I had a c/s for my first birth and vbac for my second.
I had a 'great' recovery from my c/s. No complications and was relatively pain free within a couple of weeks. I found though that even though I felt ok and walking etc didn't hurt, overdoing it was very easy. Just pushing the pram to the shop and back could make me bleed again or my scar site hurt later on that day. This was very frustrating and also scary as I would start wondering if I had done real damage.

I had quite a quick labour for my vbac which I fould fairly easy to deal with, but did get a 2nd degree tear. The tear was very painful for a couple of days but only when sitting up straight or going to the toilet. I could still walk, sit up from a lying position etc without pain. It also healed completely much faster the the c/s scar. DTD was scarier and more painful after the vbac.

I agree with christy that it was the difference emotionally that was more significant for me. It was just more satisfying for me to know that I had actually squeezed DS2 out. However if you are really scared about labouring again then it probably won't be a good experience for you and a c/s is a legitimate option. If you think you may want to vb again then you will need to be able to separate your first experience from this one and go in thinking positively.