Puglia or Zakynthos?

Both coastlines are first-rate for swimming, but they are laid out differently. Puglia's coast is a long one with two characters. The Ionian side of the Salento has wide, pale sands and shallow turquoise water, while the Adriatic side has limestone platforms near Polignano a Mare and sea stacks at Torre dell'Orso. The cliffs and coves of the Gargano lie far to the north.

Zakynthos fits its variety into a small island. Laganas Bay has long sand and protected turtle nesting beaches at Gerakas and Dafni, Vasilikos adds smaller sandy coves, and the west coast has rocky swimming inlets such as Porto Limnionas. More of the beach day here is spent on boats, out to the Blue Caves or along the cliffs below Navagio.

Food is a real reason to go to Puglia, and it is not on Zakynthos. Puglia offers fresh burrata from the Murge, orecchiette with turnip tops, raw sea urchins on the Bari waterfront, and butcher-grill houses in the Valle d'Itria where you choose your meat at the counter. Primitivo and Negroamaro are poured everywhere and are good value.

Zakynthos has honest Greek taverna food and a few island specialities worth seeking out, such as garlicky skordostoumbi, ladotyri cheese and Verdea wine. To find them you have to head inland to the villages around Keri, because the big resorts lean towards international menus.

The two are far apart here. Puglia's heritage is spread across its towns but runs deep: the honey-coloured baroque of Lecce, the trulli districts of Alberobello, Frederick II's octagonal castle on the Murge, and a chain of Romanesque cathedrals from Trani to Otranto's great floor mosaic.

On Zakynthos, the 1953 earthquake took most of the Venetian capital. What remains is the Byzantine Museum and the Solomos museum on the main square, the Venetian castle on Bochali hill and a few monasteries, which is enough for a pleasant half day.

There is about as much going out on both, but it takes different forms. Puglia's nightlife is spread around the region: beach clubs in Gallipoli through July and August, people drinking in the lanes of Lecce, bars in Bari that stay open all year, and late piazza evenings in the smaller towns.

On Zakynthos it is concentrated in one place. The Laganas strip is loud and cheap, with clubs and foam parties aimed at young British groups, while the rest of the island ends its evenings quietly at the taverna. That is good if you want the party and easy to avoid if you don't.

In Puglia the outdoors is mostly inland country, while on Zakynthos it is the coast, seen from a boat or a kayak. Across much of Puglia that means a flat to rolling plateau of olive groves and dry-stone walls, best explored by bicycle through the Valle d'Itria or among the ancient twisted trees between Ostuni and Fasano. The wilder scenery is far to the north in the Gargano, with the beech woods of the Foresta Umbra, sea caves, and snorkelling off the Tremiti islands. In the south, the Salento adds cliff paths near Otranto and the Alimini lakes.

The outdoor highlights of Zakynthos are on its limestone shoreline. You can kayak beneath the western cliffs, take a boat into the caves at Cape Skinari, dive off the Keri headland, or head out early into the Laganas Bay marine park to look for loggerhead turtles. Inland, the olive hills rising to Mount Vrachionas give quiet walks between villages, though a much smaller area to roam than Puglia's countryside. On both, spring and autumn suit walking far better than summer.

Day trips are one of Puglia's great strengths and one of Zakynthos's weak points. In Puglia, Ostuni, Locorotondo, Polignano a Mare and Trani are each a short drive from the next. Matera's cave dwellings are about an hour from Bari, and the Grecia Salentina villages are close to Lecce.

Leaving Zakynthos means a ferry. You can manage a long day on southern Kefalonia in summer, or a full day on the mainland to Chlemoutsi castle and ancient Olympia, but most visitors settle for a tour of the island's own villages and viewpoints.

Puglia has a slight edge for families. Its shallow Ionian sands suit small children, villas and masserie with pools are easy to find, and Italian piazza life keeps children welcome late into the evening. The Fasano safari park and the trulli of Alberobello help fill the days, though a car is a must.

Zakynthos is more of a resort-hotel option, with pools and kids' clubs at Tsilivi, Planos and Alykes and turtle-spotting boat trips that children love. It is small enough that journeys stay short, but several famous beaches can only be reached by steep paths or by boat.

Puglia is somewhat easier to get around, mainly because of its main railway line. Trains link Bari, Brindisi and Lecce and stop at Polignano a Mare and Monopoli, so you can manage a stay along the coast without a car. The catch is distance: the Gargano and the southern tip of the Salento are hours apart by road, so seeing both ends of the region means two bases.

Zakynthos is only about 40km long, but its buses only link the town to the main resorts. To reach the cliffs, villages and viewpoints of the west and north you need a car or scooter on narrow roads, or a seat on an organised boat trip.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Puglia has more worth looking for. There is a whole quarter of ceramic workshops at Grottaglie, Lecce has its papier-mache studios, the Valle d'Itria towns sell linen and embroidery, and the streets around Via Sparano in Bari have mainstream Italian fashion.

On Zakynthos, shopping comes down to Alexandrou Roma street in town, beachwear in the resorts, and lace and weaving in the villages around Volimes. The best things to bring home are edible: mantolato nougat and thyme honey.

Overall costs are much the same, but the money goes on different things. In Puglia, food and wine are cheap by Italian standards, while beachfront rooms and boutique masserie are expensive in high summer and car hire is close to essential.

On Zakynthos, package tourism keeps rooms in the big resorts moderately priced even in August. Boat trips, sunbeds and car hire are what add up over a week. In both places, going in June or September brings the cost down noticeably.

Puglia has a proper musical life of its own, and Zakynthos does not. Bari's Teatro Petruzzelli is one of Italy's largest opera houses. The Martina Franca festival stages rare operas in a ducal courtyard each summer, and the pizzica of the Salento comes together every August at the huge Notte della Taranta concert in Melpignano.

Zakynthos's tradition is smaller and more informal: kantades serenades sung with guitar and mandolin in tavernas, a philharmonic band at religious feasts, and omilies street theatre at carnival. There is no theatre or concert season to plan around.

Neither has a strong spa culture, but Puglia is the better place to rest. Its restored masserie among the olive groves often have their own pools and spas, and the long lunches of the Valle d'Itria set a slow pace. Santa Cesarea Terme has sulphur springs that rise from sea caves, and Torre Canne has an established thermal spa.

On Zakynthos, relaxing mostly means choosing a quiet base, such as the hill villages around Keri or Agios Leon or the Vasilikos peninsula, well away from Laganas. Beyond that there are spas in the larger hotels and cool sulphur springs bubbling into the sea at Xigia.