Orange Beach or St. Petersburg, Florida?

Both have fine white quartz sand, calm Gulf water and gently shelving shallows, so the swimming itself is much the same. The difference is in the layout. At Orange Beach the sand runs straight past the condo towers in one long strip, and Alabama Point and the state park beaches give you more room.

St. Petersburg's beaches sit on barrier islands west of downtown, so from the city a beach day means a short drive or bus ride. The choice is wider, though: Pass-a-Grille's quiet sands, the wilder park shore at Fort De Soto and the ferry-only beach on Caladesi Island. The winter sea is a touch cooler off Alabama. Each coast also has its own hazard: rip currents at Orange Beach, and occasional red tide around St. Petersburg.

Orange Beach keeps to a narrow menu of Gulf seafood, and St. Petersburg has a good deal more around it. On the Alabama coast the dishes worth seeking out are Royal Red shrimp, chargrilled oysters and West Indies salad, best eaten at the fish houses on the back bays. Many menus along the main road repeat the same fried platters.

St. Petersburg has its own seafood staples, grouper sandwiches, smoked fish spread and stone crab claws in season, and then goes further. Central Avenue and the Edge and Grand Central districts add chef-led kitchens and brunch spots, the many small breweries give the city a real drinking culture, and Ybor City's Cuban and Spanish cooking is just across the bay. Neither suits a trip planned around food, but a week of dinners stays more interesting here.

This is where the two differ most. Orange Beach is a strip of condo towers with a small local museum of Native American and fishing history. Anything older or grander means a drive to Pensacola or Mobile.

St. Petersburg has a proper museum quarter on its downtown waterfront. The Dalí Museum and its glass bubble lead it, with the Museum of Fine Arts, the Chihuly glass and the James Museum close by. Add the 1920s Mediterranean Revival buildings and the murals of the Central Arts District, and there are two or three full days of sightseeing.

At Orange Beach, going out means the Flora-Bama, the sprawling roadhouse on the state line, and a few bars around the marina. They are loud at spring break and on summer weekends and quiet for much of the rest of the year, and every move between them needs a car or taxi.

St. Petersburg is livelier and easier. Cocktail bars, rooftop terraces and taprooms along Central Avenue are within walking distance of each other, and the beaches have tiki bars for sunset. Neither has much clubbing, but from St. Petersburg you can reach Ybor City in Tampa for a bigger night.

Both are flat, watery coasts with no hills, best explored by kayak, bike or boat. Orange Beach leans towards the open Gulf and the backcountry. It is one of the busiest charter fishing ports on the Gulf, with artificial reefs offshore, its paved trail runs through pine woods past alligator ponds, and Bon Secour refuge draws migrating birds.

St. Petersburg's strength is its mangroves. The paddling trails at Weedon Island and Shell Key bring sightings of dolphins, rays and, in winter, manatees, and the Pinellas Trail makes long bike rides easy. Winter is the better outdoor season there, while on the Alabama coast spring and autumn work best.

St. Petersburg has a slightly wider choice. Ybor City in Tampa, the Ringling in Sarasota and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs make three quite different days, and the Orlando theme parks are possible at a stretch.

The outings from Orange Beach lean towards history. There is Pensacola's colonial quarter, naval aviation museum and brick forts, Mobile's antebellum streets and battleship, and Fort Morgan with the ferry to Dauphin Island. Both lists need a car and run out after a few days.

Orange Beach is built for children from end to end, while St. Petersburg relies on bigger attractions a drive away. In Orange Beach the condos have pools and kitchens beside the sand, the state park trails make easy outings, and a water park and small zoo are within half an hour.

From St. Petersburg the days out are grander. There is Great Explorations in the city and the rescued dolphins and turtles at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Tampa has Busch Gardens and the Florida Aquarium, and Orlando's theme parks are close enough for a long day. The cost is more time in the car. On either coast, plan to spend the middle of a summer day indoors.

Neither is easy without a car, but Orange Beach is harder. The town is strung out for miles along one coastal highway, there is little useful public transport, and in summer the traffic crawls. Bicycles help only on the trails and side roads.

St. Petersburg at least has a compact, walkable downtown, where the pier, the museums and Central Avenue sit close together. A trolley loop runs around it and a rapid bus goes to St. Pete Beach. Beyond that core it is car country as well.

Neither is a place to come for shopping. Orange Beach sells beachwear, souvenirs and fishing gear, and for brands people drive twenty minutes inland to the outlet mall in Foley. St. Petersburg is better for browsing, with vintage and record shops, local boutiques and glass galleries along Central Avenue and a Saturday market in the winter season, though big names there also mean a drive, to the malls in Tampa.

The cheap seasons run in opposite directions. Orange Beach is most expensive in summer and on long weekends. From late autumn to early spring rates drop sharply, which makes it good value for a quiet stay in cooler weather. Groups who share a large condo and cook some meals save more.

St. Petersburg is dearest from February to April, when northern visitors come for the mild winter, and cheaper in summer and early autumn, though those months are hot and stormy. Otherwise the bills look much alike: American restaurant prices plus tips, a hire car and free beaches, though around St. Petersburg you also pay to park at the beach.

St. Petersburg has the fuller programme. The Mahaffey Theater on the waterfront hosts the Florida Orchestra and touring shows. A regional theatre company, a former church used as a concert hall and an open-air courtyard for bands add variety, and Tampa's large performing arts centre is close by for opera and ballet.

Orange Beach has no theatre or classical music. What it has is country and rock tours at the marina amphitheatre, cover bands in the beach bars and, each November, the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival around the state line, a real draw for anyone who loves songwriting.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so in both places relaxing means a resort spa and a slow pace. St. Petersburg offers a little more: spas in the large historic beach hotels, yoga studios downtown and the sleepy streets of Pass-a-Grille. Its dry, mild winter is the most restful time to go.

Orange Beach is calmest from autumn to spring, when long empty mornings and sunsets over the back bays are the whole point. Spring break and summer weekends there are noisy.