Mallorca or Rhodes?

Both are first-rate swimming islands, and the real difference is the kind of beach. Mallorca has more white sand. There are the turquoise calas of the southeast, such as Caló des Moro and Cala Mondragó, the wild dunes of Es Trenc, and long shallow bays at Alcúdia and Pollença, which give it a slight edge for variety.

Rhodes strings its swimming along one sheltered east coast from Faliraki to Lindos. The sand there is often mixed with fine shingle, with soft Tsambika and the little bay of St Paul's below the acropolis as highlights. Prasonisi, where two seas meet on either side of a sandbar, has no real equal on Mallorca.

Mallorca gives the more rewarding table. Palma has tapas in Santa Catalina, the Mercat de l'Olivar and chefs cooking with island produce. Inland, cellers in Inca and Sineu serve sobrassada and frit mallorquí in old wine vaults, with Binissalem wines alongside.

Rhodes is more about long, simple meals: chickpea pitaroudia, slow-cooked goat and fish by weight in village tavernas, with little fine dining. On both islands the resort strips are where meals go wrong, but Rhodes has fewer serious alternatives.

Rhodes has the stronger heritage by some distance. Its Old Town is a complete fortified medieval city, where mosques, a synagogue and Byzantine churches share the lanes. Outside it there are the cliff-top acropolis of Lindos, ancient Kamiros and the stadium on Monte Smith, enough sightseeing for several days.

Mallorca's best sights are clustered in Palma: La Seu above the sea wall, the Almudaina, round Bellver Castle, and modern art at Es Baluard and the Miró foundation. Beyond the city it has Valldemossa's charterhouse and Bronze Age Talaiotic villages, which are interesting but smaller in scale.

Mallorca has the deeper and longer-lasting scene, because Palma keeps its old-town cocktail bars and Paseo Marítimo clubs going all year. The island also has two huge party resorts, Magaluf and Playa de Palma, for those who want them.

Rhodes has one loud strip at Faliraki, a single late lane in the Old Town and polished rooftop bars in Lindos. Almost all of it closes when the season ends, and in the quieter resorts the evening ends at the hotel bar.

This is where Mallorca pulls clearly ahead. The Tramuntana rises to about 1,400m straight out of the sea, with olive terraces, the GR221 long-distance path and the Torrent de Pareis gorge. Road cyclists come for its passes, climbers for deep-water soloing on the sea cliffs, and birdwatchers for S'Albufera.

Rhodes is pleasant rather than dramatic: low pine hills, the shaded Valley of the Butterflies and Mount Attavyros as its one real climb. Its outdoor strength is the wind, which makes Prasonisi a leading windsurfing and kitesurfing spot.

Mallorca offers more outings on land. There is the old wooden train to Sóller and on to its port, stone villages such as Deià and Fornalutx, walled Alcúdia and the weekly markets at Sineu and Santanyí. Boats go to the Cabrera archipelago, and a ferry to Menorca makes a long day out.

Rhodes's best days are at sea: Symi's pastel harbour, quieter Halki and a crossing to Marmaris in Turkey. On the island itself the list is shorter, with the castles of Monolithos and Kritinia and the pottery village of Archangelos.

Both work for a resort-and-pool vacation, but Mallorca does it more completely. The bays of Alcúdia and Pollença and Cala Millor shelve gently into calm water and have flat promenades. Near Palma there are several water parks and a large aquarium, and on the east coast a boat carries visitors across the underground lake in the Caves of Drach.

Rhodes has calm, shallow bays at Tsambika, Afandou and Kolymbia, plus a water park and an aquarium, with fewer extras beyond them. The steep, stepped lanes of Lindos are hard with a pushchair.

The two are much alike: a walkable main town, a decent bus network and a hire car if you want to see the rest. Mallorca adds a few rail lines from Palma, but its mountain roads to Sa Calobra and Formentor are slow when coaches and cyclists crowd them.

Rhodes has a car-free Old Town and a good bus corridor down the east coast to Lindos. Service thins out towards the south, and island-hopping boats leave right from Mandraki harbour.

Mallorca is far better for shopping. Palma's Passeig des Born and old-town lanes mix fashion, espadrille makers and delicatessens. Elsewhere you can buy leather around Inca, pearls from Manacor and striped roba de llengües cloth, or browse the village markets.

On Rhodes, shopping mostly means the souvenir stalls of Sokratous Street. The best local finds are Lindian-style painted ceramics from Archangelos and honey and wine from Embonas, which are nice to pick up but not a reason to go.

Rhodes is the cheaper island. Its east-coast package resorts, village tavernas and buses keep a stay moderate, and only Lindos and the Old Town boutique hotels push costs up.

Mallorca costs more than mainland Spain in high summer, especially for the Tramuntana estates, hotels near the best coves and car hire. The north-bay package resorts and inland set lunches are much kinder to the budget, and May, June or late September help even more.

Neither island is a destination for the arts, but Mallorca at least has a season. Palma's nineteenth-century Teatre Principal stages opera and theatre, and the Balearic Symphony Orchestra plays through the winter. In summer there are concerts in the courtyard of Bellver Castle and Chopin-linked festivals in Valldemossa.

Rhodes has a folk-dance company in the Old Town, open-air events in the moat and the ancient stadium, and bouzouki music in tavernas. It has no regular opera or orchestra.

Mallorca has a little more depth for rest. The Font Santa near Campos is a real thermal spring used since Roman times, though it is small and serves one hotel spa. The island also has quiet country estates among the almond and olive groves and yoga retreats in spring and autumn.

On Rhodes, the Kallithea rotunda is now only a sight, so wellness means the spas of the big resort hotels. Its real calm lies in the southern villages of Lahania and Asklipio, where evenings are slow meals and backgammon in the kafeneio.