Miami Beach or Orlando?

This is where the two differ most. Miami Beach is a beach town: wide pale sand along the whole Atlantic shore, warm and usually calm water, lifeguard huts, and a paved beachwalk behind the dunes. You can choose the scene and crowds of South Beach or the quieter sand at North Beach.

Orlando is inland. Cocoa Beach and New Smyrna Beach are pleasant Atlantic strands about an hour's drive away, and the clearer Gulf water at Clearwater is about two hours away. Most of the swimming on an Orlando vacation happens in hotel pools and water parks.

Miami Beach eats better, thanks to its Latin American roots: Cuban sandwiches and cafecito from takeaway windows, ceviche and arepas, and Florida stone crab in winter. The weak spot is the tourist menus along Ocean Drive. The side streets and North Beach are better, and Little Havana is just across the causeway.

Orlando's food is mostly chains, park counters and themed restaurants. Its better eating, such as the Vietnamese kitchens of Mills 50 and the chef-led restaurants in Winter Park, usually means driving away from the parks.

Miami Beach has one great sight that you can walk around: the 1930s pastel hotels of the Art Deco Historic District, with the Miami Modern buildings further north. Add the Wolfsonian, the Bass and the Holocaust Memorial, and a culture-minded visitor has a couple of good days.

Orlando has little old architecture, and its best cultural visit is out in Winter Park. The Morse Museum there holds the world's largest collection of Tiffany glass, including the chapel he made for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Apart from that, the museums are small, and the space heritage is out on the coast.

South Beach is a destination for going out in its own right. It has big clubs with guest DJs, pool parties by day and lobby bars on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue that stay busy until dawn, though dress codes and table service come with it. Sunset Harbour offers quieter cocktail and wine bars.

Orlando's nights are milder. Disney Springs and CityWalk have easy themed bars that close fairly early. The later scene is downtown on Orange Avenue, where the crowd is mostly local students rather than visitors, and there are gay bars in Ivanhoe Village.

Both are flat and at their best outdoors in the cooler months, but the outdoors are different. Miami Beach looks out to sea, with paddleboarding on the bay, and snorkelling or diving on offshore reefs and wrecks. Biscayne National Park and the Everglades are about an hour away, which gives it a slight edge.

Orlando's nature is freshwater and inland. You can kayak the clear water of Wekiwa Springs, see manatees at Blue Spring in winter, or take an airboat across the Kissimmee headwaters. The lagoons of Merritt Island are some of the best birdwatching in Florida.

There is about as much to do on day trips from each city, but the outings are different. From Miami Beach the best trips stay close: across the bay to Little Havana, Wynwood, Vizcaya and Coral Gables, or along the coast to Palm Beach and Key Largo.

From Orlando you get more history and more variety. Choices include the launch pads and Saturn V at the Kennedy Space Center, the Spanish fort and old streets of St Augustine, and the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg. Every trip needs a car.

Orlando is built for families, and nowhere else matches it. Disney's four theme parks and two water parks, Universal for teenagers, SeaWorld and Legoland for younger children, and hotel suites with bunk rooms make the whole trip about children. The challenges are queues, the heat and the sheer size of it all.

Miami Beach gives children warm, gentle water and lifeguards along the whole shore. Mid-Beach and North Beach are the parts that suit families. Beyond the sand there is little built for children on the island, and South Beach is too loud for young children on weekends.

Miami Beach is far easier. South Beach is flat and compact enough to walk, free trolleys run up Collins Avenue, and the beachwalk is good for cycling. You only need a car or a taxi to cross the causeways to the mainland.

In Orlando, the parks, hotel areas and downtown are spread for miles along Interstate 4, and the buses are of little use to visitors. You need a car unless you stay inside the Disney or Universal resorts, which run their own boats, monorail and shuttles.

Shopping is about equal in both, but in different ways. Miami Beach gives you an evening stroll down Lincoln Road among chain stores and palms, and serious luxury shopping in the open-air mall at Bal Harbour.

Orlando is the place for bargains: two large premium outlet centres, the luxury labels at the Mall at Millenia, and park merchandise at Disney Springs. Park Avenue in Winter Park adds the boutiques and galleries that the island lacks.

Neither is cheap, but Orlando is easier on the budget. Rooms along International Drive and in Kissimmee, and self-catering villas, are fairly priced for the United States. The big costs are park tickets, express passes and a hire car.

On Miami Beach the extra costs come from the hotel bill and the evenings out: oceanfront rooms in winter, resort and parking fees, and South Beach cocktails and club entry. North Beach, the summer rates and Cuban takeaway windows help.

Miami Beach has a stronger arts calendar than you might expect. The New World Symphony plays in its Frank Gehry hall on 17th Street, and some concerts are shown on screen to audiences on the lawn outside. Miami City Ballet is based on the island, and there are touring shows at the Jackie Gleason Theater.

Orlando has the Dr. Phillips Center for Broadway tours and the Philharmonic, as well as the long-running spring Fringe. Most visitors, though, see their shows inside the parks: polished stage spectaculars and fireworks rather than a theatre culture.

Miami Beach makes a slightly better choice for rest. Big resort spas with hydrotherapy circuits and sunrise yoga on the sand come easily, and Mid-Beach and the stretch towards Surfside are quiet enough for slow pool days.

An Orlando park vacation means early starts and miles of walking, so its spas and lazy rivers in Lake Buena Vista are for recovering rather than relaxing. Couples who want calm should look to the lakes and leafy streets of Winter Park.