Miami Beach or Wilmington?

Both have wide, pale Atlantic sand, but Miami Beach puts it right outside the hotel door. About 11km of beach runs along the whole eastern edge of the island, with a beachwalk behind it and lifeguards along the shore. The water is warm enough for swimming all winter. You choose the mood by district, from the crowds of South Beach to the calmer stretches of North Beach.

Wilmington's beaches are a drive away, in three separate towns: polished Wrightsville, casual Carolina Beach with its boardwalk, and quiet Kure. They are less crowded and less noisy. But the season runs only from late May into October, and rip currents and lifeguards who work only in season call for more care.

Miami Beach has more range and a stronger local identity. Look for Cuban sandwiches and cafecito from takeaway windows, stone crabs in winter, and ceviche and arepas from the South American communities. There is also plenty of upscale hotel and chef-led dining. The trap is Ocean Drive, where the menus are aimed at passing tourists.

Wilmington eats from its own coast: shrimp and grits, flounder, oysters at waterfront raw bars and vinegar-sauced whole-hog barbecue, with craft breweries in the north end of downtown. The food is honest and pleasant but the choice is narrow, with little international cooking and only a few fine-dining restaurants.

In both places the main sight is architecture seen on foot, but from very different eras. Miami Beach has the more striking set of buildings: hundreds of pastel 1930s Art Deco hotels, with Miami Modern buildings further north. The Wolfsonian, the Bass and the Holocaust Memorial add to them, and the bigger museums are across the bay.

Wilmington's appeal is older and quieter. Its historic district has antebellum and Victorian houses under live oaks, and the Bellamy Mansion tells the story of the old port and the enslaved people who worked it. The Battleship North Carolina lies across the river. The list is shorter, and two or three days covers it.

This is where the two cities differ most. South Beach is known worldwide for going out, with guest-DJ clubs open until dawn, afternoon pool parties, and door policies and table service to match. Dinner starts late enough to run straight into the night.

Wilmington's nights are casual. Bars and rooftop terraces along Front Street fill with university students at weekends, beach bars open in summer, and closing time is 2am. It is easy and friendly, but weeknights out of season are quiet and there is almost no club scene.

Neither has hills or proper hiking, and both live on the water, but Wilmington has more wild country close by. It has Masonboro Island, an undeveloped barrier island reached only by boat or kayak, along with tidal creeks and salt marsh. The pine savanna of Carolina Beach State Park, where Venus flytraps grow wild, gives it a landscape of its own.

Miami Beach is almost all city. Its outdoors means paddleboarding on the bay, diving on reefs and wrecks offshore and paddling the mangrove trails at Oleta River. The Everglades and Biscayne National Park are remarkable, but both are a trip off the island.

Miami Beach's best outing is simply across the bay. Little Havana, the Wynwood murals, Vizcaya and Coral Gables give you the history and neighbourhoods the island lacks. Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Key Largo are each within about an hour and a half by car.

Wilmington's outings are on a smaller scale. You can go to the riverside town of Southport and take the ferry to car-free Bald Head Island, stopping at the Fort Fisher earthworks and Brunswick Town on the way. New Bern and Beaufort are about two hours north. These are pleasant small-town days, but less varied than mainland Miami.

Both work for children mainly because of the beach, and there is little between them overall. Miami Beach has warm, gentle water and lifeguards along the whole shore, best enjoyed from Mid-Beach or North Beach. But the zoo and the science museum are on the mainland, and South Beach is a party district.

Wilmington has more for children close at hand: the boardwalk rides at Carolina Beach, the aquarium at Fort Fisher, the Battleship's walk-through decks and the Children's Museum. There are also plenty of rental houses near the sand. The trade-off is that every outing means the car, and the sea is for summer only.

Miami Beach is far easier without a car. South Beach is flat and compact, free trolleys and buses run up Collins Avenue, and bike share and the beachwalk link the districts. You only need a car to leave the island, and the causeways can be slow.

In Wilmington, a car is close to essential. The historic district and riverwalk are pleasant on foot, but the beaches are 15km or more away and the buses are infrequent. The aquarium and Southport can only be reached by driving.

Miami Beach has the bigger range. Lincoln Road's palm-shaded pedestrian mall is mostly chain fashion and better for a stroll than for finds, while Bal Harbour gathers the big European luxury houses. What it lacks is anything local or handmade.

Wilmington is the reverse on a small scale. It has no luxury street, but independent boutiques, bookshops, galleries and antique dealers line Front Street and fill the old Cotton Exchange. It is a pleasant place to browse, though not a reason to visit.

Wilmington is much the cheaper of the two. Off-season rooms are reasonable and seafood and barbecue are fairly priced. The unavoidable extra is a hire car, and beach rentals get expensive in summer.

Miami Beach is costly at almost every turn: winter oceanfront rates, resort fees, parking, service charges and South Beach cocktails all add up. Hotels in North Beach, the summer low season and the Cuban takeaway windows soften the bill.

Miami Beach has the stronger programme. The New World Symphony plays in its Frank Gehry hall, and some evening concerts are projected onto the outside wall for people on the lawn. Miami City Ballet is based here, and touring shows play the Jackie Gleason Theater. The season runs from autumn to spring.

Wilmington's scene centres on Thalian Hall, a restored 19th-century opera house, along with a community symphony and small theatre companies. Its strength is live bands rather than DJs. In the warmer months, touring acts play outdoor stages by Greenfield Lake and the riverfront, and long-standing jazz and blues festivals fill the calendar.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, but Miami Beach has much more to book. Large resort spas have saunas, steam rooms and plunge pools, and sunrise yoga on the sand starts the day. For rest, stay in Mid-Beach or towards Surfside, away from South Beach's late nights.

Wilmington offers day spas, resort spas near the beaches and yoga studios, and little more. Its strength is the slow pace of the town itself, with calm evenings on the waterfront outside summer weekends.