Lombok or Nusa Lembongan?

Lombok has more beaches, and better ones. Around the Gilis, the shallow water and pale sand mean you can snorkel with turtles straight from the beach. On the south coast, wide bays such as Selong Belanak and Mawun are calm enough for easy swimming, and they often feel nearly empty.

Lembongan's beaches are small coves instead. Mushroom Bay and Tamarind Bay are the reliable swimming spots. Dream Beach and Sandy Bay are better for looking at than swimming, and the north shore at Jungutbatu depends on the tide.

Lombok gives you a cuisine worth seeking out. Sasak cooking is hot and distinctive: grilled ayam taliwang, plecing kangkung under a fierce sambal, and the Rembiga beef skewers. It is best in Mataram's night markets and simple warung, not on the Gilis.

Lembongan has nothing like that. You eat casual café food, grilled fish and sunset dinners where the view matters more than the cooking, and the best Balinese meals are back on the mainland.

Neither island is a culture trip, but Lombok fills a day where Lembongan fills an hour or two. Around Mataram, the Balinese rulers left the Mayura water palace and the terraced gardens of Narmada. The shared temple at Lingsar and the Sasak village of Sade show the island's mix of faiths and peoples.

Lembongan has the carved gates of Pura Puseh and Pura Dalem and the hand-dug underground house. The most memorable sight is everyday working life: seaweed plots at low tide and the harvest drying along the lanes.

Lombok has a proper night out, though only in one place. Gili Trawangan's east-side strip of beach bars and rotating party nights goes on late, and Kuta has a smaller surfers' scene.

Lembongan's evenings end soon after the sunset drinks on the cliffs, because dive boats leave early. There are no clubs, and anyone who wants to dance has to go back to Bali.

Lombok has a volcano and a coast. Rinjani rises to 3,726m above the crater lake of Segara Anak, with waterfalls near Senaru and gentle walks in the Sembalun valley. Then there are the surf at Desert Point and the reefs of the Gilis.

Lembongan's nature is mostly underwater, but it is very good. Mantas gather all year off Penida, sunfish appear in the cold months, and the drift dives are among Bali's best. On land the island is low and scrubby, so for dramatic scenery you take the boat to Penida's cliffs.

Neither island has many day trips, but the trips differ. From mainland Lombok you can spend a day on a Gili, take a boat out to the clear-water islets off Sekotong, or drive a loop of weaving and pottery villages. Bali is too far for a comfortable return trip.

From Lembongan, everything goes by boat. Penida's cliffs and its cave temple, Goa Giri Putri, make a long day on rough roads, and Sanur is about half an hour away. Ceningan, across the footbridge, feels like part of your stay.

Both islands suit a simple beach vacation and offer little made for children. On Lombok, Gili Air and Gili Meno have the edge for small children: no engines, flat sandy lanes and calm, shallow water with turtles close to the shore. The downside is the boat transfers and the winding roads if you change bases.

Lembongan is better for older children, who can kayak in the mangroves or join snorkel trips. Wading out to beach-landing boats and riding up steep roads in open trucks is harder work with toddlers.

Getting around takes effort on both islands. On the roads you rely on scooters, hired drivers and agents' shuttles rather than buses. Lombok is the bigger challenge because of its size: the slow, winding mountain roads up to Senaru and Sembalun and the long haul to the far southwest take real time. The car-free Gilis work differently. You walk, cycle or take a horse cart, and public and island-hopping boats carry you between the three.

Lembongan is only a few kilometres across, but its steep, patchily paved roads have no pavements, so walking is only easy within Jungutbatu or around Mushroom Bay. Most visitors use a scooter or the open trucks their hotels arrange. With no pier, every boat lands on the beach, and you will get your feet wet each time you board.

Lombok gives you something to bring home if you buy at the source: songket and ikat from Sukarara and Pringgasela, terracotta from Banyumulek, and pearls from the Sekarbela workshops in Mataram. Lembongan has sarongs, surfwear and minimarts, and nothing more, so do your craft shopping on Bali.

Lombok is the cheaper island overall. The south coast and the Rinjani villages are especially cheap, although the Gilis cost more because everything comes over by boat.

Lembongan can also be inexpensive in Jungutbatu's family guesthouses. But prices rise around Mushroom Bay and on the cliffs, and the return fast boat and manta trips add to the bill.

Lombok's Sasak traditions give you a little more to catch, though there are few set performances. Gendang beleq drum ensembles and peresean stick fights with rattan staves are sometimes staged in Sade or at cultural events in Mataram, and the Bau Nyale sea-worm festival brings music and dance to the south coast beaches each February or March. Otherwise, live music means reggae and acoustic bands in the bars on the Gilis and in Kuta.

Lembongan has no stage at all. You might come across gamelan and dance at a village temple ceremony by chance. To see Balinese dance performed for an audience, go to Ubud on the mainland.

Lembongan is better set up for doing very little. Balinese massage is offered everywhere, from open-air pavilions in Jungutbatu to the cliff-top resort spas above Sandy Bay, and several yoga studios hold regular classes.

Lombok's calm is mostly on Gili Air and Gili Meno, with hammocks over the water and a few small retreats. Serious spa treatment means one of the larger resorts at Senggigi or on the south coast.