Budva or Zadar?

Budva has the edge. Swimming is right in town: Slovenska Plaza lines the whole seafront and Mogren's coves sit just past the walls. A short ride brings the long curve of Becici, the open bay at Jaz and the pinkish sand facing Sveti Stefan. The sea is a touch warmer and often stays swimmable into October.

In Zadar you swim off the stone promenade or from the concrete platforms at Kolovare and Borik. The sandy beaches need a trip: Nin's shallows to the north, or a ferry to Sakarun on Dugi Otok. Both places get crowded in high summer.

Zadar eats better, though neither is a food destination. Dalmatian cooking here means lamb or octopus slow-cooked under the peka bell, Pag cheese and pršut, and Maraschino, the cherry liqueur that was first made in the city. The market by the walls makes a good morning out.

In Budva the promenade restaurants are uneven and aimed at summer crowds. The rewarding food is regional: smoked Njegusi ham, grilled squid at family konobas and a glass of Vranac red. You will have to look harder for it.

There is far more to see in Zadar. Within its small walled peninsula are the open Roman forum, St Donatus, the Cathedral of St Anastasia with a bell tower you can climb, and the UNESCO-listed Venetian fortifications. The glass and archaeology museums are good, and the Sea Organ adds a modern touch on the waterfront.

Budva's Stari Grad is attractive but small. Much of it was rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake, and you can see it in a morning, with the Citadel and a small archaeological museum. The major heritage on this coast lies in Kotor and Cetinje, not in Budva itself.

Budva is the party town. In summer the beach bars and terrace clubs along Slovenska Plaza play loud pop and house, and a large open-air club on the hill keeps going until dawn. It is ideal for groups of friends.

Zadar's evenings start at sunset by the Sea Organ and move on to café-bars on Kalelarga and terraces on the walls. It is relaxed rather than wild. Anyone after real clubbing goes to Zrće on Pag, about an hour away. Both towns go quiet from October.

Zadar is the stronger outdoor base. Paklenica's limestone gorges, about 45 minutes away, offer some of Croatia's best climbing and hiking. Boats and sailing charters head out to the bare Kornati islands and the cliffs of Telašćica, and Krka and Plitvice are within a day's reach.

Budva's setting is dramatic, with bare mountains rising straight behind the beach. Lovcen's beech forest and Lake Skadar's reed beds are each about an hour away. Nearer town, the outdoor options are coastal paths, sea kayaking and paragliding above Becici.

Both make good bases, but in different ways. From Budva the best trips are short. Kotor's walls and its fjord-like bay are half an hour away, with Perast beyond, and Cetinje, the old royal capital, is under an hour. Dubrovnik means a long day and a border crossing.

Zadar's highlights are further off, with Šibenik's cathedral an hour south and Split and Trogir making long days. In return it has ferries from the old town to Ugljan, Pašman and car-free Silba, and the island trips give it a different, more nautical feel.

Both are easy with children and neither has a zoo or aquarium, so family time is mostly spent by the sea. Budva has gently shelving town beaches and a water park, but its summer nights are loud. Families usually do better staying in Becici.

Zadar is calmer and easier on foot. Its flat, car-free old town works well with pushchairs. Children love the Sea Organ and the glowing Greeting to the Sun, Nin's sandy shallows are ideal for toddlers, and short ferry rides feel like an adventure.

Zadar is easier to get around. The old town is a flat pedestrian peninsula you can cross in a quarter of an hour. A footbridge links it to the mainland side, and island ferries leave from its edge.

Budva's centre is compact and walkable too, and boat taxis serve the nearby coves. But there is no railway, and the single coast road jams badly in summer. In both places a car or an organised trip makes the national parks far simpler.

Neither is a shopping trip. Budva's old town lanes and promenade stalls mostly sell beachwear, sunglasses, silver filigree and rakija. Zadar has a little more: jewellers and a few galleries on the marble Kalelarga, plus Pag lace, Maraschino and cheese to take home.

Budva works out slightly cheaper overall, even though it is Montenegro's priciest town. Away from the seafront, bakeries, grill houses, buses and apartments a few streets back cost less than on most Western European coasts.

Zadar costs about what a mid-range Western European city does. Ferries and local buses are inexpensive, but national park tickets and boat excursions add up quickly. In both, June and September are noticeably cheaper than July and August.

Zadar offers a little more. Its Musical Evenings in St Donatus bring early and chamber music into the ninth-century church, klapa singing turns up in summer squares, and a small national theatre stages drama during the season.

Budva has only Grad Teatar, its long-running summer festival of theatre and concerts in the old town squares. The rest of the year, live music means cover bands in seafront bars.

Zadar is the more restful of the two. Neither has a spa tradition, but Zadar adds a slow daily rhythm, from long café mornings to sunset on the Sea Organ steps, and the mineral mud of the lagoon at Nin.

In Budva, relaxing means the resort spas at Becici and Sveti Stefan. In high summer, music from the seafront carries late into the night, so the town is calmest in May, June or late September.