Portland, Maine or Rehoboth Beach?

Portland has pretty beaches, Crescent, Higgins and Pine Point to the south and the old resort strand at Old Orchard, but the Gulf of Maine keeps them for strolling and paddling. Beach days are a summer extra here, not the point of the trip.

In Rehoboth the beach is the point. A broad pale strip runs the length of the boardwalk with lifeguards, moderate surf and water warm enough in high summer for real swimming, and Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore State Park add quieter, wilder sand at either end.

Portland eats noticeably better. Lobster rolls and steamers at harbour shacks, oysters from the Damariscotta River, potato-flour doughnuts and farm-to-table cooking fill the days, and the breweries clustered along Industrial Way and in East Bayside make a beer crawl easy.

Rehoboth does well for a beach resort, with chef-led places on Rehoboth Avenue left by its Washington following, steamed blue crabs and good local beer. Beyond that the cheap end leans on pizza, fries and taffy, and much of the scene thins out once summer ends.

Portland has a modest but real set of sights: the Old Port's warehouses rebuilt after the 1866 fire, the Portland Museum of Art, Longfellow's childhood home, Victoria Mansion, the 1807 signal tower on Munjoy Hill and Portland Head Light just outside town. That fills a day or two well.

Rehoboth has far less. The Rehoboth Art League's garden galleries in Henlopen Acres and a few streets of camp-meeting cottages are the main stops, and anyone curious about history ends up driving to Lewes.

Neither has a club scene, and both are at their liveliest on summer weekends. Portland's evenings centre on the Old Port, with oyster and cocktail bars and student pubs along Fore and Wharf Streets, early-evening brewery taprooms, and bars that stay open in winter, if quietly.

Rehoboth's nights have a different character: piano lounges and drag nights around Baltimore Avenue reflect its long LGBTQ following, and Dewey Beach next door supplies loud deck bars for a younger crowd. Out of season it shrinks to a handful of bars.

Portland's outdoors is more varied, and most of it is on the water. Ferries to Peaks and Chebeague, schooner sails, whale and seal cruises and the rocky clifftops at Two Lights give it a maritime edge, and the White Mountains are within reach for serious hiking.

Rehoboth's landscape is flat and soft by comparison: tall dunes and the Gordons Pond trail at Cape Henlopen, salt marsh and pine woods along the cycle path to Lewes, and calm inland bays for kayaking and paddleboarding. Dolphins offshore and Assateague's ponies are the highlights.

Both offer pleasant rather than grand outings, and both need a car. From Portland the coast is a string of harbour towns in each direction, Ogunquit's Marginal Way, Kennebunkport and colonial Portsmouth to the south, Freeport, Bath and windjammer Camden to the north, so there are a few more options to choose from.

Rehoboth's trips are fewer but include a standout: Lewes ten minutes away, then the ferry across Delaware Bay to Cape May's Victorian streets. Ocean City's big boardwalk, Berlin's main street and Dover's colonial Green round out the list.

Portland works for a gentle summer outing with children rather than a whole family vacation. The Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine suits the youngest, and the forts and lighthouses at Fort Williams Park fill a morning. The amusement pier at Old Orchard Beach and a native wildlife park under an hour north are each worth a day, but there is no zoo or theme park, and outside summer there is little to build a family trip on.

Rehoboth is the easier base because the whole vacation happens within a few flat, safe blocks: beach, boardwalk rides, ice cream and bed, with no need to load the car. The cost is crowded summer weekends and a long hunt for parking with a boot full of beach gear. Once the season ends, the town puts on almost nothing for children.

Both are easy on foot and awkward beyond. Portland's peninsula links the Old Port, the Arts District, the West End and Munjoy Hill within short, sometimes steep walks, ferries cross to the islands, and a train runs to Boston, which Rehoboth cannot offer.

Rehoboth's centre is flat and bike-friendly, with a seasonal trolley to Dewey and the outlets, but arriving means a highway that clogs on summer weekends and a hunt for scarce parking.

Portland sells what is made in Maine, while Rehoboth sells familiar brands without sales tax. The Old Port's boutiques along Exchange, Fore and Middle Streets carry local pottery, woollens and art. Twenty minutes north, Freeport adds a whole town of outlets around the L.L.Bean flagship, strong on outdoor clothing and gear.

Because Delaware has no sales tax, the big outlet centres on the highway outside Rehoboth draw shoppers from several states. Rehoboth Avenue mixes bookshops, galleries and independent boutiques with resort-casual beachwear. Neither town has a department store or a luxury label.

Both are costly in summer, and both get much cheaper outside it. Portland's peaks also include autumn foliage weekends, and its lobster and oyster habit pushes up meal costs, so seafood shacks and brewery food trucks are the way to save.

In Rehoboth the beach is free and shopping carries no sales tax, but beachfront rooms, rental houses and parking all carry resort premiums, and spring or autumn is when the savings come.

Portland has the fuller calendar. The Portland Symphony Orchestra plays at Merrill Auditorium in City Hall, Portland Stage puts on professional theatre and the historic State Theatre brings touring bands, which makes for a proper evening out through much of the year.

Rehoboth's offer is lighter and more seasonal: free concerts at the bandstand on summer evenings, musicals and cabaret from a small local company, and an autumn film festival. Bigger touring acts mean a drive south.

Portland's calm comes from the water and lasts through its summer: a ferry to a quiet Casco Bay island, dusk on the Eastern Promenade, or a bracing sea dip followed by a waterfront sauna. For spa treatments you are limited to hotel and day spas, and Rehoboth is much the same.

In Rehoboth, finding quiet depends on when you go. In June, in September and on autumn weekends the boardwalk empties, and bike rides under the pines replace the crowds and noise of high summer. A few yoga studios offer classes.