Naples, Florida or Wilmington?

Naples has the better beach life by some way. The sand starts at the end of the streets in Old Naples and the Gulf is calm and shallow. Wilder stretches run north from Clam Pass to Barefoot Beach, and the day ends with sunset over the water.

Wilmington's three beach towns, Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure, are good in summer. But Wilmington is a river city, so every swim means a drive and a hunt for parking. The Atlantic brings rip currents and is only comfortable from late May, whereas in Naples the main nuisances are stingrays and the odd algae bloom.

The two eat at roughly the same level, and neither is a reason to travel, but the style differs. Naples means polished, expensive white-tablecloth dining on Fifth Avenue South, with stone crab and grouper sandwiches at the fish houses around Tin City. Wilmington is more down-to-earth, with shrimp and grits, raw bars, vinegar-sauced whole-hog barbecue and craft breweries in the north end of downtown.

Wilmington gives a sightseer noticeably more. Its historic district of antebellum and Victorian houses under live oaks is the main draw. The Bellamy Mansion tells the story of the port's wealth and its enslaved labour, and the Battleship North Carolina sits across the river. Together they fill two or three days.

Naples is a young resort with little history to show. The Baker Museum, the Revs Institute's historic racing cars and the handsome streets of Old Naples fill about a day before most visitors head back to the beach.

Wilmington is the one for a night out. On weekends, crowds that include many university students fill the bars and rooftop terraces around Front Street, and the beach towns add casual bars in summer. Neither city has much of a club scene.

Naples winds down after dinner and a sunset drink. It has piano lounges and wine bars on Fifth Avenue South for an older crowd, and in the empty summer months even those are quiet.

Both are flat, watery and sticky in summer, but Naples has the bigger wilderness on its doorstep. Big Cypress, the western Everglades and the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp all lie within an hour, with alligators and wading birds. Paddling the Ten Thousand Islands is a real highlight.

Wilmington's outdoors is gentler. You can kayak to undeveloped Masonboro Island or surf off Wrightsville. Carolina Beach State Park has pine savanna trails where wild Venus flytraps grow, a curiosity Naples cannot match.

Neither makes a strong base for excursions, and both need a car. From Naples the outings lean towards inventors and islands: the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, shelling on Sanibel and the Ringling museums in Sarasota. Wilmington's outings are about history and small towns, with Fort Fisher's earthworks, Southport and the ferry to car-free Bald Head Island, and colonial New Bern further north.

Both cities work well for children, and in both the beach does most of the work. Naples' calm, shallow Gulf is kinder to small swimmers, and there is a boat ride past the primate islands at the zoo and a children's museum for the under-tens. Wilmington counters with a proper aquarium at Fort Fisher, a battleship to explore and the old-fashioned boardwalk rides at Carolina Beach, though the Atlantic needs watching on rip-current days.

You need a car in both places, though Wilmington is a little easier. Its walkable historic district and riverwalk keep the main sights together, even if the beaches lie 15km or more away.

In Naples, a base in Old Naples puts the pier, the sand and Fifth Avenue within walking distance. Everything beyond, from the northern beaches to the Everglades, lies along long, wide roads that only a car makes practical.

Naples is the better place to shop, especially for resort fashion and designer labels. Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South combine galleries, jewellers and linen boutiques, a luxury mall gathers the international brands, and outlet malls are half an hour north.

Wilmington is better for browsing than buying. Front Street and the Cotton Exchange have independent boutiques, bookshops and antique dealers, and the beach towns sell surf wear.

Wilmington is markedly cheaper. Off-season rooms are reasonable and a casual seafood or barbecue meal is fair value, with costs rising mainly at the beachfront in summer.

Naples is expensive, above all from January to April, when its resorts and restaurants charge winter visitors premium rates. Its cheaper months are the hot, stormy summer, so the two cities are best value at opposite times of the year.

The two are evenly matched, and the difference lies in timing and setting. Naples has its season in winter, with the Naples Philharmonic in its own hall, touring Broadway shows and professional theatre, then goes almost silent in summer. Wilmington comes alive in the warmer months with touring bands on outdoor stages by Greenfield Lake and long-running jazz and blues festivals. Thalian Hall, a restored 19th-century opera house, carries its indoor programme.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Naples is the more restful choice. Its large beachfront resort spas are open to non-guests, and slowing down with golf and long sunset walks along the Gulf is what much of the town is there for. Wilmington has less to offer, mostly day spas and yoga studios, and its calm is best found on the waterfront outside busy summer weekends.