Positano or Taormina?

The two are close on the sea, and both have clear water that warms to about 26°C in August. Positano is a little better for swimming because the beach is part of the town. Spiaggia Grande is a broad curve of dark sand and pebbles directly below the houses, Fornillo is a short walk along the cliff, and boats from the shore reach Laurito, Arienzo and other coves.

Taormina's swimming means a cable car or a steep path down to Mazzarò and Isola Bella. Those are narrow pebble strips, but the glassy water there is better for snorkelling. For longer sand you take the bus to Giardini Naxos or Letojanni.

Taormina eats better and more variously. Sicily gives it pasta alla Norma, raw red prawns, arancini, cannoli, and granita with brioche for breakfast. The wine lists are full of Etna's Nerello Mascalese and Carricante, and there is everyday eating in the side streets and down in Giardini Naxos.

Positano's table is mostly a single coastal menu repeated: clams, grilled fish, scialatielli and lemon desserts, eaten on terraces where the view is part of the bill. It is a lovely lunch, but there is little beyond it, and many kitchens close in winter.

Taormina has far more to visit. The Greek theatre alone is worth the trip, and the Corso adds the Duomo, Palazzo Corvaja and Badia Vecchia, with their mix of Arab, Norman and Catalan influences. Seeing it all properly fills a day.

In Positano the town itself is the sight: houses stacked up the ravine, the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the Roman villa beneath it. A couple of hours covers it, and serious sightseeing means going to Naples or Pompeii.

Neither town is for a big night out. Taormina has a bit more to do after dark: an aperitivo in Piazza IX Aprile, the passeggiata along the Corso, then piano bars and wine terraces, with beach clubs at Mazzarò in summer. Positano's evenings are dinner and a few bars by the beach, plus the cave club at the end of Spiaggia Grande for a late, dressed-up crowd. Both go quiet once the season ends.

Both are superb for time outdoors, but the days they offer are different. In Positano the landscape starts at the hotel door: the stairways climb straight to Nocelle, Montepertuso and the Path of the Gods, so you can walk out after breakfast with the sea in view all day, then take a kayak along the cliffs in the afternoon. It suits walkers who want great views more than summits and would rather not join an organised outing.

Taormina's big outdoor day is a volcano, and that makes it an excursion. Etna is about an hour away, usually with a guide or a hired car, and gives you craters, lava fields and, in winter, skiing, none of which the Amalfi Coast can match. Closer to town the walking is gentler, up to Castelmola and Monte Tauro. In both places spring and autumn are the seasons for it, because summer heat makes the climbs hard.

Positano has more within easy reach, and much of it is by boat. Amalfi and Ravello are short ferry hops, Capri is about half an hour across the water, and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum are all realistic days out. The catch is that most ferries stop in winter.

Taormina's day trips are longer. Catania is about an hour away, and Syracuse with Ortigia is about two, with Noto possible if you start early. Nearer to hand are the hill villages of Castelmola and Savoca and the wineries on Etna's northern slopes.

Taormina is the easier of the two with children. The pedestrian centre feels safe, the cable car to the sea is fun in itself, and school-age children usually love snorkelling at Isola Bella or seeing Etna's lava fields. Giardini Naxos below has sandier beaches and flatter streets for small children.

Positano is built almost entirely of stairs, so a pushchair is useless. The pebble beaches shelve steeply and there is nothing aimed at children beyond the sea. Teenagers who like boats will be happy, but toddlers won't.

Taormina is simpler to get around. The Corso is flat and walkable, the cable car links the town to the beaches, and a railway station by the sea connects to Catania, its airport and Syracuse.

Positano has no railway. There is a single looping road, buses that crawl along the coast in summer, and hundreds of steps for almost any walk. Ferries are the best way out, but mostly in season, and a car is more trouble than help.

Both towns are better for an afternoon of browsing than for serious shopping, but they sell different things. Positano has a look of its own: loose white linen and brightly printed resort wear in the lanes down to the beach, and sandals cut to fit while you wait.

Taormina's single street sells coral and cameos, lace, painted moor's-head vases and Caltagirone majolica, along with edible souvenirs such as Bronte pistachio cream and Etna wine. For department stores, Catania is about an hour away by train. From Positano, Naples means getting to Sorrento first and then taking the train, which takes rather longer.

Neither is cheap, but Positano costs a good deal more. Summer sea-view rooms there cost more than in most European capitals, and loungers, boat trips and transfers keep adding to the bill. The cheaper bases, Praiano or Sorrento, mean a slower trip in each day.

Taormina is expensive in its own right. It is far dearer than the rest of eastern Sicily, with grand hotels setting the tone and resort prices along the Corso. Even so, it is clearly the easier of the two on the wallet. Granita, bakery snacks and buses stay cheap, and staying in Giardini Naxos or Letojanni cuts costs further.

Taormina has the better stage, by some margin. On summer nights the Greek theatre hosts opera, ballet and international concerts with Etna behind the stage, and the film festival has long drawn performers.

Positano has little beyond the occasional church concert. Its best evening of music is Ravello's classical festival further along the coast, on a terrace above the sea. For year-round opera, one town looks to Naples and the other to Catania's Teatro Massimo Bellini.

Rest works much the same way in both. Neither has a bathing tradition, so wellness means hotel spas with pools cut into the cliff or set on terraces, and both are calmest in May, June and late September.

What changes is the backdrop. Taormina has shaded gardens in the Villa Comunale and spa treatments using volcanic mud. Positano has a slow afternoon above the sea, though its stairs make even short errands tiring.