Naxos or Peloponnese?

These two are close as beach destinations, but the shape of the coast is different. Naxos gives you one long chain of fine pale sand down the west coast, from Agios Georgios through Agios Prokopios and Plaka to Alyko. You can stay on it and walk to a different beach each day, though the summer meltemi can make it choppy.

The Peloponnese spreads its beaches around a much larger coastline, so the variety is wider: the horseshoe of Voidokilia and Navarino Bay in Messinia, the tropical-looking water of Elafonisos, pebble coves and rock swimming in the Mani, and easy family sand at Tolo. Getting between them means driving, and the sea is a degree or two warmer at its peak.

Both serve country Greek cooking built on local produce, but the Peloponnese has more of it and more places to eat it. Kalamata olives and oil, Mani cured pork and the wines of Nemea, the Tripoli plateau and Monemvasia give it real depth. Kalamata and Nafplio have the widest choice of places to eat, and the covered market in Kalamata is worth a visit.

Naxos is narrower but distinctive. Its graviera and arseniko cheeses, its potatoes and the kitron liqueur from Halki are best eaten in the mountain tavernas of Filoti, Apiranthos and Koronos. Beyond those, choice soon runs thin.

The gap here is wide. The Peloponnese holds a large part of ancient and medieval Greece: the Lion Gate at Mycenae, the theatre at Epidaurus, Olympia, Messene, the lone temple at Bassae, and then Byzantine Mystras, the rock of Monemvasia and the Venetian castles at Methoni and Koroni. You could fill two weeks and still leave sites unseen.

Naxos is on a smaller, more personal scale. The Portara doorway over the harbour, the Venetian kastro of Chora, the unfinished kouroi lying in the quarries and the frescoed chapels of the Tragaea valley make a rewarding few days of driving. It does not compare with the major sites across the water.

On both, evenings centre on a long dinner and a drink near the water. The Peloponnese has a slight edge because of Patras, a university city with streets of bars and clubs and a famous carnival. Kalamata's seafront bars are also busier and more local than anything on Naxos.

On Naxos the harbourfront of Chora, a couple of clubs and sunset bars at Agios Prokopios and Plaka cover the summer. Outside June to September the island goes quiet early.

Naxos is green and hilly for the Cyclades, but the Peloponnese plays in a different league. Taygetos rises to about 2,400m, more than twice the height of Mount Zas. The Lousios gorge links cliff monasteries, the Menalon Trail crosses Arcadia, the Vouraikos gorge has its rack railway, and Gialova lagoon draws migrating birds.

Naxos does have its own strengths. The climb up Zas and the old mule paths between Tragaea villages make fine spring walks. The meltemi also turns Mikri Vigla into one of the best kitesurfing and windsurfing spots in the Aegean.

The two offer different kinds of outing. From Naxos the outings are by boat: Paros under an hour away, the quiet Small Cyclades, Delos by way of Mykonos, and Santorini as a long day out. All depend on the ferry season and the wind.

The Peloponnese offers more, and it is reached by car. From Nafplio you can visit car-free Hydra and Spetses, the Nemea wineries or even Athens. From the south you can reach Pylos, Methoni, the Mani villages, Monemvasia and Elafonisos, and Kythira is a ferry ride further.

Naxos is the simpler place to bring small children. You can stay in Chora and walk to sheltered Agios Georgios, the west-coast sand shelves gently, and days need little planning. The catch is that windy days can make the open beaches too rough for small swimmers.

The Peloponnese works too, with shallow bays at Tolo and in Messinia and resort hotels with kids' clubs. Older children may enjoy Mycenae and Olympia. But the distances mean long hours in the car, and the sites have little shade.

Neither is easy without wheels, but Naxos is the more forgiving. Summer buses run from Chora's harbour along the beaches to Plaka and up to the main hill villages, so a beach stay is possible without a car. You only need one for the interior and the empty north and east.

In the Peloponnese a car is close to essential. Motorways make the main towns quick to reach, but the Mani and mountain roads are slow, and buses rarely reach the sites, beaches or villages.

Neither is a shopping destination, and on both the best things to bring home are edible. On Naxos that means graviera, kitron and honey from the old market lanes below the kastro, with weaving and marble work in Apiranthos and Halki.

The Peloponnese adds Kalamata olive oil, wine bought at the Nemea wineries, and weekly street markets in Kalamata and Tripoli. Nafplio's old lanes, with their worry beads and small boutiques, have the best mix of shops.

The mainland is the cheaper of the two. Village rooms in the Mani and Arcadia, tavernas and local wine cost noticeably less than on the islands, although a hire car and site entry fees add to the bill.

Naxos is moderately priced for a Greek island, with family-run studios and reasonable buses. August pushes up beachfront rooms and car hire. On both, June and September give the best balance of price and warm sea.

The Peloponnese has one experience worth planning a summer around: ancient drama on weekend nights at Epidaurus, in a theatre where actors need no amplification. The nearby Little Theatre hosts concerts, and Kalamata holds a dance festival in July.

Naxos has a summer festival in a restored Venetian tower and small recitals in the kastro. Its liveliest music comes from the village saints' day festivals, where violin and lute play late into the night.

Both are restful mainly because of their slow pace, but only the Peloponnese has a bathing tradition. The old spa towns of Loutraki and Methana, the warm sulphur lake at Kaiafas and the full resort spas in Messinia give it real options for treatments and soaking.

Naxos has no springs or hammams and only a few hotel spas and yoga retreats. Its calm comes from quiet days in the hills around Halki or on the emptier southern beaches.