Myrtle Beach or Williamsburg, Virginia?

Here the two barely compete. Myrtle Beach sits on the Grand Strand, about 100km of wide, flat sand with shallow, warm water and small waves. You can choose between the crowded oceanfront blocks around the boardwalk and the quieter, dune-backed stretches at Surfside, Garden City and the state parks.

Williamsburg is inland between two rivers, so a swim is an outing. The options are the small river beach at Yorktown, Buckroe Beach on the Chesapeake Bay, or Virginia Beach an hour away, and sea nettles can be a nuisance in the bay in high summer. Most visitors settle for a pool or Water Country USA.

Neither town is a food destination, and both have long roads of pancake houses, chains and buffets for the family crowds. Myrtle Beach comes out a little ahead on seafood, thanks to the boat-to-table restaurants of Murrells Inlet and the Calabash-style fried fish across the state line.

Williamsburg's strengths are Virginian: ham biscuits, peanut soup, crab cakes and oysters from the bay. Its candlelit colonial taverns offer more atmosphere than cooking, but Merchants Square has a handful of bistros and wine bars for a quieter dinner.

This is where Williamsburg pulls far ahead. Colonial Williamsburg is an entire eighteenth-century capital to walk through, from the Capitol along Duke of Gloucester Street to the Wren Building. Along the way there are costumed tradespeople at work, the Governor's Palace and serious collections of folk and decorative art.

Myrtle Beach is a twentieth-century resort with little of its past on show. Brookgreen Gardens, with sculpture among the live oaks and exhibits on the people enslaved on the old rice plantation, is worth a morning, as is the Moorish-style Atalaya next door. After that, most people head back to the sand.

Myrtle Beach has a proper night out, at least in summer. There are beach bars and rooftop decks along the oceanfront, themed bars and dance clubs at the big entertainment complexes, and the shag is still danced in long-standing clubs in North Myrtle Beach. It is loud and casual, rowdy during spring break and rally weeks, and quiet in winter.

Williamsburg goes to bed early. Student pubs near the college, a few taprooms and a ghost walk are about all there is, and anyone wanting more drives to Norfolk or Richmond.

Both sit in flat, low coastal country with no hills. Both have hot, humid summers, and spring and autumn are the best seasons outdoors. Myrtle Beach has the slight edge, with marsh birdwatching at Huntington Beach State Park (alligators included), kayaking in the cypress swamps of the Waccamaw, dolphin cruises and dozens of golf courses.

Williamsburg's outdoors is gentler and better for cycling. The near-empty Colonial Parkway runs along the James and York, and the paved Virginia Capital Trail sets off from Jamestown. There are also forest trails at York River State Park and creeks to paddle where bald eagles nest.

Williamsburg sits right in the middle of its best excursions. Jamestown and Yorktown are each less than half an hour away, and the grand James River plantations line Route 5. Richmond is about an hour off, and Monticello is at the far edge of a day out.

From Myrtle Beach, the standout trip is Charleston, about two hours each way, so it makes a long day. Closer to hand are Georgetown's old port, Pawleys Island and Conway's riverwalk. Both places need a car for nearly all of these trips.

Both are long-standing American family favourites, and the difference lies in the kind of day. Myrtle Beach is a beach vacation with extras: gentle surf, resort pools with lazy rivers, an aquarium, a seaside amusement park with a wooden roller coaster and endless themed mini-golf.

Williamsburg combines rides with history. Busch Gardens and Water Country USA sit alongside musket firings, fife-and-drum parades and replica ships at Jamestown and Yorktown. It is also calmer at night, while some oceanfront blocks in Myrtle Beach get boisterous and spring break weeks are best avoided with children.

Neither works well without a car, but Williamsburg is easier on foot where it matters. The Historic Area, Merchants Square and the campus make a flat, compact district about 20 minutes from end to end, Duke of Gloucester Street is closed to traffic during the day, and Amtrak stops near the centre.

Myrtle Beach is strung out along the whole Grand Strand on multi-lane highways with few pavements, and summer traffic on Kings Highway can crawl. Walking is pleasant mainly on the sand and in the blocks around the boardwalk.

What you bring home is the real difference. In Myrtle Beach it is swimwear, inflatables and souvenirs from the enormous beach shops along the highway, plus bargains from the two big outlet centres, the waterfront complexes and The Market Common. The one local craft is the sweetgrass basket sold on the coast road to the south.

Williamsburg's colonial shops sell hand-made pewter, silver, pottery, tinware and reproduction furniture, and Merchants Square next door adds books and Virginia gifts. Its outlet centre on Richmond Road offers much the same brands as Myrtle Beach's, and neither town has luxury streets.

Myrtle Beach is usually easier on the wallet. Its enormous stock of motels and condos, many with kitchens, makes off-peak stays cheap, although prices jump in July and on long weekends.

Williamsburg's rooms are reasonably priced outside summer weekends, but the sights add up. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown and the theme parks each charge separate admission, so combination passes are worth planning around. In both places meals cost the normal American amount plus a tip, and a car is part of the budget.

The two are level here, and in both towns an evening show is entertainment rather than art. The difference is in scale. Myrtle Beach goes for the big, polished night out: a large theatre with a slick, high-energy revue heavy on country music, or a costumed dinner show where the children cheer for their knight. It suits families and groups who want an easy, crowd-pleasing evening after a day on the sand.

Williamsburg's evenings are smaller and stay in the eighteenth century, with music by candlelight, period plays and drummers marching through the Historic Area. They suit travellers who want the history to carry on after dark. Neither town has opera, an orchestra season or serious drama, though Norfolk and Richmond are close enough to Williamsburg for an evening out.

Both rely on hotel and resort spas, and neither has a bathing tradition. Where they differ is where you find the calm. In Myrtle Beach it means heading for the quiet southern end around Pawleys Island, or coming in spring or autumn, away from the noisy summer strip. In Williamsburg it is the empty colonial greens early in the morning, the riverside resorts on the James and slow drives along the wooded Colonial Parkway.