Pensacola or Wilmington?

Pensacola is the stronger beach destination. Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore run for miles along Santa Rosa Island. The sand is very white, the dunes are low and the surf is usually gentle. If you want fewer people, Perdido Key is quieter, and the shallow sound side of the island suits toddlers.

Wilmington's beaches are good but feel more like an outing from town. You choose between polished Wrightsville, the boardwalk at Carolina Beach and quieter Kure. The Atlantic is a little cooler, and summer weekends mean hunting for parking. Rip currents are a danger on rough days on both coasts.

The two eat at about the same level, and both rely on seafood. Pensacola has a Gulf menu: chargrilled oysters, grouper sandwiches, royal red shrimp and gumbo with a Creole touch, best eaten at casual places on the water. Wilmington offers shrimp and grits and local flounder, plus something Pensacola does not have: eastern North Carolina whole-hog barbecue with vinegar sauce.

Each has a small cluster of modern Southern restaurants and craft breweries downtown. Neither has much international food, and both beach strips rely heavily on fried seafood.

The two are close, but Pensacola has a slightly wider range of sights. Spanish, French, British, Confederate and American rule have each left traces, from the colonial houses around Plaza Ferdinand to brick Fort Pickens. The huge National Naval Aviation Museum is the main sight, though it stands on an active base, so expect ID checks.

Wilmington's appeal is more about walking. You get block after block of antebellum and Victorian houses under live oaks, plus the Bellamy Mansion's account of slavery in the old port and the battleship across the river. Either city takes two or three days to see properly.

Young Navy personnel and locals fill Pensacola's Palafox Street and the old Seville Quarter. In Wilmington, university students pack the bars along Front Street. Otherwise the pattern is much the same: pubs and rooftop terraces downtown, beach bars in summer and almost no clubs.

Pensacola's beach side is rowdier, with sand-floored bars and the long-standing roadhouse on the Alabama line at Perdido Key. Wilmington's evenings are friendlier and more easy-going. Both go quiet on weeknights out of season.

Both are flat and watery, but you do different things in each. Pensacola has the larger protected coastline: the national seashore's dunes, maritime forest and bike path, dolphins in the bay, canoeing on the clear Blackwater River, and a sunken carrier for divers.

Wilmington's highlights are Masonboro Island, an undeveloped island you can reach only by boat or kayak, and surfing off Wrightsville. It also has wild Venus flytraps in Carolina Beach State Park, a plant found nowhere else. Summer heat and insects limit what you can do in both places.

Pensacola's best day out is a city, while Wilmington's is a small town. From Pensacola, Mobile lies about an hour west, with antebellum streets and deep Mardi Gras roots. Across Mobile Bay on the eastern shore are small Fairhope and Fort Morgan, which guards the mouth of the bay. Heading east, you mostly find more beach towns.

Wilmington's outings are smaller but more varied. The best day is Southport's porches and the ferry to car-free Bald Head Island, with Fort Fisher and the ruins of Brunswick Town on the way. Colonial New Bern and Beaufort lie further north. Both lists are short, and you need a car for every trip on them.

Both work equally well with children, and the beach is the main draw in each. Pensacola appeals to children who love planes, with the aviation museum and the Blue Angels based in town. The zoo, the lighthouse climb and the tunnels at Fort Pickens fill other days.

Wilmington offers old-fashioned rides and arcades on the Carolina Beach boardwalk, the aquarium at Fort Fisher, the battleship's walk-through decks and a children's museum for rainy days. Neither has big theme parks, and both bring summer heat and a lot of driving.

Wilmington is the easier of the two, though you will want a car in both. Its downtown and historic district are flat and joined by the riverwalk, so a good share of the trip happens on foot. The beaches are a short drive across the suburbs.

In Pensacola, only the area around Palafox Street is pleasant to walk. The beach, the naval air station, Perdido Key and the shops are spread out along highways and bridges. Apart from a free beach trolley in season, the buses are no real help.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Wilmington has a little more to browse. Front Street and the restored Cotton Exchange have independent boutiques, galleries, bookshops and antique dealers.

Pensacola has fewer shops along Palafox Street. Its best local find is the Saturday market with crafts and produce. Beyond that, there is a regional mall and swimwear shops on the island.

Costs are about the same, and a hire car adds to the bill in both. Pensacola has some useful savings: the big aviation museum is free and the national seashore costs little. Prices on the island drop sharply out of season.

In Wilmington, city hotels are the best deal off-season, and barbecue and casual seafood are fair value. Beach rentals are expensive in summer in both places.

Wilmington has slightly more on stage, especially in the warmer months. Thalian Hall, a restored 19th-century opera house, hosts theatre and music. There are also touring bands on the outdoor stages by Greenfield Lake and the riverfront, and long-running jazz and blues festivals.

Pensacola's stage is concentrated in the restored Saenger Theatre, home to the local symphony, opera and ballet. It makes a good night out, but there is less else on.

Neither has a bathing culture or a real spa retreat. In both, relaxing means day spas in the beach hotels and a slow pace of life. Pensacola is best for switching off out of season on the empty stretches of Perdido Key. Wilmington adds yoga studios and calm evenings on the riverfront.