, and the resorts around them are low-rise and quiet. Older children can explore the prehistoric sites. The only drawback is that some of the prettiest coves need a half-hour walk with all the gear.

Ibiza also works for families, but only on the east coast around Santa Eulària and Es Canar or in sheltered bays such as Cala Bassa. You have to keep away from the party resorts.

On both islands a hire car is the realistic way to explore, but each has its own difficulties. Ibiza has the wider bus network, including summer night buses to the clubs and water taxis between resorts, but its roads around Ibiza Town clog up in high summer and taxis are hard to find late at night.

Menorca is simpler, with one main road running about 50km between its two towns. Its problem is the last stretch, where controlled car parks and shuttle buses limit access to the southern coves.

Ibiza has the stronger look of its own: loose white Adlib linen and boho clothing in the boutiques of the marina, below Dalt Vila and in Santa Gertrudis. The long-running hippy markets near Es Canar and Sant Carles are worth a morning.

Menorca's shopping is more practical and local. It is known for avarca sandals and leather from the workshops of Ciutadella and Alaior, and for cheese, gin and sobrassada, with a covered market in Mahón's old cloister.

Both are expensive islands in summer, but Ibiza costs noticeably more. Club entry, drinks, sunbeds and night taxis push the bill up on top of high room prices, and even apartments in Sant Antoni and inland meals only soften it.

Menorca's costs come from villas and car hire in July and August. Cooking with market produce, eating in inland towns and visiting the free or cheap prehistoric sites keep a stay within reach, especially in June or September.

Neither island is a place to come for the stage, but Menorca has more to attend. Mahón's Teatre Principal, built in 1829, is one of Spain's oldest opera houses. Santa Maria's great organ gives summer recitals, and Ciutadella holds a long-running classical festival.

Ibiza's music is played by DJs, not on stages. Live performance there means occasional flamenco, terrace jazz and folk dancing at the village festivals.

Ibiza is the better island for a restful stay, which surprises people who know it only for its clubs. Yoga, meditation and holistic retreats have been part of life in the north since the hippy years, in converted farmhouses around Sant Joan and Sant Llorenç, and the hotel spas are good.

Menorca's calm comes from its pace, with quiet resorts and evenings on the harbour. Its spas are mostly in the larger hotels and rural estates. Neither island has thermal springs or historic baths.