Sint Maarten or Vieques?

Both are first-rate beach islands with warm, clear water all year, so the choice comes down to what kind of beach day you want. On Sint Maarten you can pick between Mullet Bay and Cupecoy on the Dutch west coast, Orient Bay and Pinel Island across the open border, and beach bars and sunbeds almost everywhere. Cruise passengers crowd Great Bay and Maho, though.

Vieques has the reverse: Caracas, Pata Prieta and La Chiva inside the refuge are often almost empty, but have no lifeguards, cafés or shade, and you reach some of them on dirt tracks. Sun Bay and Media Luna near Esperanza are the easy options.

Sint Maarten eats much better, mainly because of the French side. Grand Case is a seafront village of French and Creole restaurants with lolo barbecue stalls at its centre, and Marigot's bakeries do proper breakfasts. Simpson Bay is a long strip of grills and steakhouses for visitors.

On Vieques you eat simply: mofongo and grilled fish on the Esperanza seafront, alcapurrias from roadside kiosks, and a few careful guesthouse kitchens. Out of season, many places shut for days at a time, so a good grocery shop on the main island before the ferry is worth doing.

Neither island is worth visiting for sightseeing, and each can be covered in a morning or an afternoon. Sint Maarten has colonial stops: the 1793 Courthouse on Front Street, the ruins of Fort Amsterdam above Great Bay and the harbour view from Fort Louis. Vieques has the more unusual story, the decades it spent as a naval base and bombing range, told in the small museum inside the Fortín Conde de Mirasol.

Sint Maarten has a real night out, and Vieques does not. Around Simpson Bay and Maho, bars start at sunset, casinos stay open late and a few clubs run into the small hours, especially in winter. Grand Case and Orient Bay are there if you want something slower.

Evenings on Vieques are a few open-air bars on the Esperanza seafront and some local bars in Isabel Segunda at weekends, and most people are in bed early. For many visitors, the night kayak on the bioluminescent bay is the only reason to go out after dark.

Vieques has the stronger natural attraction. Mosquito Bay is one of the brightest bioluminescent bays anywhere, best seen away from the full moon. Both ends of the island are a wildlife refuge of dry forest, salt ponds and lagoons, with horses grazing by the roads.

Sint Maarten's outdoors is more about activities than wild places. You can climb Pic Paradis or Sentry Hill, dive in the Man of War Shoal marine park, snorkel at Creole Rock and kitesurf in Orient Bay with steady trade winds behind you.

Sint Maarten makes a much better base for exploring. Marigot and Grand Case are a short drive across the border, and ferries reach Anguilla in about half an hour, St Barths in about an hour and steep, volcanic Saba in about an hour and a half.

Vieques is a place to stay put. Culebra and Flamenco Beach mean booking a chartered boat, and old San Juan takes a ferry or flight plus a long drive, so most visitors just move between beaches.

Sint Maarten is easier with children. Resorts along the Dutch side have pools and kids' clubs, the water at Simpson Bay and Pinel Island is calm and shallow, and there are zip lines on Sentry Hill and treetop courses below Pic Paradis for days away from the sand.

Vieques suits a family who are happy with horses by the road, the calm shallows of Media Luna and the night kayak, which older children remember for years. There is nothing built for children, though, the beaches have no lifeguards, and serious medical care means going back to the main island.

On both islands you really need a car, but Sint Maarten is the simpler of the two. Flights land at the airport by Maho, hire cars are easy to find, and the main frustrations are traffic around Simpson Bay and the causeway, plus informal minibuses with no real timetable.

Vieques begins with a ferry from Ceiba, which is known for selling out and changing schedules, or with a small plane. Once there, you need a jeep for the refuge's dirt roads, and there are so few that you should book well ahead.

Sint Maarten at least has a shopping street worth an hour or two, and Vieques does not. Front Street in Philipsburg is built around the cruise trade, so it fills up when the ships are in. The souvenir that really belongs to the island is a bottle of guavaberry liqueur. If you are after fashion or anything unusual, the range soon runs out.

On Vieques, buying things barely features in a trip. A souvenir usually means local art or beachwear from Esperanza or Isabel Segunda, and the island's stores carry a limited range. Pack everything you will need for the beach before you cross.

Neither island is cheap, but Vieques is a little easier on the budget. Its beaches are free and have nothing to pay for on them, simple guesthouses in Esperanza and self-catering keep costs down, and the ferry is much cheaper than flying over. Jeep hire is the unavoidable expense.

On Sint Maarten, winter rates for resorts and villas are high, and restaurant bills are inflated by imported produce. Apartments around Simpson Bay and the Grand Case lolos help, as do the lower rates in summer and autumn.

Sint Maarten has the one big event of the two: its spring Carnival, among the larger ones in the Caribbean, with calypso and soca contests, steel pan and late-night jump-ups. The rest of the year, it is bands and DJs in beach bars.

Vieques has less still: an occasional guitarist in an Esperanza bar and one patron saint festival a year, when Isabel Segunda's square fills with bomba, plena and salsa.

Vieques is better for unwinding, because the quiet comes with the island: little traffic, no high-rise hotels, roosters instead of nightlife, and yoga or a massage at a small guesthouse studio.

Sint Maarten has proper resort spas, which Vieques lacks. To find calm there, though, you have to stay near Dawn Beach or on the French side, away from the cruise port and the Simpson Bay traffic.