Savannah or Wilmington?

Both cities sit on rivers, and the sea is about half an hour's drive away in each case, but what you find at the end of the drive differs a lot. Wilmington has three beach towns to choose from. Wrightsville is the polished one, with pale sand and clean water, Carolina Beach has a boardwalk and a family crowd, and Kure is quieter still.

Savannah has Tybee Island, which is wide, flat and good for paddling and long walks. Its water is greenish-brown from the surrounding marshes, though, and the setting is a modest beach town. It is a pleasant day out, while Wilmington's coast can carry a whole vacation.

Savannah eats better. Its Lowcountry cooking runs from she-crab soup and Lowcountry boil to oyster roasts in the cooler months, and the family-style dining rooms with shared platters are an experience in themselves. Above those sits a small group of chef-led restaurants in restored townhouses south of Forsyth Park.

Wilmington's table leans more on the raw catch. It has flounder, oysters at waterfront raw bars and eastern Carolina's vinegar-sauced whole-hog barbecue, but fine dining is limited to a few places. Its strength is its craft breweries in the north end of downtown, which suit a relaxed evening better than a serious dinner.

This is where the two differ most. Savannah's 1733 town plan, with its run of garden squares under Spanish moss, makes the whole centre the main sight. It also has the Telfair Museums, the Owens-Thomas House's frank account of slavery and the eerie beauty of Bonaventure Cemetery.

Wilmington has a large historic district of its own, along with the Bellamy Mansion and the Cotton Exchange. Its best-known sight, though, is the Second World War Battleship North Carolina across the river, and the rest of the list is short. Savannah repays a sightseer for longer.

Savannah is the livelier place to go out. You can carry a drink in a to-go cup through the historic district, so an evening moves easily between River Street's cobbled bars, the taverns around City Market and cocktail rooms in old townhouses. Its St Patrick's Day street party is one of the biggest in the South.

Wilmington's nights centre on Front Street's pubs and rooftop terraces, filled at weekends by university students, plus beach bars at Wrightsville and Carolina Beach in summer. Out of season, weeknights are very quiet.

Both sit in flat, watery country of salt marsh and tidal creeks, but Wilmington has more to do in it. Masonboro Island is an undeveloped barrier island reached only by kayak or boat. The surf at Wrightsville adds surfing and sailing, and the trails at Carolina Beach State Park lead to wild Venus flytraps, which grow naturally nowhere else.

Savannah's outdoors is gentler. It means marsh paddling at high tide, dolphin-spotting trips, the oak avenue at Wormsloe and Skidaway Island's trails. Neither has a hill, and both are best outdoors in spring and autumn.

Savannah has the stronger list, led by Charleston, a major historic city about two hours away. South Carolina's Beaufort, Hilton Head and the old resort of Jekyll Island are all within easy reach, and Fort Pulaski makes a half day.

Wilmington's outings are smaller towns. The best is Southport, with the ferry from there to car-free Bald Head Island, plus Fort Fisher and Brunswick Town on the way. North Carolina's own Beaufort and New Bern are each about two hours north. Either way, you will need a car.

Savannah suits children better as a backdrop than as a playground. School-age children usually enjoy the ghost walks, the brick walls of Fort Pulaski and the birthplace of the Girl Scouts' founder, and the trolley tours and free river ferry are easy treats. Beyond Tybee's sea-turtle centre and a small wildlife centre, though, little is built for the young, and the summer heat makes a city seen on foot tiring for small legs.

Wilmington gives a family more to fill the days, especially in summer. The beaches come first, from Carolina Beach's boardwalk with its old-fashioned rides and arcades to the calmer sand at Kure. On a wet day you can try the state aquarium at Fort Fisher, the walk-through decks of the Battleship North Carolina or the children's museum downtown, and rental houses near the sea give families room to spread out. Watch for rip currents on rough days and expect to drive to almost everything.

Savannah is far easier without a car. Its grid of squares puts most hotels, sights and restaurants within a short, flat walk, and a free downtown shuttle and a passenger ferry fill the gaps. Only Tybee, Wormsloe and Bonaventure need wheels.

Wilmington's downtown is just as pleasant on foot along the riverwalk, but it covers much less of the trip. The beaches are 15km or more away across suburban roads, buses are infrequent, and the aquarium and Southport are reached only by car. Beach traffic and parking add to that in summer.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Savannah gives a better browse. Broughton Street is a proper shopping street of restored storefronts, and the art school brings shops selling work by students and graduates, with antiques and bookshops in the squares to the south.

Wilmington's independent boutiques and galleries are along Front Street and in the Cotton Exchange, with surf wear in the beach towns. For mainstream shopping, people head to the suburban centres.

Neither is a bargain, but Wilmington goes a little easier on the budget, especially outside summer, when city hotel rooms are reasonable and casual seafood and barbecue are fair value. In summer, beachfront hotels and rental houses climb, and a hire car is hard to avoid.

Savannah's inns in the historic district are priced as a popular weekend destination. Much of what you come for costs nothing, though, and staying central can mean managing without a car.

The two are evenly matched, and the difference is when things happen. Savannah's offering is concentrated in its spring music festival, held in historic theatres and churches, with the Lucas and Trustees theatres and an autumn jazz festival in Forsyth Park at other times. Outside those dates there may be little on.

Wilmington's is spread more evenly through the warm months. Thalian Hall, a 19th-century opera house, hosts theatre and touring shows, and bands play outdoor stages by Greenfield Lake and the river. It is easy to fit an evening in around a beach trip.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and spas in both are a handful of day and hotel options. Savannah is slightly better for doing very little. You can stay at a quiet inn on one of the southern squares, sit under the oaks, or spend time on a garden courtyard or porch, as long as you avoid River Street at weekends.

Wilmington's calm comes from slow waterfront evenings, resort spas near the beaches and yoga studios. Summer weekends there are busier and less restful.