Myrtle Beach or St. Pete Beach?

Both towns are built around the beach, with wide, pale sand and shallow, gently shelving water that rarely has much surf. Myrtle Beach wins on sheer length. The Grand Strand runs for about 100km of Atlantic shore, with towers, piers and the boardwalk crowding the central blocks, and quieter, dune-backed sand at Surfside, Garden City and the state parks to the south. The sea there is greenish and only inviting from late spring to early autumn.

St. Pete Beach is a single barrier island facing west over the Gulf, so every beach day ends with the sun going down into the sea. The quartz sand is finer, and Pass-a-Grille keeps its buildings low. To get away from the crowds you go somewhere wilder than Myrtle Beach's southern dunes: the empty, pine-fringed shore at Fort De Soto is a short drive away, and Shell Key, a boat ride out, has no buildings at all. You can swim in the Gulf for more months of the year, though summer storms and the odd red tide can spoil the water for a while.

Neither is a place to travel for food, and both rely on fried seafood. Myrtle Beach feeds crowds with buffets, pancake houses and chains. Its better meals are on the docks at Murrells Inlet or in Calabash-style fried fish across the state line, and shrimp and grits and she-crab soup add a Lowcountry touch.

At St. Pete Beach the setting counts for more than the cooking: a grouper sandwich, smoked fish spread or stone crab claws eaten on a deck at sunset. For craft beer, good coffee or more ambitious cooking, people drive over to St. Petersburg.

Neither town has much culture, and a single day covers the local sights in either. Myrtle Beach has Brookgreen Gardens, a sculpture garden on a former rice plantation that also tells the story of the people enslaved there, with the Moorish-style Atalaya next door. St. Pete Beach has the pink Don CeSar hotel, Pass-a-Grille's old cottages and the Spanish-American War batteries at Fort De Soto, and leaves serious museums to St. Petersburg across the bay.

Myrtle Beach has the bigger and later nights. In summer the blocks along the boardwalk fill with beach bars and rooftop decks, the entertainment complexes keep dance clubs going late, and North Myrtle Beach still dances the shag in long-standing clubs on Main Street. The mood is loud rather than polished, and some weeks get rowdy.

St. Pete Beach winds down soon after sunset, with tiki decks, cover bands and a few livelier bars on Corey Avenue. For a proper late night you drive half an hour into downtown St. Petersburg.

Both sit on flat coast with no hills or real hiking, but St. Pete Beach has more to do outdoors, most of it on the water. You can kayak the mangrove trails at Fort De Soto and Shell Key, see dolphins in the bay, find manatees in the cooler months and watch roseate spoonbills on the flats, so mornings outside are easy to fill.

In Myrtle Beach the best nature is at Huntington Beach State Park, with its marsh boardwalks, ospreys and alligators, and on the cypress swamps of the Waccamaw River inland. For many visitors the real outdoor draw is golf, with dozens of courses along the Strand.

St. Pete Beach has more within easy reach. St. Petersburg and its Dalí Museum are half an hour away and Tampa's Ybor City is under an hour. Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Sarasota and Anna Maria Island make further days out, and Orlando is possible if you don't mind a long day.

From Myrtle Beach the standout is Charleston, but that is about two hours' drive each way. Georgetown, Pawleys Island and Conway are closer and pleasant, Wilmington and Southport lie to the north, and you need a car for all of them.

Myrtle Beach is built for families in a way St. Pete Beach is not. Beyond the gentle surf there are resort pools with lazy rivers, a large aquarium, water parks, an amusement park with an old wooden roller coaster and endless themed mini-golf, much of it close together along the Strand.

St. Pete Beach is just as easy at the water's edge, with calm, shallow sea and soft sand, but there is less to do with children away from the beach: dolphin boats, shelling on Shell Key and the old fort at Fort De Soto. Aquariums and theme parks are an hour's drive away.

Both are easier with a car, but St. Pete Beach is simpler to get around. The town is one narrow strip with a beach trolley running along Gulf Boulevard, and Pass-a-Grille and Corey Avenue are pleasant on foot or by bike.

Myrtle Beach spreads along multi-lane highways with few pavements and buses that visitors rarely use. Outside the blocks around the boardwalk, nearly every trip means driving, often in slow summer traffic on Kings Highway.

Myrtle Beach has far more shopping on hand. There are two large outlet centres, waterfront complexes that mix chain shops with attractions, the town-centre feel of The Market Common, and sweetgrass baskets sold along the coast road to the south. St. Pete Beach has little beyond swimwear and souvenirs, plus a few boutiques and galleries on Corey Avenue and art shops in Pass-a-Grille. For a mall you head inland.

Myrtle Beach is clearly the cheaper stay. Its huge supply of motels and condos keeps rooms cheap outside July, and kitchens in many units save on eating out. St. Pete Beach charges beachfront resort rates, highest from February to April, though older motels a block back from the sand and the quieter late summer bring costs down. In both places meals, tips and a car cost what they do anywhere in America.

Myrtle Beach at least has a show to go to. Large theatres put on country, gospel and pop revues and Christmas shows, there are dinner shows themed on knights or pirates, and touring acts play the main entertainment complex. None of it is serious theatre, but you can fill an evening without leaving town.

In St. Pete Beach, live music means a cover band on a beach deck. The Florida Orchestra in St. Petersburg and the touring musicals and opera in Tampa are a separate trip across the bay rather than something on your doorstep.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and both rely on resort spas. What sets St. Pete Beach apart is its pace: quiet Pass-a-Grille, long afternoons and the sunset make it easy to rest. In summer Myrtle Beach's main strip is loud and car-bound, so for a restful stay there, go to the Pawleys Island end or visit in spring or autumn.