Sarasota or St. Augustine?

Sarasota is a beach destination first and foremost. Siesta Key's quartz sand is finer and whiter than anything on the Atlantic side, and the Gulf there is clear, flat and shallow. From April to October the water is also a degree or two warmer. Lido, Longboat and Anna Maria let you choose between busier and quieter keys, and Venice adds shark-tooth hunting.

St. Augustine's beaches on Anastasia Island are wide and pale, with dunes at the state park and quieter sand at Crescent Beach. The Atlantic is greener and more churned, with small surf rather than flat water. The sand is only ten to fifteen minutes from the old town, so it makes an easy half-day between sights, but it is not the reason to come.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, and both rely on seafood. The difference is in character. Sarasota's grouper sandwiches, stone crab and polished Main Street and St Armands dining rooms are aimed at affluent winter visitors, with Amish pie in Pinecraft as the oddity. St. Augustine has a real local flavour in its Minorcan datil pepper, which turns up in spicy clam chowder and pilau, though the restaurants on St. George Street are aimed at day-trippers.

St. Augustine is the stronger place for sightseeing. A Spanish town founded in 1565, it has the Castillo de San Marcos, balconied lanes and the old city gate, plus a second layer of Gilded Age grandeur in Flagler College and the Lightner Museum. It is a place to explore on foot, room by room and street by street.

Sarasota has no old quarter. It does have the Ringling, a full day of Rubens canvases, Ca' d'Zan and circus history, and mid-century modernist houses for architecture enthusiasts. One major museum complex cannot match a whole historic town, though.

Both are quiet after dark, and a big night out means driving elsewhere. Sarasota's evenings are wine bars on Main Street and sunset drinks at the open-air bars of Siesta Key Village, with a mostly older crowd. St. Augustine is a little rowdier at weekends, with pubs and courtyard bars around St. George Street and Flagler College students in term time.

Both are flat and coastal, and the wildlife is the draw in each. Sarasota has the edge in variety. Myakka River State Park adds inland prairie, a treetop canopy walk and alligators, while manatees and dolphins are regulars in Sarasota Bay and the mangrove tunnels off Lido Key make good kayaking.

St. Augustine's setting is salt marsh and maritime forest along the Matanzas River. The Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve offers long birding walks, and the coastal road south suits cyclists.

Sarasota's best days out are in the Tampa Bay cities. You can cross the Sunshine Skyway to the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg and carry on to the cigar-making streets of Ybor City in Tampa, or head south to the Edison and Ford winter estates at Fort Myers.

St. Augustine looks the other way: Jacksonville is under an hour north, the Victorian port of Fernandina Beach is on Amelia Island, and Kennedy Space Center is about two hours down the coast. On balance the two lists are about even, and both need a car. Orlando's theme parks are a long drive from either town.

Sarasota is slightly the better bet with small children, mostly because of the water. The Gulf off Siesta Key and Lido Key is about as calm and shallow as a beach gets. Mote Marine's aquarium has sharks, sea turtles and manatees, and rental houses with pools are easy to find.

St. Augustine keeps children busy in a different way, by making history something they can touch and climb: cannon firing and ramparts at the fort, the lighthouse climb and the Alligator Farm, running since 1893, with its zipline. Because the centre is compact, the car journeys between outings are also shorter.

St. Augustine is easier without a car, at least in the centre. The fort, St. George Street, Flagler College and the bayfront are minutes apart on foot, and sightseeing trolleys link the main sights, so many visitors park once and walk all day.

Sarasota has walkable pockets on Main Street, St Armands and Siesta Key Village, but they are separate places joined by bridges and roads. Expect to drive between them, and to sit in winter traffic on the way to the keys.

Sarasota has the better browsing. St Armands Circle has galleries, jewellery and resort wear, and Main Street and Palm Avenue add independent boutiques.

In St. Augustine, St. George Street is mostly fudge, T-shirts and pirate souvenirs, though the antique dealers and galleries on Aviles Street and a bottle of datil hot sauce make the trip worthwhile.

Neither is a budget destination, and the costs come from different places. In Sarasota the pressure is on the beachfront keys from January to April, and summer brings real savings. In St. Augustine, the inns within walking distance of the old town are the expensive part, peaking at weekends in spring and summer, so midweek stays and highway motels keep the bill down. A hire car is more essential in Sarasota, which adds to the cost there.

Sarasota is far ahead for an evening at the theatre. It has its own opera in a restored 1920s house, a ballet company known for Ashton, a full orchestral season and the Asolo Rep on the Ringling grounds, most of it running from autumn to spring.

St. Augustine's stage is the open-air amphitheatre in the woods on Anastasia Island, which is better for touring rock and country acts than for classical music. For opera or serious drama, you would need to go to Jacksonville.

Sarasota is the more restful place to unwind. Its resort spas on Longboat and Lido, yoga on the beach and the spring-fed warm water of Warm Mineral Springs give a slow beach stay some real pampering.

St. Augustine has a few hotel treatment rooms and day spas. Its calm comes mostly from a quiet B&B veranda and an evening walk along the seawall, best enjoyed midweek.