Kas or Paphos?

The two are close for swimming, but the kind of swimming is different. In Kas you climb down ladders from wooden decks and platforms into deep, very clear water right in town. When you want sand, Kaputas, the cove at the foot of its gorge, and the long dunes of Patara are a minibus ride away.

In Paphos the town beaches are short strips of sand and shingle behind breakwaters, so the proper beach day is at Coral Bay, with its shallow sandy crescent, or out at wild Lara Bay. Expect sunbeds and crowds there in summer, whereas the Kas decks feel more like a local swimming club.

The food is much the same in both, built on long evenings of meze, but the best meals are in different places. In Kas they are in the town itself: grilled fish and rakı by the harbour, village breakfasts with honey and gözleme, and kitchens that use herbs from the Lycian hills. The catch is a small choice that starts to repeat itself on a long stay.

In Paphos the harbour strip mostly serves package-tour menus, and you go up to Ktima or out to the hill villages for halloumi, kleftiko and Laona wines in family tavernas. That takes more effort, but the food is more varied.

Paphos is well ahead for history you can visit without leaving town. Kas has the small sea-facing theatre of Antiphellos, rock tombs in the cliff and the Lion Tomb at the top of its shopping lane, which make a pleasant morning among whitewashed houses.

The UNESCO-listed sites of Kato Paphos take days rather than hours. The mosaics in the House of Dionysus, the odeon, the sunken courtyards of the Tombs of the Kings and the district museum in Ktima make Paphos a proper destination for anyone interested in the ancient world.

Paphos has much more of a night out. Bar Street in Kato Paphos fills up in summer with pubs, karaoke bars and a few clubs that stay open into the small hours, which suits groups. Kas has no clubs. A late dinner leads to cocktails on a terrace above the sea and music bars in the lanes behind the harbour, among divers and yachting people. Both go quiet in winter.

Kas has the more striking outdoors, and it starts at the edge of town. Limestone mountains drop straight into some of the clearest water in the Mediterranean. That makes the town a diving centre for walls, caves and amphorae, and you can walk sections of the Lycian Way, kayak at Kekova, paraglide down to the marina or wade up Saklikent gorge.

Paphos has plenty of landscape too, but you need a car to reach it. There are the roadless Akamas coast, Avakas Gorge, mouflon in the Paphos Forest and the pine-covered Troodos, which even has a little skiing in winter.

Kas has more first-rate places close at hand. The ferry to the Greek island of Kastellorizo, boats to Simena's castle and the sunken city at Kekova, Myra's cliff tombs and the church of Saint Nicholas at Demre, and the UNESCO sites of Xanthos and Letoon all make full days, and most of them are under an hour away.

From Paphos you drive. Kourion's clifftop ruins, the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, the frescoed churches of the Troodos and the Omodos wine villages are fine outings. Nicosia, where you can walk across the line into the north, is a longer day.

Paphos is the more practical choice with children. It has gentle sand at Coral Bay, hotel pools and kids' clubs, a flat promenade for pushchairs, a water park, and mosaics that hold older children's interest.

Kas is calm and friendly, but it was not built with children in mind. Swimming in town means ladders into deep water, and the lanes climb steeply. It suits older children who can snorkel or want to try diving, while toddlers are better off on day trips to Patara.

Kas is a little easier without a car. The harbour, old quarter and swimming decks are close together, though the lanes are steep. Minibuses run along the coast to Kalkan, Kaputas, Patara and Demre, and boats cover Kekova and the Greek island.

Paphos is more spread out. The promenade in Kato Paphos is flat and easy, but hotels stretch far along the coast and buses do little for the villages and gorges, so most visitors hire a car and drive on the left.

Neither place is worth visiting for shopping, and they are about equal. Kas has the prettier browse: bougainvillea-shaded lanes with silver, linen, kilims and a few galleries. In Paphos the better things to buy are in the villages, such as lace, pottery, carob products and wine, while the covered market in Ktima adds baskets and souvenirs.

Paphos is a little easier on the budget, though neither is cheap. Kas is one of the more upmarket resorts on the Turkish coast, and in summer its hotels, dives and boat trips cost about what they would in southern Europe. Lokantas, pide bakeries, pensions in the back streets and minibuses keep a careful trip affordable.

Paphos costs what a eurozone resort usually does. Generous meze dinners and inexpensive sites help, but car hire adds to the total. Both are noticeably cheaper outside high summer.

Neither is a place to plan a trip around performances, but Paphos has more on. Its high point is the Aphrodite Festival, open-air opera staged in front of the harbour castle in early autumn, and there are occasional plays in the odeon. In Kas there are musicians in the bars on summer nights and now and then a concert in the small theatre by the sea.

The two are close here, and both rely on their slow pace more than on any bathing tradition. Kas is quieter in itself, and some peninsula hotels have a hammam, while yoga retreats come to the hills in spring and autumn. In Paphos it means resort spas with indoor pools, which are useful in winter, and promenade walks once the summer crowds have gone.