Ischia or Lake Como?

Ischia is far the better place to swim. It has the long dark volcanic sand of Maronti, sunset-facing Citara, shallow and sheltered San Montano and a warm Tyrrhenian sea from June into October, with water taxis out to rocky coves.

Lake Como has no true beaches, only lidos at Bellagio, Lenno and Menaggio, pebble shores on the upper lake and stone jetties. A cool swim between ferry rides is a pleasure there, but the water deepens quickly and the season is short.

The two eat about equally well, and both kitchens are narrow and rooted in their surroundings. Ischia leans on the volcanic hills and the harbour: rabbit braised in terracotta, clams and grilled fish in Sant'Angelo and Forio, and Biancolella whites from Epomeo's terraces.

Lake Como cooks from the lake and the Alps, with butter-fried perch on risotto, dried shad, polenta and Valtellina cheese and Nebbiolo, best eaten in the crotti and hill trattorias. On both, the good meals are uphill and away from the waterfront terraces.

Lake Como gives the sightseer more. Its villas and gardens, from Carlotta and Balbianello to Melzi and Monastero, make days of visits by boat, and Como town adds a marble cathedral, Romanesque churches and Terragni's rationalist architecture.

Ischia has one great sight in the Aragonese Castle and a fine small museum of early Greek finds at Lacco Ameno, then mostly gentle village lanes and the Mortella gardens. Two days covers it, and serious heritage means a ferry to Naples.

Neither is a place for a night out, though Ischia has a bit more going on in midsummer. Ischia Porto's waterfront has wine bars, cocktail terraces and a couple of discos that run late in July and August. On Lake Como the lakeside villages go quiet after the last ferry, and Como town's few bars are the extent of it, so a real evening out means the train to Milan.

Scenery is Lake Como's great strength. A deep glacial lake is walled by mountains topped with snow into spring, and there are long-distance trails on both shores, peaks on the Grigna and Monte San Primo, and the dependable breva wind for windsurfing and kiting around Domaso and Colico.

Ischia is greener and more volcanic than people expect. The climb up Epomeo, the steaming ground on the south coast and snorkelling in the Regno di Nettuno marine reserve are rewarding, but the island is small and a week takes in most of it.

Both are strong bases, and Lake Como edges ahead on range. From Ischia every outing starts with a ferry: Procida's pastel harbour, Naples within the hour, the Phlegraean Fields via Pozzuoli and summer boats to Capri and Sorrento. Pompeii is a long day.

Lake Como is linked by train, with Milan's Last Supper and La Scala, Bergamo's upper town and Lugano across the Swiss border all about an hour away. The lake's own ferry circuit between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio fills easy days.

Ischia works better with children, mainly because of the water. San Montano and Maronti have gentle shallows, and the thermal parks near Forio and Lacco Ameno, with pools at different temperatures, are simple all-day outings.

Lake Como offers boat rides, the Brunate funicular and gelato, but steep stepped villages, narrow roads without pavements and hotels aimed at couples make it harder going. The flatter upper lake with its campsites is the family option there.

Lake Como is the easier of the two to get around. Its ferries cross the central basin in minutes, and trains run up the eastern shore from Milan, so a car-free stay between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio works well.

On Ischia the single coastal road and its buses reach everything, but they are slow and crowded in summer, and visitors' cars are restricted. You end up relying on a base, your feet, microtaxis and water taxis, and every arrival involves a ferry from Naples or Pozzuoli. On both, driving is more trouble than it is worth.

Lake Como has the one thing worth buying, Como silk. You can find it in scarves, ties and fabric from the old mills and outlets, along with a decent mix of independent shops in Como's centre and weekly markets in the lake towns.

On Ischia the shopping amounts to an evening stroll along Via Roma and Corso Vittoria Colonna, for linen, sandals, ceramics, limoncello and thermal cosmetics. For serious fashion, each relies on its big city, Milan or Naples.

Ischia is clearly the cheaper vacation. Its many family-run spa hotels sell half-board with thermal pools included, and buses, ferries and village trattorias stay fairly priced, though sunbeds, park entry and boat trips mount up in August.

The central lake around Bellagio, Tremezzo and Cernobbio is among the dearer corners of Italy, with lakeside dining that charges for the view. Basing yourself in Como town, Lecco or the campsites of the upper lake brings costs down. Both are noticeably cheaper in spring and autumn.

Lake Como has a little more to attend, thanks to Como's early nineteenth-century Teatro Sociale with its season of opera, concerts and theatre, plus summer classical concerts in villas and churches.

Ischia's offering is seasonal. There is chamber music in the Mortella gardens, screenings and concerts at the Aragonese Castle during the summer film festival, and saints' day processions. Off-season, the nearest stage is in Naples, much as Lake Como looks to Milan for anything major.

This is where Ischia stands furthest apart. Thermal water is the island's whole culture: hotels pipe hot springs into their pools, the terraced parks at Citara, Lacco Ameno and Casamicciola step down to the sea, and Sorgeto's hot rock pools and the Cavascura steam caves add wild bathing and mud treatments.

Lake Como offers rest of a different kind, with slow days of terrace, garden and ferry and luxury spas in the grand hotels near Cernobbio and Tremezzo. It has no springs of its own, though. The nearest thermal baths are far up in the Valtellina.