Lefkada or Peloponnese?

These are two equally strong coasts of different kinds. Lefkada's best beaches are dramatic and close together: long strands under white limestone cliffs on the west coast, with surf in the afternoon and steep shelving, and calm small bays facing wooded islets on the east. The famous coves get crowded in midsummer.

The Peloponnese spreads its beaches across a far bigger area. They include the sandy horseshoe of Voidokilia and Navarino Bay in Messinia, the pale sand of Elafonisos, pebble coves in the Mani and the easy beaches at Tolo. There is more sand and more space, and outside high summer many beaches are almost empty, but moving between them takes hours.

The Peloponnese eats noticeably better. Its cooking is rooted in Kalamata olives and oil, Mani cured pork and slow-cooked goat, and it has real wine regions in Nemea and around Tripoli. Kalamata's covered market and the wider choice in Kalamata and Nafplio give a trip some depth.

Lefkada keeps to simple tavernas. There is grilled fish on the harbours, Eglouvi lentils and local salami in the mountain villages, and too many familiar menus along the resort strips.

This is where the two differ most. The Peloponnese is one of the richest historic regions in Greece. It has Mycenae's Lion Gate, the theatre at Epidaurus, Olympia, Messene and lonely Bassae, plus the Byzantine and Venetian layer at Mystras, Monemvasia and Methoni, enough for a whole trip.

Lefkada's sights fill a morning between swims: the Santa Maura fortress at the causeway, the small museum and painted churches of Lefkada town, Faneromeni monastery and Sappho's cape.

Neither is a party destination, and evenings in both mean drinks and a stroll. Lefkada packs its summer nights into a small area. Young Greek visitors fill the lanes of Lefkada town, sailing crews gather on Nidri's harbour and windsurfers meet in Vasiliki.

The Peloponnese has café-bars along Nafplio's waterfront and bars full of locals in Kalamata. It also has the one real clubbing scene in either place, in the university city of Patras, though that is far from the beaches most visitors choose.

The Peloponnese offers far more on land. Taygetos rises to about 2,400m, and there are monastery paths in the Lousios gorge, the long Menalon Trail, the Vouraikos rack railway, winter skiing on Chelmos and birdlife at the Gialova lagoon.

Lefkada's green, steep interior suits shorter walks, to the Dimosari waterfall and between hill villages. Its real strength is on the water, with the Vasiliki winds and sheltered sailing channels.

Day trips from Lefkada are mostly by boat. Excursion boats run from Nidri to Meganisi and Kalamos, and ferries cross to Fiskardo and Ithaca, with Roman Nikopolis and Parga on the mainland nearby.

The Peloponnese offers more, and better. Car-free Hydra and Spetses are a ferry ride from the Argolid, and the Nemea wineries, Monemvasia, Elafonisos and the Arcadian villages are all within reach, with Athens about two hours away. Almost all of it needs a car.

The Peloponnese is slightly better for families. It has shallow sandy bays at Tolo and Elafonisos, resort hotels in Messinia with kids' clubs and pools, and ancient sites like Mycenae that excite older children. The cost is long car journeys.

Lefkada keeps things compact and simple. The calm east-coast bays around Nikiana and Ligia are good for paddling, but the famous west coast, with its surf and cliff stairs, is hard work with small children.

You will need a hired car in both, and buses help little in either. Lefkada is reached over a causeway, half an hour from Aktion airport. Distances are short, but the island's winding roads and the summer queues at Nidri and Porto Katsiki slow you down.

The Peloponnese has fast motorways between Corinth, Kalamata and Olympia. Its distances are of a different scale, though, and mountain and Mani roads can turn a short hop into an hour or more.

Neither is worth a trip for shopping. Lefkada offers an evening walk along the town's pedestrian street and hand embroidery in Karya. The Peloponnese has a little more variety: ceramics and worry beads in Nafplio's lanes, wine bought at Nemea wineries and the street markets of Kalamata and Tripoli.

The Peloponnese is the cheaper trip. As mainland Greece it costs less than the islands, and rooms in Mani and Arcadian villages with local wine at village tavernas are good value, though you will pay for car hire, fuel and entry to the big sites.

Lefkada sits in the middle of the Greek island range. Entry fees are few, but August rooms near the west-coast beaches and the boat trips add up.

The Peloponnese has one of the great summer experiences in Greece: ancient drama on July and August weekends in the theatre at Epidaurus, with its famous acoustics, plus Kalamata's dance festival. Lefkada's highlight is its long-running August folklore festival, with village music and dancing around it.

Both give you the same unhurried Greek pace of quiet villages and long evenings by a harbour. On Lefkada, though, that pace is nearly all there is, with very little in the way of spas or treatments.

The Peloponnese adds what the island lacks. You can soak in thermal water at the old spa towns of Loutraki and Methana or in the warm sulphur lake at Kaiafas, and the large Messinian resort hotels have proper spas for a few days of being looked after.