Rehoboth Beach or Wilmington?

The two are close as beach destinations, but the beaches work quite differently. In Rehoboth the sand runs right in front of the boardwalk, so a beach day starts at the front door, with wilder stretches at Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore State Park for anyone who wants space.

Wilmington is a river city, and its sea is a drive away. In return you get a choice of three beaches: polished Wrightsville, casual Carolina Beach and quiet Kure Beach. The water there is several degrees warmer and the swimming season runs weeks longer, though rip currents need watching on rough days.

Neither is a food destination, and they eat at about the same level, but the flavours are regional and distinct. Rehoboth means steamed blue crabs, crab cakes, vinegar-soaked boardwalk fries and taffy, plus a surprising number of chef-led restaurants for a resort, and beer from the Delaware brewery that started there.

Wilmington cooks the Carolina coast: shrimp and grits, flounder, oysters and vinegar-sauced whole-hog barbecue, served in modern Southern restaurants in old brick buildings downtown. Because it is a year-round city, its restaurants also scale back less in winter than Rehoboth's do.

Here Wilmington is far ahead. Its historic district of antebellum and Victorian houses under live oaks, the Bellamy Mansion and Burgwin-Wright House, the riverfront warehouses and the Battleship North Carolina fill two or three days of real sightseeing.

Rehoboth has its Methodist camp-meeting origins, a few old cottages and the Rehoboth Art League in Henlopen Acres, and that is about all. Visitors there who want history usually drive to Lewes.

The two are evenly matched, with casual scenes that differ in character. Rehoboth's nights revolve around its long LGBTQ tradition, with piano lounges, drag nights and sociable bars around Baltimore Avenue, while nearby Dewey Beach handles the loud deck-bar crowd.

Wilmington's centre of gravity is Front Street downtown, where students fill the pubs and rooftop terraces on weekends, and the beach towns add laid-back bars in summer. In both, out-of-season weeknights are quiet.

Both are flat and watery, but Wilmington has more to explore. Masonboro Island, an undeveloped barrier island reached only by kayak or boat, is a real adventure, the surf at Wrightsville suits surfers, and Carolina Beach State Park has the wild Venus flytrap, found almost nowhere else.

Rehoboth's outdoors is gentler: the tall dunes and Gordons Pond trail at Cape Henlopen, easy cycling on the trail to Lewes, and calm paddling on the inland bays. Biting insects are a nuisance in Wilmington's marshes in summer.

The day trips are broadly level, and both lists are made up of small towns. From Rehoboth, Lewes is ten minutes away and the ferry from there to Victorian Cape May makes the standout day, with Ocean City and Berlin to the south.

From Wilmington, the classic route runs south past Fort Fisher to Southport and across by ferry to car-free Bald Head Island. New Bern and Beaufort are each a longer drive north.

Rehoboth is the easier family base. Rental houses sit steps from lifeguarded sand, Funland's gentle rides and the boardwalk treats are on the doorstep, and children can walk everywhere in a compact, safe town.

Wilmington works well too, and it has better rainy-day options, with the aquarium at Fort Fisher, the battleship decks and the Children's Museum. But each of those, and the beach itself, means buckling everyone into the car.

Rehoboth is much simpler to get around once you are there. Downtown, the boardwalk and the beach are a short walk apart, bikes handle the rest, and a seasonal trolley runs to Dewey Beach and the outlets. Arriving still means a car on a highway that jams on summer weekends.

Wilmington's walkable part is limited to downtown and the riverwalk. The beaches lie 15km or more away across suburban roads, and buses are of little use to visitors, so a hire car is close to essential.

Rehoboth has the stronger shopping, mainly because Delaware has no sales tax and big outlet centres sit on the highway just outside town. Its downtown adds independent boutiques, home stores and bookshops.

Wilmington's offer is smaller and more antique-minded, with dealers and galleries along Front Street and in the restored Cotton Exchange. For mainstream brands, you would drive out to the suburban shopping centres.

Wilmington is the somewhat cheaper stay. Its city hotels are reasonable out of season, and casual seafood and barbecue are fair value, although the hire car you will need adds a cost.

Rehoboth in high summer charges prosperous-resort rates for rooms, meals and parking, especially on weekends. It becomes much better value in spring and autumn, and the lack of sales tax helps at the tills.

Wilmington has far more on stage. Thalian Hall, its restored 19th-century opera house, a larger performing arts centre, a community symphony, outdoor concerts by Greenfield Lake and long-running jazz and blues festivals give it a calendar worth checking.

Rehoboth's version is the free summer concerts at the bandstand, a small theatre company doing musicals and cabaret, and an autumn film festival. Bigger touring acts mean a drive south through Sussex County.

Neither has a spa tradition, so both offer day spas, hotel spas and yoga studios and little more. The rest comes from the pace, and that is where they differ. Rehoboth is restful mainly in June, September and on autumn weekends, when the boardwalk empties and the pine-shaded bike paths are quiet.

Wilmington's slower pace lasts through the year, with calm evenings on the riverfront even when the beaches are busy.