Miami or Miami Beach?

These two share one shoreline. Miami's best-known beaches are the ones on the Miami Beach barrier island, so the pale sand, the warm Atlantic and the summer seaweed are the same. The difference is getting there. On Miami Beach the beachwalk is outside your door and you pick your stretch: South Beach for the crowd, North Beach for space.

From a mainland base the beach is a causeway ride away. In return, Key Biscayne is closer to downtown, and Crandon Park and Bill Baggs have the calmest, shallowest water on this coast.

Miami eats better because the mainland is where its communities cook. There are ventanita windows along Calle Ocho, griot in Little Haiti, Colombian bakeries and Nicaraguan fritangas, and above them a chef-led tier in Brickell and the Design District.

Miami Beach eats more upscale and more often in hotel dining rooms, with winter stone crab as its classic. The tourist menus on Ocean Drive let it down. The better Latin cafés are on the side streets and in North Beach, and Little Havana is across the causeway.

Both lead with the same sight, the Art Deco District, which lies on Miami Beach, so the pastel hotels of Ocean Drive count for both. Miami adds a bit more around it: Vizcaya's villa and gardens on the bay, the Perez Art Museum, HistoryMiami, the Wynwood murals and the Cuban exile story of Little Havana.

Miami Beach's own list is shorter but different. It has the Wolfsonian, the Bass, the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Memorial, plus the Miami Modern hotels further up Collins Avenue. On either side, a few days covers it.

Both are famous party places, and the big South Beach clubs, with their dress codes and table service, belong to both. Miami has more range around them: breweries and warehouse parties in Wynwood, rooftop bars in Brickell, downtown and Park West clubs that run until dawn, and salsa nights on Calle Ocho.

Miami Beach concentrates the glamour. Expect afternoon pool parties, lobby bars built for being seen, and Collins and Washington Avenues loud into the early hours. For a quieter drink, Sunset Harbour has cocktail and wine bars.

Miami is the stronger choice outdoors because the Everglades start at its western edge. You can ride an airboat, walk the Anhinga Trail among alligators or cycle the Shark Valley loop, and Biscayne National Park and the Rickenbacker Causeway are close by.

Miami Beach is almost all city, so outdoor life there means the water. You can paddleboard on the bay side, dive the reefs and wrecks offshore or run the beachwalk, and Oleta River State Park's mangrove trails are just to the north. The Everglades are a longer drive from the island.

Miami Beach does better here, largely because its best day trip is mainland Miami itself. Little Havana, Wynwood, Vizcaya and the Mediterranean Revival streets of Coral Gables are all just across the bay.

From Miami, those places are part of the stay rather than an outing, and what remains is pleasant rather than memorable: Fort Lauderdale's canals, the Palm Beach mansions and the seafood towns of the Upper Keys. Key West is too far for a comfortable day trip from either.

Families do about equally well, and the beach is the main draw in both. Where they differ is what fills the other days. Miami has Zoo Miami, the Frost Science Museum's aquarium and planetarium, Jungle Island and the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, though most of these need a car.

Miami Beach gives you lifeguarded sand, playgrounds in the beach parks and resort pools in Mid-Beach and North Beach, but little on the island is built for children. On either side, keep away from South Beach's party blocks.

Miami Beach is much easier to get around. South Beach is flat and compact, free trolleys run up Collins Avenue, and bike share and the beachwalk connect most of the island, so a beach stay needs no car.

Miami is spread out and built for driving. The free Metromover links downtown and Brickell, and the Metrorail runs to the airport and towards Coral Gables. Wynwood, Little Havana and Coconut Grove usually mean ride-hailing in heavy traffic, and no rail line crosses the bay.

Miami shops on a larger scale. The Design District gathers the big fashion houses among architect-designed buildings, Aventura Mall is enormous and the outlet malls on the western edge suit bargain hunters. For local character there are cigar shops and guayabera makers in Little Havana.

Miami Beach has Lincoln Road, the palm-shaded pedestrian mall designed by Morris Lapidus. It is nicer for an evening stroll than for finding anything unusual, and Collins Avenue adds swimwear and resort clothes. Bal Harbour's luxury mall at the north end of the island is within reach of both.

Neither is cheap, but Miami is easier on the budget. Rooms in the mainland neighbourhoods cost less than oceanfront hotels, and Cuban lunch counters and the free Metromover help. A hire car or regular ride-hailing eats into that saving.

Miami Beach is the more expensive stay. Winter oceanfront rates, resort fees, scarce parking and South Beach cocktails all add up. Hotels on the side streets or in North Beach and lower summer rates soften the bill, and the beach is free on both sides.

These two share most of one arts scene: Miami City Ballet, and the New World Symphony in its Frank Gehry hall, with concerts projected for audiences on the lawn outside. What changes is which stages are close to where you stay.

From Miami, the Adrienne Arsht Center has Florida Grand Opera and touring Broadway shows, and Little Havana has live salsa, son and timba bands. From Miami Beach, the Gehry hall, the Jackie Gleason Theater and the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road are close by, though club music there leans towards DJs.

In both, wellness means resort spas and sunrise yoga on the sand. Miami Beach has the bigger share of large hotel spas with saunas and plunge pools, as well as the long-established Russian and Turkish bath house. For a restful week, Mid-Beach and the stretch towards Surfside are the calmest places to stay.

From a mainland base, the quiet escape is Key Biscayne, where days slow to pool and shade. Elsewhere, Miami's traffic and long distances work against rest.