Pigeon Forge or St. Pete Beach?

This is where the two are furthest apart. Pigeon Forge is hundreds of miles inland, and swimming means Douglas Lake, the cold mountain streams of the national park, the Dollywood water park or a hotel pool.

St. Pete Beach is built around its sand: a long barrier-island strip of fine white quartz, shallow and usually calm Gulf water, Pass-a-Grille facing the sunset, and the quieter shores of Fort De Soto and Shell Key nearby. If swimming in the sea matters at all, only one of these works.

Neither is somewhere to plan a trip around food, but St. Pete Beach eats a little better. Grouper sandwiches, smoked fish spread and stone crab claws on a waterfront deck at least taste of the place, and the sunset dinner is a pleasant habit.

Pigeon Forge means pancake houses, Southern buffets, barbecue and chains along the Parkway, with moonshine tastings and Old Mill cornmeal treats as the only local flavour. Each town sends anyone after ambitious cooking elsewhere, to St. Petersburg in one case and Knoxville or Asheville in the other.

Both are thin on culture, and neither is a historic town. Pigeon Forge offers built entertainment such as the half-scale Titanic and car collections, plus the working Old Mill of 1830 and the crafts at Dollywood, while the real Appalachian heritage lies in the park's log cabins and churches. St. Pete Beach has the pink Don CeSar, Pass-a-Grille's old cottages and the Fort De Soto batteries, and its advantage is that serious museums are only half an hour away in St. Petersburg.

St. Pete Beach is the better choice for adults who want a drink, though neither place is about late nights. Sunset brings crowds to tiki decks and beach bars on Gulf Boulevard and in Pass-a-Grille, often with a cover band, and there are a few livelier bars on Corey Avenue.

In Pigeon Forge, evenings mean go-karts and dinner shows that end around ten, with a few sports bars and moonshine tasting rooms. Adults there drive to Gatlinburg, while St. Pete Beach has downtown St. Petersburg for a bigger night.

Pigeon Forge has the stronger outdoors, thanks to the Great Smoky Mountains about half an hour away. Forested ridges rise above 2,000m, and the trails range from Laurel Falls to Alum Cave and the Appalachian Trail, with bears and wild turkey in Cades Cove, spring wildflowers and October colour.

St. Pete Beach's nature is flat and on the water: mangrove paddling trails, dolphins, manatees in the cooler months and roseate spoonbills on the flats. It is lovely from a kayak, but there is little walking and summer heat drives everyone out early.

St. Pete Beach has more on its doorstep. St. Petersburg's Dalí Museum is half an hour away, Tampa's Ybor City is under an hour, and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs, the Ringling estate in Sarasota and Anna Maria Island make easy days out, with Orlando just within reach.

From Pigeon Forge the options are fewer but varied: the craft studios of Gatlinburg, Knoxville's Market Square, Cherokee over Newfound Gap, and best of all Asheville and the Biltmore Estate. Beyond those the list soon runs out.

Both work well for children, and Pigeon Forge is slightly ahead because the whole town exists for families. Dollywood and its water park, mountain coasters, zip lines and dinner shows fill several days, cabins sleep large groups, and the national park adds easy waterfall walks.

St. Pete Beach is simpler: shallow, calm water and soft sand are ideal for toddlers, with dolphin boats and the Fort De Soto pier alongside. Its theme parks and aquariums are an hour's drive away, and in both places summer heat and driving between stops are the main difficulties.

Both need a car, but St. Pete Beach is less of a struggle. Its beach trolley runs the length of Gulf Boulevard, and Pass-a-Grille and Corey Avenue are pleasant to walk or cycle, so a beach day can happen without driving.

Pigeon Forge is a multi-lane commercial road where you can only walk inside individual attraction complexes. The trolley is slow and misses the hillside cabins, the trailheads need a car, and Parkway traffic can crawl in summer, October and at Christmas.

Pigeon Forge offers more to buy. Big outlet centres along the Parkway and towards Sevierville carry American mid-market brands, and the Old Mill area and the Gatlinburg crafts community sell pottery, quilts, brooms and woodwork that are worth taking home.

St. Pete Beach is mainly swimwear and souvenirs, with a few boutiques and galleries on Corey Avenue and in Pass-a-Grille. For malls, you go inland to St. Petersburg or Tampa.

Pigeon Forge is the cheaper stay. Its huge stock of motels and rental cabins keeps lodging reasonable, especially for families sharing, and breakfasts and buffets cost little. What adds up is the paid attractions, so a theme park day or dinner show is where the money goes.

St. Pete Beach is expensive, with high beachfront rates from February to April and restaurant prices to match. Older motels a block back and the late-summer lull help, and the sand itself is free.

Pigeon Forge has much more live entertainment, though it is all one style. Dozens of Parkway theatres put on country and gospel revues, comedy, magic and big dinner spectacles every night, and Dollywood has bluegrass and Appalachian music on its stages through the day.

St. Pete Beach has only cover bands and acoustic sets in its beach bars. Its strength is nearby: the Florida Orchestra in St. Petersburg and touring opera and musicals in Tampa, which go beyond anything closer to Pigeon Forge than Knoxville.

St. Pete Beach is the easier place to unwind. Its larger resorts have full-service spas, and the beach itself sets the rhythm, from morning walks to the evening sunset, with Pass-a-Grille especially slow.

In Pigeon Forge, rest depends on where you stay. A hillside cabin with a porch, fireplace and hot tub over the ridges can be very peaceful, but the Parkway below is neon and traffic, and spas are few.