Marco Island or Orange Beach?

Both towns are built around a long, fine-sanded Gulf shore, and both make an excellent beach vacation. The difference is in the details. Marco Island's crescent of pale sand is good for shelling, and the tidal lagoon and sandbar at Tigertail are made for wading and watching birds. Keewaydin Island, an undeveloped barrier beach, is a short boat ride away.

Orange Beach has whiter quartz sand backed by low dunes, and on calm days the water turns clear green. The state park beaches give extra space away from the towers. Its sea needs more care, though: there are rip currents, swimmers have to watch the flags, and jellyfish turn up in some summers. In winter its water is cooler than Marco Island's.

The two towns are much alike for food. Both centre on Gulf seafood eaten by the water, and in neither is there much range beyond that. Marco Island has stone crab claws in the cooler months and dockside fish platters in Goodland, and a short drive takes you to Naples for a more polished dinner. Orange Beach's specialities are the sweet deep-water Royal Reds, West Indies crab salad and Southern breakfasts, though many places along the main road serve much the same fried platters.

There is not much sightseeing in either town, but Marco Island has a little more to offer. Its historical museum tells the story of the Calusa people and of the carved wooden figures found on the island in the 1890s, and the galleries of Naples are close by.

Orange Beach has only a small museum of Native American and fishing history. For its culture you head out of town, to the forts and old quarters along the coast.

Orange Beach is the place for an evening out, though neither town has any clubs. The Flora-Bama, a sprawling roadhouse on the state line, keeps a crowd going late on summer weekends, and spring break and the summer months bring a loud, sociable crowd to the bars around the marina and Perdido Pass.

On Marco Island the evening usually ends with sunset drinks and dinner. The livelier moments come on winter weekend afternoons at Goodland's dockside bars, and by night the island is quiet.

Marco Island has the wilder surroundings. It sits at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands, so there are mangrove channels to kayak, manatees in the canals and first-rate inshore fishing for snook and tarpon. Everglades National Park, Big Cypress and the Fakahatchee Strand, with their alligators and cypress boardwalks, are all within an hour.

Orange Beach's outdoors is gentler: a paved backcountry trail through pine woods into Gulf State Park, bays for paddling, and bird migrations at Bon Secour. Its strength is offshore, with a busy charter fishing fleet and artificial reefs for anglers and divers.

Orange Beach has the better choice of towns within reach. Pensacola has an old colonial quarter, the naval aviation museum and brick forts. Mobile has antebellum streets and its Mardi Gras heritage, and Fairhope, Fort Morgan and the ferry to Dauphin Island fill shorter days.

From Marco Island, most outings go into nature rather than towns. Beyond Naples there are Everglades City and the old trading post at Chokoloskee, and Fort Myers has the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Miami is a long drive across the Tamiami Trail.

Orange Beach is the stronger family choice, because the whole town is arranged around children. There are dolphin boats, mini golf, a Ferris wheel and the state park trails, with a water park, a small zoo and a theme park within about half an hour. Parents do need to watch closely for rip currents.

Marco Island works well in a simpler way. The shallow, calm Gulf is good for wading, and the resorts run children's programmes. For anything built for children, though, you drive to the zoo or the children's museum in Naples.

In both places you need a car. The difference is in the layout. Marco Island is compact and flat, and its cycle paths link the beach, shops and restaurants, with a limited bus to Naples. Orange Beach stretches for miles along one coastal highway that clogs with traffic in summer, though its paved trails are good for bicycles.

Neither town is worth choosing for its shops, but Marco Island has the edge because Naples is so close. Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South there have upmarket boutiques and galleries. On the island itself there is mostly resort wear and coastal décor.

Orange Beach sells beachwear, souvenirs and fishing gear, and its draw is the large outlet mall in Foley, where people go for discounted brands rather than style.

Orange Beach is the more affordable of the two, especially for groups sharing a big rental with a kitchen. From late autumn to early spring its rates fall sharply.

On Marco Island the peak comes in those same months. From January to April resort rooms and dinners are priced for a wealthy winter crowd. Rates there drop in the summer heat, but the island never feels like a budget choice.

Orange Beach has a little more live entertainment, and it leans towards popular music. The marina amphitheatre hosts country, rock and pop tours in the warmer months, beach bars have cover bands most nights, and each November the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival fills the stages along the state line.

Marco Island has a community theatre and resort musicians in winter. For something more serious, Naples has its philharmonic orchestra and touring shows.

Marco Island is the better place to switch off. Its beachfront resorts have full-service spas with pools facing the Gulf, there are day spas and yoga classes in the plazas, and the island stays unhurried throughout the year.

Orange Beach has only a few resort and day spas. Its calm depends on the season: quiet mornings from autumn to spring, but noise on summer weekends and during spring break.