Ischia or Korčula?

The two are evenly matched for swimming, but the beaches feel different. Ischia has more sand, most of it dark and volcanic: the long sweep of Maronti with hot springs at its western end, sunset-facing Citara and the calm, shallow bay of San Montano.

Korčula's strength is the clarity of its water. Its coast is mostly pebble and rock coves under pine, with real sand only at Pržina and Bilin Žal near Lumbarda, and the bright pebble bay of Pupnatska Luka at the bottom of a steep road on the south coast. Taxi boats from Korčula Town also reach wooded Badija and the other islets just offshore.

Ischia eats a little better. Its slow-braised rabbit in terracotta, the grilled catch in harbours like Sant'Angelo and Forio, and white wines from Epomeo's terraces give it a sense of place, even if half-board hotels keep many visitors from finding the best village tables.

Korčula's Dalmatian cooking is honest but samey from one konoba to the next, with peka-cooked octopus and lamb and Žrnovo's makaruni as the highlights. Its wines are the real draw: Grk at Lumbarda, Pošip around Čara, and oysters at Ston across the channel. Many kitchens close when summer ends.

Korčula has more to see. The walled old town, laid out in a herringbone pattern on its peninsula, holds St Mark's Cathedral with its Tintoretto, the treasury, the town museum and the house claimed as Marco Polo's birthplace, and the prehistoric cave of Vela Spila lies at the far end of the island.

Ischia's heritage is concentrated in the Aragonese Castle on its causeway and in Nestor's Cup at the Villa Arbusta museum. Beyond those, it's mostly pleasant villages and the Mortella gardens. Anyone wanting more heads to Naples.

Neither island is for a night out, and on both the evening means a long dinner and a drink at sunset. Ischia Porto has the most going on, with wine bars, cocktail terraces and a couple of summer disco venues. In Korčula Town the best drinks are on the old walls and towers above the channel, and anyone who wants to party takes a boat to a livelier island.

The landscapes are equally rewarding but quite different. Ischia is a steep volcano: paths climb through chestnut woods to the green tuff summit of Monte Epomeo, steam rises from the south coast, and the Regno di Nettuno marine reserve is good for snorkelling and diving.

Korčula is gentler, with a pine-and-vineyard ridge for walking and cycling and islets made for sea kayaking. Its wilder country lies off the island, on Sveti Ilija above Orebić and in the saltwater lakes and forest of Mljet's national park.

Ischia has the stronger list of outings. Naples is about an hour away by fast ferry, Procida is a short hop, and boats to Pozzuoli open up Baia, Solfatara and the Roman amphitheatre. In summer, Capri and Sorrento are a direct crossing away.

Korčula's outings are more rural and fewer: Pelješac's wineries and the walls of Ston, a full day on Mljet with its lake monastery, or a catamaran to Hvar Town. Dubrovnik and Split are both long days.

Ischia is the easier island with children. Its thermal parks around Forio and Lacco Ameno double as water parks set in gardens, and San Montano and Maronti offer gentle water.

Korčula's sandy, shallow bays at Lumbarda are lovely for small children, and boat trips to the islets are fun. Beyond that there is little to fill the days, and the stepped lanes of the old town, the long ferry journeys and the summer heat all need planning.

Getting around is equally awkward on both islands, but in different ways. On Ischia, one bus loop reaches every village and a car is more burden than help, so you pick a base and ride crowded buses, microtaxis and water taxis. Korčula is long and thinly served by buses, with the best coves at the bottom of steep side roads, so a hired car or scooter makes a real difference. Taxi boats are handy around Korčula Town and Lumbarda.

Ischia gives shoppers a little more. The long stroll from Ischia Porto to Ischia Ponte has resort fashion, linen, leather sandals and jewellery, plus ceramics and thermal cosmetics. Korčula has no fashion street at all, just craft studios and galleries in the old town, and its best souvenirs are bottles of Grk or Pošip, olive oil and cukarini biscuits.

Ischia is somewhat easier on the budget. Its many family-run spa hotels sell half-board stays with thermal pools included, and buses and ferries are fairly priced. Korčula's old town charges resort prices, and car hire and boat trips add up. Staying in an apartment in Lumbarda or Vela Luka and eating at inland konobas brings the cost down. On both islands, the shoulder months are noticeably cheaper than high summer.

Both islands are thin on performing arts, and what they offer is seasonal. Ischia's is more refined: chamber music in William Walton's Mortella gardens and film screenings at the castle. Korčula's is folk tradition: the Moreška sword dance, performed in the old town through the summer, and unaccompanied klapa singing in churches and squares. For real opera you'd need to cross to Naples from Ischia, and from Korčula there is nothing close.

This is the widest gap between the two islands. Ischia is built around its hot springs: hotel pools fed by thermal water, terraced parks at Citara, Lacco Ameno and Casamicciola, the steam caves of Cavascura and Sorgeto's hot sea pools, which are usable even on winter evenings.

Korčula has no springs and no bathing culture. Its calm comes from quiet vineyard villages and long shaded lunches, especially in June and September.