Budva or Split?

The beaches are about equally good. In Budva the town beach, Slovenska Plaza, runs the length of the seafront, the two Mogren coves sit under the cliffs, and Becici, Jaz and the sand facing Sveti Stefan are a short ride away. Most of it is fine pebble or coarse sand, with rows of sunbeds and loud music in high summer.

Split's swimming is more urban. Bačvice is a shallow sandy bay where locals play picigin in knee-deep water, and the coves around Marjan offer pine shade and deeper water off rocks and concrete platforms. For longer beaches you take a ferry to Brač, Šolta or Hvar.

Split eats noticeably better. Its Dalmatian kitchen includes pašticada with gnocchi and peka baked under an iron bell. You can see what is in season at the fish market and the Pazar green market, and the konobas in Varoš serve it with local Plavac Mali or Pošip.

Budva's best food comes from the hills and from family konobas: smoked Njegusi ham, mountain cheese, grilled squid and dark Vranac wine. The promenade restaurants, though, are uneven and cater to the resort crowd. Neither city has much fine dining.

This is where the two differ most. In Split, Diocletian's Palace is still a working neighbourhood. You can walk from the Peristyle into a cathedral that was once the emperor's mausoleum, explore the vaulted halls beneath it, and then visit the Meštrović Gallery. That fills two full days.

Budva's walled Stari Grad is attractive but much of it was rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake, and you can see it, the Citadel and the small archaeological museum in a morning. For heritage on that side of the border, you go to Kotor or Cetinje.

Both cities are lively on summer nights, but the style differs. Budva is the louder of the two, with terrace clubs along Slovenska Plaza and a big open-air club on the hill that runs until dawn, which explains its party reputation across the Balkans. Split's nights are spent in small bars in the palace alleys and on its stone stairways, with beach bars and a few clubs around Bačvice. Its serious party crowd often heads to Hvar. Both cities go quiet from October to May.

Split has the edge, mainly because its outdoors starts at the edge of town. Marjan's trails, cliffs and hermitage chapels are a walk from the old town. Mosor and Kozjak offer ridge hikes, the Cetina canyon at Omiš has rafting and canyoning, and Krka's waterfalls and the islands for sailing are within an hour.

Budva's scenery is just as dramatic, with bare mountains rising straight out of the sea. However, Lovcen and Lake Skadar are each about an hour away on winding roads. Close to town you have coastal paths between the bays, sea kayaking and paragliding from the hills above Becici.

Both are good bases, and Split is a little better. Trogir is half an hour away, Šibenik's cathedral about an hour, and the ruins of Salona and the fortress at Klis are close by. Regular ferries put Hvar, Brač and Vis within easy reach in summer.

Budva's best trip is just as easy: Kotor is about half an hour away, with Perast further round the bay and Cetinje inland. Stari Bar and Ulcinj lie down the coast. Dubrovnik is a long day out with a border crossing that can be slow.

For families the two cities are much the same. Neither has a zoo or an aquarium, and both are hot and crowded in July and August. Budva works as a simple beach vacation, with gently shelving beaches, calmer water at Becici and a water park on the hill. Split offers shallow paddling at Bačvice, shade in the Marjan woods and a ferry ride that children tend to remember, though the steep stone streets of the palace are hard work with a pushchair.

Split is much easier to get around. The palace, the Riva, the markets and Bačvice are all within about fifteen minutes' walk, and the ferry port, bus station and railway station sit together at the harbour. You can manage the whole trip without a car.

In Budva you can walk from the old town to the marina and along to Becici, but there is no railway, and the single coast road jams in summer. Boat taxis help you reach nearby coves, but Lovcen and Cetinje really need a car or an organised tour.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Split offers a bit more. The fashion chains are on Marmontova street, and the Pazar market sells dried figs, honey and brandies. Budva's old town lanes and promenade stalls mostly sell beachwear and souvenirs, and the silver filigree jewellery and rakija are the most worthwhile buys.

Budva is the cheaper of the two, even though it is the most expensive place in Montenegro. Its bakeries, grill houses, local buses and back-street apartments cost less than most of the Western European coast.

Split in July and August charges big-city room rates near the old town, sells fish by weight at high prices on the waterfront, and the ferry fares add up quickly for a family. In both cities, coming in June or September makes a clear difference.

Split is clearly ahead. The Croatian National Theatre puts on opera, ballet and drama through the season, the Summer Festival stages opera in the Peristyle, and you can often hear klapa singers in the domed vestibule of the palace.

Budva has one fixture, the Grad Teatar summer festival, which brings theatre and concerts to the old town squares. Outside the festival there is little beyond cover bands.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, but Split is the easier place to slow down. The Dalmatian habit of fjaka shows in hour-long coffees on the Riva, and the pine woods of Marjan are always close by.

Rest in Budva usually means a resort spa at Becici or Sveti Stefan. In high summer the music from the seafront carries late into the night, so it is calmer in May, June or late September, or in a quieter village down the coast.