Ischia or Lake Garda?

Ischia has the better swimming and more choice of beaches. You can lie on the long volcanic sand of Maronti, swim in the calm, shallow bay at San Montano or watch the sunset from Citara, and water taxis reach the coves along the rocky stretches. It is all warm sea water through the summer.

Garda's version is lake bathing from pebbles, jetties and grassy lidos, at its best around Sirmione's rock shelves and the long shores of Lazise and Bardolino. The water is pleasantly warm in high summer, but there is no sand, and the narrow north is cooler and windier.

The two eat about equally well, from different larders. Ischia cooks from the hills and the harbour, with rabbit braised in terracotta, clams and grilled fish in Sant'Angelo and Forio, and white wines from Epomeo's terraces. The choice is narrow, though, because so many visitors eat half-board in their hotels.

Garda's strength is its wine, from Bardolino and Chiaretto on the east shore and Lugana in the south to Amarone in the hills beyond, alongside lake fish, risotto and its own olive oil. On both, the best meals are found in the hills, away from the harbour fronts.

Neither is a place you visit mainly for its sights, and they differ in how their heritage is spread out. Ischia concentrates it in the Aragonese Castle on its rock off Ischia Ponte and in the Pithekoussai finds at Lacco Ameno, which include Nestor's Cup, and a couple of days covers both.

Garda spreads its heritage around the lake: Sirmione's moated castle and Roman villa ruins, d'Annunzio's eccentric Vittoriale at Gardone, and castle towns such as Malcesine and Riva. It works best as a series of half-day outings.

Both are places for a long dinner and a stroll rather than a big night out. Ischia's late evenings centre on Ischia Porto, with wine bars, cocktail terraces and a couple of discos open only in high summer. On Garda, Desenzano draws students and a crowd from Brescia and Verona, and large clubs nearby fill on summer weekends, so it has a little more of a young crowd.

Lake Garda is far stronger for the outdoors. Its narrow northern end, walled by mountains, offers the cable car up Monte Baldo with paragliding from the top, limestone walls for climbing at Arco, via ferrate and mountain-bike trails, and the afternoon wind that makes Torbole a classic for windsurfing.

Ischia's landscapes are greener and steeper than visitors expect, with chestnut-wooded paths up Monte Epomeo and steam vents on the south coast. Its real strength is underwater, in the marine protected area, where snorkelling and diving are good. Even so, a week takes in most of the island.

Both make good bases for outings, but Garda is easier for them because of the railway. From Peschiera or Desenzano, Verona is under an hour away, Venice is about an hour and a half, and Vicenza and Padua are on the same line, with Mantua and Bergamo also in reach.

From Ischia every outing starts with a ferry. That still brings Procida, Naples and the Phlegraean Fields within an easy day, with Capri in summer, but Pompeii and Herculaneum make a long day out.

Lake Garda is much better for children. The south-east shore has Gardaland, the Parco Natura Viva zoo and safari park and water parks close together, as well as large campsites with pools and children's entertainment. Older children can try biking or windsurfing in the north.

Ischia makes for a gentle beach and pool week, with shallow water at San Montano and the thermal parks working as easy water days. Little on the island is designed for children, though, and the village steps and packed summer buses take patience.

Both are awkward to get around, but on a different scale. Ischia is small, and one coastal road with buses, microtaxis and water taxis reaches every village. The distances are short, but the summer buses are slow and crowded, and a car is not worth bringing.

Garda is long, and getting from one end to the other is slow. Ferries link the towns pleasantly, trains serve only the south, and drivers face narrow, congested shore roads and little parking. On either, staying in one place and using the boats works best.

Neither is a shopping destination, and they shop in different ways. On Ischia it means an evening walk along the shops between Ischia Porto and Ischia Ponte, selling linen, sandals and painted ceramics, with thermal cosmetics as the local souvenir. On Garda it means the weekly markets in Desenzano, Lazise and Bardolino, plus olive oil, wine and outdoor gear in Riva and Arco, and serious shoppers head to Verona.

Both cost roughly what you would expect at an Italian resort, and both are noticeably cheaper in spring and autumn. Ischia's family-run spa hotels sell half-board stays that include their thermal pools, which keeps a week simple. Garda's lakefront hotels in towns such as Sirmione and Limone charge for the view, so the savings there lie in campsites and agriturismi back from the shore.

Lake Garda has more to offer, mostly thanks to its neighbour. The summer opera season in Verona's Roman arena is less than an hour from the southern shore, and the open-air theatre at the Vittoriale stages concerts of its own.

On Ischia, the summer brings chamber music in the Mortella gardens created by William Walton, and concerts and screenings at the castle. Beyond that, you need to cross to Naples.

Ischia is one of the great spa islands of Europe. Dozens of hot springs feed hotel pools and terraced thermal parks, and there are wilder places to bathe too, at the sea pools of Sorgeto and in the old steam caves at Cavascura, as well as the island's mud treatments.

Garda has one real centre for wellness, at Sirmione, where sulphurous springs rise from the lake bed, plus the open-air thermal pools in a villa park near Lazise and hotel spas along the western shore. It is a pleasant addition to a lake stay, while on Ischia the spas are the reason to go.