Puerto Rico or Turks and Caicos?

Puerto Rico has plenty of coast, but its finest sand is off the main island. Flamenco Beach on Culebra and the quiet bays of Vieques mean a ferry or a short flight. The San Juan city beaches are handy rather than beautiful, and on the north coast winter brings big surf and strong currents.

Turks and Caicos does what Puerto Rico can't quite manage, putting its best beach right where you stay. Grace Bay is calm, white and protected by its reef, and Taylor Bay, Sapodilla Bay and the cays offshore add variety without the long journeys.

Puerto Rico has a real cuisine of its own, with mofongo, arroz con gandules and whole roast pig carved at the lechoneras of Guavate. Add the creative kitchens and market square of Santurce, mountain coffee and rum, and food becomes a reason to go.

Turks and Caicos has conch, lobster and the occasional fish fry near Blue Hills. Beyond those, most meals are international menus in resort restaurants along Grace Bay, cooked largely with imported produce.

Here the gap is wide. Old San Juan alone is worth a slow couple of days, with El Morro and San Cristóbal above the ocean, the walled colonial streets and the cathedral. Ponce's art museum, San Germán's old church and the Taíno ball courts at Caguana spread the interest across the island.

In Turks and Caicos, history means a flight to Grand Turk. There you can see the Bermudian-style houses of Cockburn Town, the National Museum with the Molasses Reef wreck and the old salt landscape of Salt Cay. It is a pleasant day, not a trip.

San Juan goes out late. The street crowds at La Placita de Santurce, the packed bars of Calle San Sebastián and the salsa and reggaeton dancing make a night out part of the trip, while the Condado and Isla Verde add casinos and clubs for a more polished evening.

Turks and Caicos has sunset drinks at a Grace Bay beach bar or resort lounge, perhaps with a local band, and a night that winds down well before the small hours. There are no real clubs, and on the outer islands there is little to do after dinner.

Puerto Rico has more to explore on land. You can walk the rainforest trails and waterfalls of El Yunque, go underground in the Río Camuy caves, drive through the karst hills around Arecibo, and paddle the bioluminescent bays of Vieques and Fajardo after dark. Rincón adds serious winter surf.

Turks and Caicos is flat and dry, and its nature is in the water. The wall dive off Grand Turk, the reef snorkelling, kayaking on turquoise Chalk Sound and kiteboarding at Long Bay are its strengths, and humpback whales pass both destinations in winter.

From San Juan there are more places to aim for. Ponce's plaza and mansions, the rum distilleries at Cataño, the coffee haciendas and San Germán all make worthwhile outings, and Culebra and Vieques reward a night or two.

From Providenciales the list is short: a ferry and a causeway drive to the empty shores of North and Middle Caicos, or a flight to Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Most other outings are boat trips to uninhabited cays, which are about the water rather than any place.

Both work for families who are happy with outdoor days, and neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park. Turks and Caicos is the easier choice with small children. The lagoons at Taylor Bay and Sapodilla Bay are shallow, Smith's Reef can be snorkelled from the shore, and everything is close and quiet.

Puerto Rico gives older and more restless children more to do. They can walk to El Yunque's waterfalls, take the guided route through the Camuy caves and kayak a glowing bay at night. The price is more driving, rough north-coast water and draining summer heat.

You will want a car in either place, but Puerto Rico is a little easier to manage. Old San Juan and the Condado can be walked, ride-hailing links the districts, and good highways make a road trip simple, if you can face the traffic around the capital and the slow mountain roads.

Turks and Caicos has no useful public transport, cars drive on the left, and taxis are the alternative to a hire car. Reaching the other islands takes a ferry, a car or a small plane, which is why many visitors never leave Grace Bay.

Puerto Rico has more to browse. The craft and gallery streets around Calle Fortaleza sell carved santos, vejigante masks, guayaberas and aged rum, and the big malls of Hato Rey cover the everyday. Turks and Caicos has a few open-air plazas on Grace Bay selling resort wear and duty-free watches. Its best souvenirs are the palm-straw baskets from North and Middle Caicos and sea salt from the old salt islands.

Neither is cheap, but Puerto Rico will cost you noticeably less. Prices are at American levels, and you can save by eating at lechoneras, beach kiosks and fondas or by staying in a guesthouse in Rincón.

Turks and Caicos is among the costliest places in the Caribbean. Almost everything is imported, accommodation is mostly upmarket resorts, and boat trips, taxis and inter-island flights all add up. A shared villa and meals at conch shacks help, but only so much.

Puerto Rico's music is something to seek out. You can hear bomba drumming in Loíza and Piñones, plena around La Placita and salsa bands in San Juan, and the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián fill the old town every January. The Centro de Bellas Artes and the Casals Festival add formal concerts.

Turks and Caicos has ripsaw music at fish fries and resort evenings and the Maskanoo parade at Christmas. It has no theatres or concert halls.

The two are fairly close, and in both places relaxing mostly means a resort spa. Turks and Caicos has the edge because the whole destination is quiet. The private island resorts on the cays, such as Parrot Cay, build entire stays around yoga and treatments.

Puerto Rico can be restful too, on Vieques and Culebra or in surf-town Rincón, and the hot springs at Coamo offer a modest thermal tradition that Turks and Caicos lacks. San Juan itself, though, is loud and full of traffic.