Ocean City, Maryland or St. Augustine?

In Ocean City the beach is the whole point. One unbroken strip of soft sand runs the full length of town, there is public access at the end of nearly every street and lifeguard stands line the whole shore, so most visitors are on the sand within minutes of leaving their room. When the boardwalk blocks get crowded, there is more space further north or among the dunes of Assateague.

St. Augustine's sand on Anastasia Island is just as wide and pale, and the water is warmer and good for swimming over more of the year. The beaches sit a short drive from the historic centre, though, and the sea is greenish rather than clear. Here the beach is half of the trip, shared with the old town, rather than the whole of it.

Neither town is a place to come just to eat, and both rely on seafood, but the flavours differ. Ocean City's signature is a table spread with brown paper and piled with Old Bay crabs, with boardwalk fries, taffy and frozen custard on the side. Many of its kitchens close or cut back once summer is over.

St. Augustine adds a Minorcan streak, with the fiery datil pepper in hot sauces, chowder and pilau. A few chef-led restaurants and wine bars around the old town and San Marco make an evening out a little more polished.

This is where the two differ most. Ocean City's heritage is its boardwalk, an early twentieth-century carousel and a small museum of shipwrecks and lifeguards, and that is about all there is.

St. Augustine has more than four centuries of history to walk through. There is the coquina star fort on the bayfront, the narrow balconied lanes of the Spanish quarter and the Gilded Age splendour of Flagler College and the Lightner Museum. Add the Cathedral Basilica, the striped lighthouse and Fort Matanzas, and you have a solid two or three days of sightseeing.

Ocean City is where to go for a big night out in summer. Open-air bayside bars with sand floors fill up at sunset, and dance bars and sports bars along the Coastal Highway stay busy until closing, with a loud, young crowd. The catch is the season, because from autumn to spring most of it goes quiet.

St. Augustine is gentler and more grown-up. You get pubs, taverns and cocktail bars with courtyards around St. George Street and the bayfront, plus a little energy from students in term time. There are hardly any clubs, and most places wind down well before the small hours.

Both sit on flat, watery coastlines of marsh, dune and shallow bay, and both are good rather than spectacular for the outdoors. Ocean City's highlights are the wild ponies and dune trails of Assateague, plus a serious offshore sport-fishing scene built around marlin.

Around St. Augustine you are more likely to be paddling through marsh creeks alongside dolphins and herons, or walking the trails of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve. The timing differs too. Outdoor days in Maryland belong to summer, while in Florida they are best from late autumn to spring.

The Delmarva Peninsula around Ocean City offers quiet, small-town days: historic Berlin on the doorstep, sleepy Snow Hill on the Pocomoke, the pony village of Chincoteague an hour south, and the livelier resort of Rehoboth Beach to the north. From Lewes the ferry crosses to Victorian Cape May. Every outing needs a car, and big cities are too far for a comfortable day trip.

St. Augustine's days out are a little bigger, though they need a car too. Jacksonville's museums, riverfront and gardens are under an hour north, and Amelia Island's Victorian port is within reach. Kennedy Space Center and the Orlando theme parks make long but popular days.

Ocean City is the more natural choice for children. It has been a family resort for over a century and still offers a lifeguarded beach, two old-fashioned boardwalk amusement parks, water parks, go-kart tracks and mini-golf every few blocks. Condo rentals make longer stays easy, though everything for children shuts outside summer and early June brings crowds of graduating teenagers.

St. Augustine works well for a few days. The alligator farm, cannon firing at the fort, the lighthouse climb and the gentle island surf keep children busy. Families after roller coasters face a two-hour drive to Orlando.

Both are car towns, but in different shapes. Ocean City is a long strip, so walking works only along the boardwalk and around the inlet. A summer bus runs the highway and a tram runs the boardwalk, but moving between neighbourhoods means the busy Coastal Highway.

St. Augustine's historic core is compact and flat enough to park once and walk everywhere, with sightseeing trolleys looping the main sights. Its beaches sit across the bridge and are much harder to reach without a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but St. Augustine has a little more worth browsing. Away from the fudge and pirate souvenirs of St. George Street, the lanes around Aviles Street hold galleries, antique dealers and craft shops, and local datil-pepper sauces make a good souvenir.

Ocean City's boardwalk sells T-shirts, surf gear, sunglasses and taffy, with beachwear in the bayside shopping villages. Both towns have an outlet centre on the edge of town for mainstream brands.

The costs are broadly similar, with American resort prices in both, but you save money in different ways. Ocean City is built for middle-income families, so groups can share condos, stay in older motels a few blocks back from the sea, live on boardwalk food and ride the cheap town bus. Late May and September bring rates down while the sea is still usable.

St. Augustine's charm costs more. The historic inns and hotels within walking distance of the old town are in high demand, so savings come from highway or island motels and from visiting midweek.

St. Augustine has the better stage. Its open-air amphitheatre in the woods on Anastasia Island brings touring rock, country and folk acts for much of the year, and it is backed by a community theatre and a modest classical series.

Ocean City's offer is lighter. Expect comedians and tribute bands at the convention centre, free summer concerts at the boardwalk bandstand and cover bands in the bars. Neither has opera or a full orchestral season.

Neither town has a bathing or spa culture, and treatments are limited to hotel spas and a few day spas. St. Augustine is the easier place to slow down, with B&B verandas, walled courtyard gardens and unhurried evening strolls along the bayfront seawall, especially midweek.

Ocean City in high summer is noisy with traffic and late crowds. Its calm comes in the shoulder months, with an early walk on the empty beaches at the northern end.