Milos or Rhodes?

These are both first-rate beach islands, but the swimming feels very different. On Milos the volcanic shore makes the colours the attraction: Sarakiniko's white pumice inlets, long sandy beaches on the south coast such as Firiplaka and Tsigrado, and coves that only boats can reach. Many have no sunbeds at all, and the north wind decides each day which side of the island is calm.

Rhodes has a long, sheltered chain of bays down the east coast from Faliraki to Lindos. The sand there is often mixed with fine shingle, and there are snorkelling inlets at Anthony Quinn Bay. These beaches are easier to reach and better equipped, but in high summer the busiest are packed with rows of sunbeds. Prasonisi, at the southern tip, is the island's odd one out.

Rhodes gives the more interesting table, as long as you avoid the resort buffets and the Old Town's main lanes. Look for pitaroudia, matsi pasta and souma in village tavernas and the meze places of the modern town, and wine and honey from Embonas.

Milos cooks good Cycladic food in a narrower range. There are fish tavernas on the waterfront at Pollonia and Adamas, grilled octopus in Klima, and pitarakia and ladenia to try. On both islands fine dining is scarce.

On sights, Rhodes is in another league. Its medieval Old Town is one of Europe's most complete fortified towns, with the inns of the Knights, mosques, a synagogue and an archaeological museum in the old hospital. Beyond it are Lindos, Kamiros, Filerimos and the stadium on Monte Smith.

Milos has more than most small islands, but on a smaller scale. There are the catacombs below Plaka, the field where the Venus de Milo was found, a Roman theatre, the colourful syrmata boathouses and Phylakopi, and two days is enough to see them.

If you want to go out, choose Rhodes. Faliraki's strip of bars and clubs runs until dawn in July and August. A lane in the Old Town and the bars around Mandraki stay open late, and Lindos has rooftop bars for an older crowd.

Milos is a sunset-and-dinner island. You watch the sun go down from Plaka's castle hill, then have a drink on the harbour at Adamas, and there is nowhere to dance.

The scenery on the two islands is about equally rewarding, but in different ways. On Milos the drama is on the coast: the red and yellow cliffs of Firopotamos and Papafragas and the rock towers and caves of Kleftiko, all best seen from a sailing boat or a kayak. Inland it is dry and scarred by old quarries.

Rhodes is gentler and greener, with pine-covered hills, the shaded Valley of the Butterflies, Seven Springs and a real climb up Mount Attavyros. Its standout is the wind at Prasonisi, one of the Mediterranean's best-known spots for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Rhodes offers more ways to spend a day away. A fast boat takes you to Symi's pastel harbour and the monastery of Panormitis, Halki is reached from Kamiros Skala, and in about an hour you can be in Marmaris in Turkey. On the island itself there are the castles at Monolithos and Kritinia.

From Milos the choice is mostly Kimolos, a short hop from Pollonia, or Sifnos by summer fast ferry. Both depend on the wind and the ferry timetable.

Rhodes is far better set up for children. It has shallow bays at Afandou and Kolymbia, resort hotels with kids' clubs, a water park above Faliraki and the aquarium in Rhodes Town. The heat of July and August and the stepped lanes of Lindos are the main drawbacks.

Milos offers simple beach days and nothing more. Pollonia's sheltered village beach and the calm water at Provatas work well, but you need a car to get almost anywhere, shade is scarce, and the long ferry crossing can be rough.

Rhodes is easier without a car. Rhodes Town and its car-free Old Town are walkable, and buses run the length of the east coast to Lindos. A car is still useful for the south and the inland villages.

Milos is small, but its buses miss most of the coast, the west is reached on dirt roads some rental agreements exclude, and Kleftiko is best by boat. Just getting there takes hours by ferry, or a short flight from Athens.

Neither island is a shopping destination, but Rhodes has more to browse. It has the souvenir lanes of Sokratous Street, ordinary Greek fashion around Mandraki, Lindian-style ceramics from Archangelos and lace from the villages. On Milos there is a handful of linen and jewellery boutiques in Plaka, and the best things to take home are the island's capers and honey.

Rhodes is the cheaper island to stay on. Its large stock of package and all-inclusive hotels keeps the east coast moderately priced, and the buses and village tavernas are fairly priced too. Only Lindos and the Old Town's boutique hotels are expensive.

On Milos, rooms are the problem. In July and August Pollonia, Plaka and Adamas are costly and book up early, and car hire and boat trips add to the bill. June and September, or a room inland, make it easier.

Live performance is thin on both islands, and on Milos it hardly exists outside the summer panigyria. At these saints'-day feasts in the villages and chapels, locals and visitors dance to violin and lute late into the night. The ancient theatre and Adamas only sometimes put on a concert.

Rhodes has a little more that you can plan an evening around. In season, a long-established company performs Greek folk dance in a small theatre in the Old Town, and summer concerts are held in the medieval moat and the ancient stadium. There is still no opera, orchestra or theatre season on either island.

Milos is the more restorative island, and part of the reason is its volcano. You can soak in the rustic baths at Lakkos in Adamas or the springs near Provatas, and lie on sand that steam warms at Paliochori. The island's whole pace is slow.

Rhodes has no bathing tradition of its own, and the Kallithea rotunda is only something to look at. Wellness there means good resort spas on the east coast and around Lindos, or the quiet southern villages such as Lahania and Asklipio.