Budva or Positano?

These are two equally strong beach towns, and the difference is in the shore itself. Budva has more and wider beaches, from Slovenska Plaza and the Mogren coves to the long curve of Becici and the pink-tinged sand at Sveti Stefan. Most of it is fine pebble or coarse sand, with loud music and dense sunbeds in town.

Positano's Spiaggia Grande and Fornillo are dark grey sand and pebble that drops off steeply, so water shoes help. Its quieter coves, such as Arienzo and Laurito, are reached by long stairways or boat. The sea is clear and deep blue, and in high summer both towns' beaches fill early.

Neither town is a destination for eating, though Positano does its narrow range a little better. Its long terrace lunches of spaghetti with clams, scialatielli and lemon desserts come with a sea view, and a few hotel dining rooms aim higher.

Budva's best food comes from the hinterland and the family konobas: Njegusi ham, mountain cheese, grilled squid and Vranac wine from around Lake Skadar. It also has more everyday eating, such as burek from bakeries and grill houses, which Positano largely lacks.

Neither offers much sightseeing, and each has an hour or two of it. In Budva that means the walled Stari Grad on its peninsula, with its marble lanes, the Citadel, small churches and an archaeological museum of Greek and Roman finds.

Positano's sight is the town itself, a stack of pastel houses under the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta, plus a Roman villa buried by Vesuvius and excavated beneath the church. For serious heritage, Budva points you to Kotor and Cetinje, Positano to Pompeii and Naples.

Budva is the clear choice for going out. In summer the seafront along Slovenska Plaza turns into a strip of beach bars and terrace clubs, the open-air club on the hill runs until dawn, and the old town's small bars stay busy late. It is aimed at groups who want loud pop and house.

Positano's evenings are aperitivo, a long dinner and perhaps one dressed-up night in the cave club at the end of Spiaggia Grande. Couples will like the calm, but there is not much more to it. Both towns go quiet once the season ends.

Positano's landscape is the more spectacular. The Lattari mountains fall sheer into the sea, and the Path of the Gods and the steeper trails up to Montepertuso and the ridges start right from town. Kayaks follow the cliffs to grottoes and the Li Galli islets.

Budva has a dramatic limestone backdrop too, but its big outdoor sights sit about an hour inland. Lovcen's beech forests and Lake Skadar's reed beds and birdlife need a drive. Closer in there are coastal paths, sea kayaking and paragliding above Becici.

Positano is the stronger base for day trips, though Budva is easier to use out of season. From Budva, Kotor and its bay are about half an hour away, with baroque Perast beyond, and Cetinje and the wine villages around Virpazar on Lake Skadar are less than an hour inland. Sveti Stefan, Stari Bar and Ulcinj's Ottoman old town lie down the coast, and all of them can be reached by road at any time of year.

Positano has more places within reach, and bigger ones. Capri, Amalfi's cathedral, Ravello's gardens and Sorrento are a short boat or bus ride away. Pompeii and Herculaneum, two of the best-preserved Roman sites in Europe, make a full day, and so do the Greek temples at Paestum. The catch is that most ferries run only from spring to autumn, so in winter you are left with slow buses along the coast road.

Budva is much the better bet with children. Its beaches shelve gently, Becici and the bays down the coast are calmer, a water park sits above town and children are welcome on the promenade late into summer evenings. Staying outside the noisy centre in July and August helps.

Positano is built of stairs, so pushchairs are useless, and its pebbly beaches drop off quickly. Older children who like boats and swimming will enjoy it, but toddlers are hard work there.

Budva is the easier of the two to move around, if not by much. Its old town, marina and promenade lie on flat ground close together, and buses run along the coast to Kotor. A car or driver helps for Lovcen and Cetinje, though the coast road jams in summer.

In Positano, almost every walk means hundreds of steps. The local bus loops through the upper town, and regional buses crawl along a narrow road where parking is scarce. Boats are the practical way to reach other towns, mainly in season.

Positano gives shopping a real place in the trip. Moda Positano linen and printed resort wear, sandals made to measure and hand-painted ceramics fill the lanes down to the beach, though it is all one style.

Budva has souvenirs, silver filigree, local olive oil, honey and rakija in the old town lanes. There is also a modest centre near the marina for basics, but nothing worth planning a day around.

Budva costs far less. It is Montenegro's priciest resort and the seafront charges more in high summer, but bakeries, grill houses, local buses and back-street apartments are cheaper than on most Western European coasts.

Positano is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy. Sea-view rooms, loungers, terrace meals, boat trips and transfers all cost a lot. Staying in Praiano or Sorrento cuts the cost considerably, and in both towns the shoulder months are kinder.

Budva's one summer event is in town. The Grad Teatar festival puts on theatre, concerts and readings on open-air stages in the old town squares. The rest of the time, live music means cover bands in the seafront bars.

To see Positano's best performances you go out for the evening to Ravello, whose classical music festival holds concerts on a terrace above the sea. Naples is the place for opera, and outside the summer neither town has a season to speak of.

Positano is the more restful of the two. Several upscale hotels have spas and pools cut into the cliff, and the slow lunches and terrace afternoons suit an unhurried stay, even if the stairs and summer crowds take some of the ease away.

Budva's spas are in the big resort hotels at Becici and around Sveti Stefan. In high summer the seafront music carries late into the night, so a quiet stay means coming in May, June or late September, or staying further down the coast.