Newport, Rhode Island or Ocean City, Maryland?

Ocean City wins this easily. One continuous strip of soft sand runs the whole length of the island, with lifeguards all along it, and the summer sea is several degrees warmer than Newport's, warm enough for long days of bodyboarding. Assateague, just to the south, adds wild beach backed by dunes.

Newport has good beaches, but they are smaller and spread out: Easton's below the Cliff Walk, the longer Second and Third Beaches in Middletown and the sheltered cove at Gooseberry. The water stays cool even in August and the swimming season is shorter, so here the beach is one part of a trip rather than the point of it.

Both towns eat mostly seafood, and neither offers much variety over a long stay. The difference is in the style. Newport means lobster rolls, clear-broth chowder, clam cakes and oysters on the wharves, with a few smart dining rooms on Bellevue Avenue and wineries on the island for a more polished evening.

Ocean City is messier and more casual. Meals centre on piles of Old Bay crabs cracked with mallets on paper-covered tables, followed by boardwalk fries, caramel popcorn and frozen custard. Beyond that it is mostly diners and chains along the Coastal Highway, and in both towns many kitchens cut back in winter.

This is where the two differ most. Newport has the Vanderbilt-era mansions of Bellevue Avenue, one of the country's largest groups of colonial houses on the Point and Historic Hill, plus Touro Synagogue, Trinity Church and Fort Adams. That is enough for two or three full days.

Ocean City's heritage is the boardwalk itself, with its old hotels, an early twentieth-century carousel and the Life-Saving Station Museum, which together fill an hour or so. Anyone interested in architecture or history will be far better served in Newport.

Ocean City has the bigger night out. In summer, sunset crowds gather at the open-air bayside bars with sand floors, then move on to the dance bars along the Coastal Highway, which stay busy until 2am. The crowd is young and loud, especially in early June.

Newport's evenings are spent in pubs and on waterfront decks around Thames Street. They are lively with sailing crowds and wedding parties, but there is little dancing and the night ends earlier. Both towns go quiet out of season.

Both lie on a flat stretch of Atlantic coast, but Newport's is more dramatic: surf breaking on the rocks below the Cliff Walk, the wave-cut ledges at Brenton Point and good birding at Sachuest Point. On the water it is one of North America's great sailing towns, with charters and lessons from the harbour.

Ocean City's landscape is softer, all marsh, bay and open sky. Its best outdoor day is on Assateague, with wild ponies, dunes and kayak routes through the back bays. It has the edge for offshore sport fishing and easy paddling on calm water.

Newport is better placed. Providence is under an hour away and Boston about an hour and a half, while Block Island, Bristol, New Bedford's whaling museum and Mystic's seaport museum each make a full day out.

From Ocean City the choices are quieter: the old main streets of Berlin and Snow Hill, Chincoteague and its ponies, and Rehoboth Beach and Lewes up the coast. They are pleasant, but no big city is within easy reach. From either town you need a car.

Newport works for a few days, especially with older children. The calmer water at Third and Gooseberry Beaches, the carousel at Easton's Beach, the ramparts of Fort Adams, harbour boat trips and the touch tanks at Save The Bay's aquarium fill the time between sights. Even so, the main attractions are long mansion tours, the town has no zoo or theme park, and on peak days summer traffic in the narrow streets tires everyone out.

Ocean City is the stronger choice, because the whole resort was built for children. It has a lifeguarded beach, two old-fashioned amusement parks with a historic carousel, plus go-karts and themed mini-golf all along the Coastal Highway, enough to fill a full week. Avoid early June, when graduating teenagers take over parts of town, and remember that much of this closes once summer ends.

Neither town is easy without a car, but Newport's centre is compact. The harbour, Thames Street and the colonial streets are all close together, and a summer trolley and local buses reach the mansions and beaches. The real problems are summer traffic and scarce parking.

Ocean City is a 16km strip split by the wide Coastal Highway, which is unpleasant to walk beside, so most visitors drive between neighbourhoods. Staying near the boardwalk and using the summer bus and tram makes things easier.

Newport makes for a more rewarding afternoon, with galleries and sailing clothes on the wharves, smarter boutiques on Bellevue Avenue and antiques on Spring and Franklin Streets, though it is still small-town shopping.

Ocean City sells T-shirts, surf gear, taffy and fudge on the boardwalk, with an outlet centre over the bridge for mainstream brands. Come for beachwear, not style.

Newport is much the more expensive of the two. Room rates in town are high through summer and early autumn, there are few budget places to stay in the centre, and mansion tickets, seafood dinners and parking add up quickly. To save money, stay in Middletown, come midweek or visit in late autumn or winter, when rates fall markedly.

Ocean City still has American resort prices, but it is easier on the budget. A condo shared with a group, an older motel a few blocks back from the sea, boardwalk food, the cheap town bus and the free public beach all keep costs down. Room rates drop in late May and September, and in September the sea is still warm enough to swim.

Newport has the bigger name, thanks to the Jazz and Folk Festivals at Fort Adams and the chamber music held in the mansion ballrooms each July. Outside those weeks the scene is small, and Providence or Boston fill the gap.

Ocean City's live entertainment means touring comedians, tribute bands, free bandstand concerts and cover bands in bars. It's fun on a summer evening, but there is nothing for serious music lovers.

Neither town has a spa tradition, but Newport is the easier place to unwind. It has spas in the resort hotels and some yoga studios, and from May to June and again in September and October the town slows down and the Cliff Walk empties.

Ocean City in summer is noisy with traffic and late bar crowds. Rest there means coming in the shoulder months and taking an early walk on the empty beaches of the northern condo stretches.