Abbott and Costello, love and marriage, gin and tonic-nothing beats a well-matched pair. But when it comes to cities, proximity seems to awaken the competitive spirit. Parksville is the plucky upstart, prone to lavish resorts and chain restaurants whereas Qualicum Beach wears its English heritage and reserve like a badge of honour, its civic stiff upper lip enshrined behind a Tudor façade. We went for a weekend to see which town is tops.

Stay
For many years, the area’s 500-pound lodging gorilla was Parksville’s sprawling Tigh Na Mara (1155 Resort Dr., 800-663-7373, tigh-na-mara.com). Set on nine hectares right on famed Rathtrevor Beach, the resort’s 92 units make it positively Vegas-sized in this area and its Grotto Spa has been the region’s standard bearer for years. New this year is the Beach Club Resort (181 Beach Side Dr., 250-248-8999, thebeachclubparksville.com), which replaces the 90-year-old Island Hall Hotel. Its 149 oceanfront rooms are of the condo variety, with kitchens and laundry-a godsend in this family-friendly area.

If Parksville means resorts, Qualicum is synonymous with B&B and cottage-style stays, and every traveller has his or her own favourite spot. We loved the Blue Willow Guest House (524 Quatna Rd., 250-752-9052, bluewillowguesthouse.ca), which serves up killer food (think ginger pancakes, warm scones and tiramisu for a late-night snack) to match its English cottage gardens and jewel-toned interiors.
Eat
While Parksville’s main drag has rather mundane dining options, a short hop off the beaten track reveals a vibrant dining scene. The Landing West Coast Grill at Pacific Shores Resort, 15 minutes up the road, is the only Vancouver Island restaurant featuring a full Ocean Wise menu of sustainable seafood, including a delicious cedar-planked wild salmon. If you’re more a voyeur than a connoisseur of seafood, a 27,000-litre aquarium serves as the restaurant’s centrepiece (#1 - 1600 Stroulger Rd., Nanoose Bay, 250-468-2400, landinggrill.com). To rub elbows with the locals, check out the Wheelhouse Café (1077 Lee Rd., 250-951-3301) at French Creek Harbour. It has a variety of über-fresh fish burgers and sandwiches to munch on while you wait for the Lasqueti Island ferry.

Over in Qualicum, the small-town atmosphere is perfect for poking around and enjoying a nice cuppa soup and a sandwich. Find fresh fare at brunch favourite Lefty’s (710 Memorial Ave., 250-752-7530, leftys.tv), where oversized oatmeal-spice pancakes are topped with syrup and sliced bananas. For a surprise treat, head out to the Qualicum airport, where partners Lawrence and Richard took over the Final Approach restaurant two years ago and turned it into a sweet, bistro-style place. Lawrence dishes up the kind of food he grew up with in Los Angeles: reubens, patty melts, and loads of halibut and chips. (1000 Ravensbourne Ln., 250-752-8966).
Play
The beaches here are so good that they are draws all year long. Come fall, bring a Gore-Tex jacket (very Parksville) or a Scottish cashmere cardigan (so Qualicum) to stroll the kilometres of plage and gaze across the Strait of Georgia at the Coast Mountains. Everyone has their favourite, but we favour the long expanse that is Parksville’s Rathtrevor at low tide over the rugged and occasionally rocky beaches in Qualicum.

Many, of course, come to these parts to golf. For those hoping to brush up on their game, the year-round Brent Morrison Golf Academy at Qualicum’s Pheasant Glen Golf Resort is considered one of the best instructional programs in the country (1025 Qualicum Rd., 250-752-8786, brentmorrisongolf.com). Parksville’s version of the great game includes windmills and waterfalls. Of its plethora of mini-golf courses, the best is the 36-hole layout at Rip Tide Lagoon (1000 Resort Dr., 250-248-8290, riptidelagoon.com) where the Astroturf rolls true, except when there is a clown standing in the middle of a hole.

Midway between Qualicum and Parksville is Little Qualicum Cheeseworks (403 Lowry’s Rd., 250-954-3931, cheeseworks.ca), one of the Island’s great artisanal cheesemakers. Grab a slab of Mango Monterey Jill and snack beside the goats. For $2,000, you can also "buy a cow" and get an annual dividend of $240 worth of cheese and other products, or alternatively receive a cash return of $140. Consider it the souvenir gift that keeps on giving.