Orlando or Sarasota?

This is where the two differ most. Orlando is inland, so the sea is a day out: about an hour to the Atlantic surf at Cocoa Beach or New Smyrna, or nearer two hours to the calmer Gulf at Clearwater. Day to day, hotel pools and the water parks do the work.

In Sarasota the beach is the reason to come. Siesta Key's fine quartz sand, Lido Key across the causeway and the quieter strands of Longboat Key and Anna Maria are all close, and the shallow Gulf water without waves is easy for children. Check for red tide before a beach day.

Neither is a place to travel for food, and the two eat about equally well, in different ways. Orlando's best meals are spread across a large city: Vietnamese kitchens in Mills 50, chef-led rooms in Winter Park and Audubon Park, and Epcot's World Showcase for grazing in the parks. Still, most stays default to chains.

Sarasota is smaller and more coastal. It has grouper sandwiches and stone crab at fish shacks on the keys, bistros on Main Street and St Armands Circle, and the Amish home cooking and pie of Pinecraft.

Sarasota is ahead, largely thanks to one place. The Ringling fills a full day with Baroque painting including Rubens, John Ringling's Venetian Gothic mansion Ca' d'Zan and the circus museum. The mid-century houses of the Sarasota School add interest for architecture enthusiasts.

Orlando has little heritage of its own. The Morse Museum in Winter Park, with Tiffany's chapel from the 1893 World's Fair, is a real highlight. Beyond it, the museums of Loch Haven Park fill an afternoon at most.

Orlando offers more of a night out, split in two. The themed bars of Disney Springs and CityWalk wind down early. Downtown around Orange Avenue and Church Street, a large student crowd keeps bars and clubs busy late at weekends, and Ivanhoe Village has a relaxed gay scene.

Sarasota's evenings are gentler and attract an older crowd: wine bars on Main Street and sunset drinks at the open-air bars of Siesta Key Village, with most places quiet before late. For clubs, people drive up to Tampa.

Both share the same flat, watery Florida landscape, but Sarasota has more of it close to town. Myakka River State Park, half an hour inland, has open prairie, a canopy walkway in the treetops and alligators on the riverbanks. The mangrove tunnels off Lido Key and the dolphins of Sarasota Bay are a short paddle away.

Orlando's nature is spring water and swamp. You can kayak at Wekiwa Springs, see manatees at Blue Spring in winter and take airboats over the Kissimmee headwaters. For birdwatching, the lagoons of Merritt Island are an hour east.

Orlando's central position gives it the better spread. Kennedy Space Center, with the Saturn V and the shuttle Atlantis, is an hour east. St Augustine's Spanish fort and old streets are just under two hours north, and Tampa and St Petersburg are within reach to the west.

Sarasota reaches the Dalí Museum and Ybor City more easily, in about an hour. It also has Tarpon Springs, a Greek sponge-diving town, and the Edison and Ford winter estates at Fort Myers. Orlando's parks, though, are too far for a comfortable day trip.

Orlando is in a class of its own. It has four Disney parks and two water parks, Universal for older children and teenagers, and SeaWorld and Legoland, with resorts, character breakfasts and bunk-room suites built around family life. The cost is queues, heat and a lot of planning.

Sarasota suits a quieter family week. There is calm, shallow water off Siesta and Lido Keys, sharks and sea turtles at the Mote Marine Laboratory aquarium, and the huge circus model at the Ringling. The nearest big theme park is Busch Gardens in Tampa, well over an hour's drive.

Both need a car, but Orlando needs one more. Its parks, hotel zones and downtown lie miles apart along Interstate 4, and the roads were not made for walking. The exception is staying inside Disney or Universal, where monorail, boats and buses replace the car.

Sarasota's distances are short. Downtown, St Armands Circle and Siesta Key Village are each pleasant on foot, and a free trolley runs along Siesta Key. Expect slow traffic on the bridges to the keys in winter.

For shoppers Orlando is the obvious choice. The premium outlets on International Drive and Vineland Avenue and the luxury labels at the Mall at Millenia draw visitors who come specifically for American brands. Park Avenue in Winter Park adds some boutiques with more character.

In Sarasota, shopping is something to do on a gentle resort afternoon. There are resort wear, jewellery and galleries around St Armands Circle, independent shops on Main Street and Palm Avenue, and a Saturday farmers' market, but nothing to plan a trip around.

Neither is cheap, and Orlando works out slightly kinder. Its huge supply of off-site rooms on International Drive and in Kissimmee, along with self-catering condos, keeps beds reasonable. Multi-day park tickets, express passes and meals in the parks soon add up, though.

In Sarasota the money goes on the room and the restaurant bill. Beachfront stays on Siesta Key and Longboat Key cost the most from January to April. Coming in summer and staying on the mainland help, and the public beaches are free.

Sarasota is far richer than its size suggests. Sarasota Opera performs in a restored 1920s theatre, the Sarasota Ballet is known for its Ashton repertoire, and there is a full orchestra season. The Asolo Repertory Theatre on the Ringling grounds completes a proper programme from autumn to spring.

Orlando has the Dr. Phillips Center for touring Broadway and the Philharmonic, Shakespeare in Loch Haven Park and a long-running spring Fringe. Still, most visitors see their shows as polished park spectaculars and dinner shows.

Sarasota is the restful one, because slow days are the whole point of a stay. It has spas on Longboat and Lido Keys and yoga on the sand at sunrise. Forty minutes south, the year-round warm water of Warm Mineral Springs has drawn bathers for generations.

In Orlando rest is something you schedule between park days. That means resort spas, lazy rivers and landscaped pools around Lake Buena Vista, or a quieter afternoon among the lakes of Winter Park.