Bari or Budva?

Budva is the stronger beach destination. Slovenska Plaza and the Mogren coves are right beside the old town, and Becici, Jaz and the bays facing Sveti Stefan are a short ride away. The beaches are fine pebble and coarse sand, and the swimming season runs from June into October.

Bari's own beach at Pane e Pomodoro is a sandy urban strip where you cool off among local families. For good swimming you take the train to the cliff-backed cove at Polignano or the rocky inlets around Monopoli. In Bari the beach fills half-days. In Budva it fills the trip, though the town beaches are crowded and loud in August.

Food is one of Bari's best arguments and one of Budva's weak points. Bari has its own street cooking: focaccia barese, panzerotti, sgagliozze passed out of kitchen windows and raw seafood at the pier. At the table there are tiella, orecchiette and burrata, with Primitivo or Negroamaro to drink.

Budva's promenade restaurants cook for summer crowds, and quality varies. The rewarding meals are regional: Njegusi ham and mountain cheese, grilled squid at a family konoba and a glass of Vranac. You have to go looking for them.

Bari has more to see, though neither city is a heavyweight. Bari Vecchia holds the Basilica di San Nicola, a pilgrimage church for Orthodox Christians, along with the cathedral and the Norman-Swabian castle. The Murat quarter and the Pinacoteca fill a second day.

Budva's Stari Grad is attractive but small, and much of it was rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake. You can see it, the Citadel and the archaeological museum in a morning. The real heritage of this coast is in Kotor and Cetinje.

The two are evenly matched for going out, but the nights feel different. Bari's scene is late and sociable, with students and locals drinking on the steps of Piazza Mercantile and Piazza Ferrarese. Bars in the Umbertino streets stay open late, and in high summer the beach clubs south of the city take over.

Budva is a Balkan party resort, with beach bars and terrace clubs along Slovenska Plaza and a big open-air club above town that runs until dawn. It suits groups. Both cities quieten in winter, but most of Budva's nightlife shuts from October to May.

Budva has the more dramatic setting. Bare limestone mountains rise straight behind the town. Lovcen National Park has beech forest and high trails above the Bay of Kotor, and Lake Skadar is good for birdwatching and kayaking. Closer in, there are coastal paths, sea kayaking and paragliding above Becici.

Bari's surroundings are flat olive country. The Alta Murgia plateau suits quiet walks and cycling, the Grotte di Castellana make a good outing and the Valle d'Itria is gentle cycling country, but there are no mountains within reach.

Both cities make good bases, but Bari's range is wider and richer. Matera's cave dwellings, the trulli of Alberobello, Ostuni, Castel del Monte, Trani's seafront cathedral and Baroque Lecce are all within a day's reach. Many are on the train, and a car makes the inland towns easier.

From Budva the outings are shorter and mostly along one stretch of coast: Kotor and Perast on the bay, Cetinje, the wine villages on Lake Skadar, Stari Bar and Ulcinj. Dubrovnik is possible but makes a long day, with a border crossing.

Families will find the two much alike: both are relaxed about children staying out in the evening, and neither has much built for them. Bari's draws are its small, walkable centre, the traffic-free old town and outings to the Grotte di Castellana and the Fasano safari park.

Budva is more simply a beach stay, with gently shelving beaches and a water park. In July and August, though, the town is noisy at night, so families often stay in Becici or come in June or September.

Both centres are easy on foot, but Bari makes it easier to get out of town. It has a rail link to the airport and regional lines to Polignano, Trani, Matera and Alberobello, though some are slow.

Budva has no railway, and its one coast road jams in summer. Buses and minibuses reach Kotor, and boat taxis from the marina serve the coves. Lovcen and Cetinje are far simpler with a car or an organised trip.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Bari offers more. Via Sparano and the Murat streets have Italian fashion chains and a few upmarket boutiques. Its delicatessens sell orecchiette, taralli, olive oil and wine worth packing, and Puglian ceramics are worth looking for.

Budva sells mostly souvenirs, beachwear, silver filigree, honey and rakija, with a modest shopping centre by the marina for the basics.

Costs are close, but they work differently. Bari is an inexpensive city by Italian standards. Street food, trattoria lunches and a free old town keep daily spending low, though rooms are harder to find in July and August.

Budva is Montenegro's most expensive resort, and seafront rooms, sunbeds and promenade meals cost resort prices in summer. Bakeries, buses and apartments a few streets back stay cheap, and June or September brings prices down.

Bari is far ahead here. The Teatro Petruzzelli, one of Italy's largest opera houses, has a season of opera, ballet and concerts. In summer there is a jazz festival and open-air concerts at the castle, though the spoken theatre is in Italian.

Budva has the long-running Grad Teatar festival on open-air stages in the old town each summer. Otherwise there is little more than cover bands in the seafront bars.

Neither is a spa destination, and in both the real pampering is found outside town. Bari offers a slow rhythm of long lunches and the evening walk along the seafront, with restored country estates nearby for a proper retreat.

Budva's spas are in the large resort hotels at Becici and Sveti Stefan. The town itself is noisy at night in high summer, so May, June or late September suit a quiet stay better.