Martha's Vineyard or Outer Banks?

The Outer Banks win on sheer scale and warmth. More than 100 miles of open Atlantic sand run from Corolla to Ocracoke, the sea warms well into the mid-20s, and long stretches of the Hatteras seashore have nobody on them. The trade-off is surf everywhere, with real rip currents, so the calm water is on the sound side.

Martha's Vineyard offers less beach but more variety. You can choose between the gentle Nantucket Sound side at State Beach and the rougher Atlantic at South Beach, with the clay cliffs of Aquinnah for scenery. The water is cooler, though, and day visitors are kept off some of the best up-island sand.

Both are simple seafood coasts with no real dining scene, but the meals taste of different regions. On the Vineyard it is New England food: lobster eaten on the docks at Menemsha, chowder, pond oysters, and farm-stand produce from West Tisbury, with BYO wine up-island.

The Outer Banks lean Southern. Expect steamed shrimp, soft-shell crab and hushpuppies, with doughnut breakfasts and fish from Wanchese cooked in the rental house.

The Outer Banks have the weightier history. The Wright Brothers memorial marks the first powered flight, Fort Raleigh tells the Lost Colony story, and a line of striking lighthouses includes the Cape Hatteras tower that was moved inland. The drawback is distance, since the sights are spread across a long coast.

The Vineyard's heritage is gentler and more compact: Edgartown's whaling captains' houses, the gingerbread cottages of Wesleyan Grove in Oak Bluffs, and the Wampanoag cliffs at Aquinnah. These make lovely places to wander, but there are fewer real sights to go and see.

Neither is a place to stay out late. On the Vineyard what life there is gathers on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs and in Edgartown's harbour bars, so you can at least walk between a few bars. On the Outer Banks it is spread along the bypass as brewery taprooms and sound-side decks at sunset, and most nights end on the rental porch.

The Outer Banks have the wilder and more varied outdoors. There are the huge living dunes at Jockey's Ridge, wild mustangs north of Corolla, and turtles and migrating birds at Pea Island. The flat sounds around Rodanthe and Avon draw kiteboarders and windsurfers from far away, and Oregon Inlet is a base for serious offshore fishing.

The Vineyard is softer country of moors, woods, salt ponds and stone walls, best seen by bike. Highlights are the Aquinnah cliffs, Felix Neck's ospreys and the barrier beach at Cape Poge, all pleasant but on a smaller scale.

The Vineyard has the better outings, all by boat. In summer, Nantucket's whaling town, New Bedford's historic district and the Cape Cod villages around Woods Hole and Sandwich are each a single ferry ride away, and the island's own towns differ enough to fill days. Out of season most of those ferries stop running.

From the Outer Banks the standout is the free ferry to remote Ocracoke. Beyond that, colonial Edenton and Norfolk need long drives inland or north, and none of them is a reason to come on its own.

The Outer Banks are built for the multi-generation beach week. Families rent a big house with a pool and spend their days at the North Carolina Aquarium, climbing the Jockey's Ridge dunes or on wild-horse tours and lighthouse climbs. Toddlers can paddle in the sound while older children kayak, though parents have to watch the ocean surf closely.

The Vineyard works for younger children too, with calm water at State Beach, the Flying Horses Carousel and crabbing off the docks. It has even less to do when it rains, though, and the ferry adds a layer of planning.

Martha's Vineyard is far easier without a car. The three down-island towns are compact and walkable, and buses and paved bike paths link them, with buses reaching Aquinnah. Only the winding up-island roads slow things down in high summer.

On the Outer Banks a car is essential. There is no public transport, Corolla to Hatteras village takes a couple of hours, and changeover Saturdays can jam the bridges for hours. Bikes only help within the central towns.

Neither is a shopping destination, but the Vineyard offers more pleasant browsing. Edgartown's Main Street has preppy boutiques and galleries, Vineyard Haven has bookshops, and Chilmark's flea market and artisan fairs sell work by local makers. The Outer Banks mostly offer surf shops, souvenir barns and a small outlet centre, with the Duck boardwalk and Manteo waterfront the best places to wander.

Both are expensive in summer, but the Vineyard is in another bracket. Weekly rentals are booked months ahead, even shack meals are pricey, and the ferry adds to every bill, especially with a car. Bikes, buses and farm-stand picnics only take the edge off.

The Outer Banks are more forgiving. A big group splitting a house and cooking dock-fresh fish keeps costs reasonable, and the beaches, seashore and Ocracoke crossing are free.

Both have short summer programmes rather than a real performing scene. The Outer Banks have one distinctive tradition: The Lost Colony, an outdoor drama staged since 1937 on Roanoke Island, where the settlers lived. The Vineyard has community concerts and sing-alongs under the iron Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, plus a small playhouse in Vineyard Haven.

The Vineyard does unwinding better. Up-island around Chilmark and Aquinnah the days are quiet and unhurried, September is calm, and there are some inn spas and yoga in the towns if you want them.

The Outer Banks offer simple beach-house slowness, best in the villages of Hatteras Island and Ocracoke outside summer. Beyond a few day spas there is little else.