St John or Sint Maarten?

Both islands have superb warm, clear water. The difference is in character. St John's north shore bays, from Hawksnest and Trunk Bay to Maho and Francis, lie inside the national park with nothing behind them but trees. They feel wild but offer little beyond sand and shade, so you bring your own snorkel gear.

Sint Maarten has more variety and more company. On the Dutch side there are Mullet Bay and Cupecoy, and across the open border you have the beach life of Orient Bay, the reef-sheltered water off Pinel Island and the jets landing over Maho. The cost is cruise-day crowds at Great Bay and Maho, while on St John the strain shows as parking at the famous bays filling up in winter.

Sint Maarten eats noticeably better. Grand Case on the French side has a seafront of French and Creole restaurants and the lolos grilling ribs and lobster, and Marigot's bakeries take care of breakfast, so a week brings real variety.

On St John, eating out mostly means Cruz Bay and a few places at Coral Bay: grilled fish, beach-bar burgers and a handful of West Indian kitchens. It is enjoyable, but the top end is thin, and many villa guests end up cooking for themselves. Both islands share johnnycakes, saltfish and imported ingredients.

Neither island is a sightseeing destination, but St John's history makes more of an impression. The Annaberg sugar mill, the estate ruins and Taíno petroglyphs on the Reef Bay Trail, and the Coral Bay fort where the slave revolt of 1733 began all tell their story out in the landscape.

On Sint Maarten the list is short: the Courthouse of 1793 and a small museum on Philipsburg's Front Street, plus the forts above Great Bay and Marigot. On either island a morning or two covers it, but St John's sites are the ones you remember.

Sint Maarten is the place for a night out. In Simpson Bay and Maho the evening moves from sunset beach bars to casinos and dance clubs that run into the small hours. The French side adds long dinners at Grand Case and beach parties at Orient Bay.

St John goes quiet much earlier. There are a few open-air bars on the Cruz Bay waterfront and in Coral Bay, friendly but mostly done soon after dinner, and no clubs. Anyone wanting more takes the ferry to St Thomas.

St John is far stronger for the outdoors. Two-thirds of it is national park, so steep dry forest runs down to undeveloped bays. The reefs off the north shore and around Waterlemon Cay are full of turtles and rays, and trails lead out to Ram Head and around Lameshur.

Sint Maarten's nature is pleasant rather than wild: walks up Sentry Hill and Pic Paradis, zip lines through the woods, and snorkelling at Creole Rock and Tintamarre. Its real outdoor advantage is the steady trade wind, which brings kitesurfing and windsurfing in Orient Bay.

Sint Maarten is the better base for island-hopping. Ferries reach St Barths, Anguilla and Saba, a short flight reaches Sint Eustatius, and the French side across the open border makes a full day out on its own.

From St John every outing starts with a boat. A short ferry takes you to Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas, or a day charter goes to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola and The Baths on Virgin Gorda, stopping to snorkel at empty cays. These are fine days, but the British islands mean passports and customs, and ferries run less often.

Sint Maarten is easier with children. It has resorts with pools and kids' clubs, simple apartments at Simpson Bay and calm water at Mullet Bay and Pinel Island. Zip lines and treetop courses give more ways to fill the days.

St John suits families who love the water and are happy on the beach. Turtles at Maho Bay in water a child can stand in, and the marked snorkel trail at Trunk Bay, make wonderful first experiences. Beyond that almost nothing is built for children, few beaches have lifeguards, and the journey there takes a flight, a taxi and a ferry.

On both islands most visitors hire a car, but the difficulties differ. St John has no airport, so you fly to St Thomas, take a taxi to Red Hook and then a ferry. After that come steep switchback roads driven on the left, though open-air safari taxis serve the north shore beaches.

Sint Maarten has its own airport beside Maho Beach and an open border, but traffic backs up around Simpson Bay, the causeway and Philipsburg, worst on cruise days. Its informal minibuses run without timetables.

Sint Maarten has much more to buy, largely because it is a duty-free port. Front Street in Philipsburg sells watches, jewellery, electronics and liquor, while Marigot adds French perfume, fashion boutiques and a harbour market. Guavaberry liqueur is the thing to take home.

On St John you get an hour among the galleries, jewellers and craft shops in the Cruz Bay courtyards, with hand-painted pottery and hook bracelets. Serious shoppers cross to Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas.

Both islands are expensive, but St John is harder on the wallet. Villas and resorts charge high winter rates, almost everything is shipped in, and jeep hire, ferries and taxis add up. The free national park beaches and the campground at Cinnamon Bay are the main ways to save.

Sint Maarten gives you more ways to economise: apartments around Simpson Bay, supermarkets for self-catering, cheap minibuses and the lolos in Grand Case. On both islands, rates drop in the summer and autumn hurricane months.

Neither island has a theatre or concert hall, but Sint Maarten offers a little more. Its spring Carnival is one of the larger in the Caribbean, with calypso and soca competitions, steel pan and late-night jump-ups, and bands and DJs play the beach bars all year.

St John's big occasion is the St John Festival in early summer, with parades and quelbe music. The rest of the year it is singer-guitarists and the odd steel pan band in bars at Cruz Bay and Coral Bay.

St John's calm comes from the island itself, not from any treatment. The park holds back development, so a day can run from a dawn swim at a north shore bay to dinner on a terrace above the water. The extras stay small: a few yoga studios, treatments at the resorts and therapists who visit you.

Sint Maarten has more in the way of hotel spas and yoga at the beach resorts, but peace is harder to come by. Cruise crowds and busy roads on the Dutch side get in the way, and the slower pace is found on the east coast near Dawn Beach or across the border on the French side.