Paros or Rhodes?

The two are closely matched for swimming, but the beaches are different in character. Paros has sandy bays all round its coast, from the granite-boulder coves of Kolymbithres to the wide sand at Golden Beach and Santa Maria. Because the island is small, you can simply cross to the sheltered south or west shore when the meltemi is blowing.

Rhodes puts nearly all its good swimming on one long east coast, a chain of sheltered bays from Faliraki down to Lindos where the sand is often mixed with fine shingle. It is better for snorkelling, at the rocky inlets of Anthony Quinn Bay and Ladiko, and its water is a little warmer. Its busiest beaches are lined with rows of sunbeds in high summer.

The food is much the same standard on both islands, but finding it is a different job. On Paros, good eating is part of the everyday scene: octopus drying along Naoussa's harbour, clay-pot chickpeas, the island's own Monemvasia and Mandilaria wines, and a few polished modern Greek kitchens in Naoussa.

On Rhodes you have to leave the resort strips, with their buffets and identical menus, for the inland villages, the quieter harbours and the meze places in the newer part of Rhodes Town. There you get pitaroudia, matsi pasta and slow-cooked goat, with wine and honey from Embonas.

This is where Rhodes pulls far ahead. Its walled Old Town, built by the Knights of St John, has the Street of the Knights, the Palace of the Grand Master, mosques, a synagogue and the Archaeological Museum in the Knights' Hospital. Add the cliff-top acropolis of Lindos, ancient Kamiros and the stadium on Monte Smith, and you have several full days of sightseeing.

Paros has one major monument, the early Christian Ekatontapiliani in Parikia, plus a small museum, a Frankish castle built from reused marble and the ancient quarries at Marathi. These make pleasant mornings out rather than a programme.

The nightlife is just as lively on both, but the crowds differ. Paros's evenings centre on Naoussa, where cocktail bars spill out around the harbour and a well-dressed crowd stays out past midnight, with a looser, younger strip on Parikia's seafront.

Rhodes splits into separate scenes: Faliraki's loud bar-and-club strip that runs until dawn for young package travellers, a late lane in the Old Town, and stylish rooftop bars in Lindos for an older crowd. Most other resorts on Rhodes go quiet after the hotel bar.

Rhodes has more varied countryside. Its pine-covered hills, Mount Attavyros above the wine villages, the shaded Valley of the Butterflies and the wooded stream at Seven Springs give it green walking country. Paros is bare, dry Cycladic terraces with no forest or mountain to speak of, though the marble-paved Byzantine path from Lefkes to Prodromos is a fine short walk.

Both islands draw windsurfers and kitesurfers. Paros has three spots, Golden Beach, New Golden Beach and Pounta, while Rhodes has the single famous sandbar at Prasonisi, with flat water on one side and waves on the other.

The day trips are about equally good, and both depend on boats. Paros sits in the middle of the Cyclades, so Antiparos with its stalactite cave is a quick crossing, Naxos is under an hour away, and Mykonos, Ios, Sifnos and Delos are all reachable in summer.

From Rhodes the classic outing is Symi's pastel harbour, often combined with the Panormitis monastery. Marmaris, about an hour away by ferry, lets you step across into Turkey. On the island itself there are castles at Monolithos and Kritinia and the Kallithea rotunda.

Rhodes is the easier island with children. Big east-coast resorts are built around pools and kids' clubs, there is a large water park above Faliraki and an aquarium in Rhodes Town, and Tsambika and Kolymbia have shallow sandy water. The drawbacks are midsummer heat and the steep stepped lanes of Lindos.

Paros offers gentle bays such as Livadia, Golden Beach and Logaras and a safe village feel, but nothing made for children beyond the sea. It suits young families content with a simple beach routine based in Parikia or the east-coast villages.

Getting around is about as easy on one island as the other, but the scale is very different. Paros is compact, so in summer the buses from Parikia and the small boats across Naoussa's bay cover most of a beach-and-village stay without a car, and a scooter fills in the gaps. Outside the summer the buses run much less often, so a spring or autumn visit relies more on hired wheels.

Rhodes is a much bigger island, and the bus is only really useful along the east-coast corridor from Rhodes Town to Lindos. Based there you can manage without a car. To reach the west-coast castles, the inland wine villages or Prasonisi in the far south, you will want one for a few days. In return, Rhodes Town gives you a car-free Old Town and harbour to explore on foot, a larger walkable base than anything Paros has.

Shopping on Paros leans towards resort style. Boutiques in Naoussa's whitewashed lanes and on Parikia's old market street sell linen, sandals and Greek designer jewellery, alongside ceramics, capers, honey and island wine, and Lefkes has a few craft workshops. Prices in Naoussa are high, and most shops close when the season ends.

Rhodes is more about souvenirs. Sokratous Street in the Old Town is lined with sponges, leather and copies of ancient pottery. Its advantage is local craft and everyday shopping: hand-painted Lindian-style ceramics from Archangelos, lace and embroidery in the villages, and ordinary Greek high-street fashion in the new town around Mandraki.

Rhodes is noticeably cheaper for most trips. Its many package hotels and all-inclusive resorts keep the north and east coasts at moderate prices, and only Lindos and the Old Town boutique hotels push costs up.

Paros is pricey in July and August, especially in Naoussa and at the well-known beaches, and hire cars, sunbeds and ferry hops add up. It becomes fairer value if you stay in Parikia or the inland villages and come in June or September.

Neither island has much formal performance, but each has its own tradition. On Paros, the music is at the summer village feast days with island violin and lute, the great mid-August feast at the Ekatontapiliani, and Naoussa's pirate-raid re-enactment with fireworks.

Rhodes offers a long-established folk-dance company in a small Old Town theatre, plus summer concerts in the medieval moat and the ancient stadium.

Relaxing on Paros means slowing down rather than booking treatments. There are a handful of yoga and retreat centres, but mostly it is long lunches, siestas and evenings in Lefkes, Marpissa or Prodromos, or across the water on Antiparos. Staying inland or on the south-east coast keeps you away from Naoussa at its busiest.

Rhodes relies more on the big resort spas along the east coast and around Lindos, which are polished but have no local character. For real quiet you go to the far south. Lahania, Asklipio and Gennadi have church squares, kafeneia where older men play backgammon, and calm evenings under clear skies, and they are most restful in spring and autumn.