Budva or Zagreb?

Budva is built around its shore. Slovenska Plaza and the Mogren coves are right in town, with Becici, Jaz and the sand facing Sveti Stefan a short ride away. The Adriatic is warm enough to swim from June into October. Expect fine pebble or coarse sand rather than powder, and crowded sunbeds in August.

Zagreb has no sea at all, and the coast is about two hours' drive over the hills. Lake Jarun and Bundek are good for a cooling swim on a hot afternoon, but anyone who wants a real beach should add a stop on the coast.

Zagreb is the better place to eat, though neither city is a trip for serious food. Its cooking is filling and Central European: štrukli, turkey with mlinci and Zagorje sausages. Dolac market above the main square makes a good morning, and café terraces and Plešivica wines fill the rest of the day.

Budva's best food comes from the sea and the mountains behind it. Look for grilled squid and the day's catch at family konobas, Njegusi ham and Vranac red. Away from those, the promenade menus are aimed at summer crowds and vary a lot.

Zagreb has two unhurried days of sightseeing, against a morning in Budva. Its medieval Upper Town has the tiled roof of St Mark's, the Stone Gate and the twin-spired cathedral. Below it, the Lower Town is a grid of parks, theatres and galleries. The museums run from old masters and naive art to the Museum of Broken Relationships, and Mirogoj's arcaded cemetery is a quiet highlight.

Budva's walled Stari Grad was largely rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake. The Citadel and a small archaeological museum take an hour or two, and the region's richer heritage lies in the towns nearby.

Budva is the place for big nights in summer. Beach bars and terrace clubs line Slovenska Plaza, an open-air club on the hill runs until dawn, and the old town's small bars stay busy late. From October it goes quiet.

Zagreb goes out more gently but keeps going all year. The café-bar terraces on Tkalčićeva fill on warm nights, and there are cocktail and craft beer bars around Flower Square. In summer the lakeside clubs at Jarun take over. It suits a long conversation more than dancing.

Budva has the more dramatic setting, with bare limestone mountains rising straight from the coast, and more to do in it. Lovcen has high trails with views over the Bay of Kotor, and Lake Skadar is good for birdwatching and kayaking. Closer to town you can take boat trips under the cliffs, go sea kayaking or paraglide above Becici.

Zagreb's outdoors is gentler but closer at hand. A tram and a short bus ride reach the beech woods of Medvednica, and Maksimir is good for an easy walk. Plitvice's lakes and waterfalls make a long day out to the south.

Budva's surroundings are the stronger draw. Kotor's walled town at the head of its bay is about half an hour away, with baroque Perast beyond it. Cetinje, the old royal capital, is under an hour inland, and Stari Bar and Ulcinj lie down the coast. Dubrovnik works as a long day if the summer border queue allows.

Zagreb's outings are pleasant rather than memorable. Most head north into Zagorje for Trakošćan castle and Marija Bistrica, or to baroque Varaždin and little Samobor. Ljubljana works as a long day by train.

Both suit families about equally, but in quite different ways. Budva is a beach vacation, with gently shelving town beaches, calmer water at Becici and a water park, though it is loud at night in July and August.

Zagreb offers city outings instead: the zoo in Maksimir, the Tesla Technical Museum with its trams and mock mine, and the short funicular ride. Its flat streets suit pushchairs, and the lakes are there for summer swimming.

Zagreb is much easier to move around. It has a dense tram network, the funicular up to the Upper Town and a compact, flat Lower Town, so you only need a car for Zagorje and Plitvice.

Budva's centre is just as walkable, from the old town along the shore to Becici. Beyond that you rely on coast buses, taxis and boat taxis. There is no railway, and the single coast road jams in summer, so Lovcen and Cetinje are far simpler with a car or a driver.

Neither city is a shopping destination. Zagreb at least has a proper high street in Ilica, with local fashion, small design shops, malls on the edge of town and a Sunday flea market at Britanski trg. Licitar hearts and Croatian neckties make good things to take home. Budva stops at souvenirs, beachwear, silver filigree and rakija, with a modest centre by the marina for the basics.

Overall the two cost about the same, but prices behave differently. Budva is the most expensive place in Montenegro, and July and August push up seafront rooms, sunbeds and promenade meals. Apartments a few streets back, or a visit in June or September, bring costs down.

Zagreb is steadier through the year and cheaper than the Croatian coast in summer. Trams, museum entry and market food are easy on the budget, while good hotels and upmarket restaurants charge Western European rates.

Zagreb has a real season of its own. The Croatian National Theatre stages opera, ballet and drama, the Zagreb Philharmonic plays at the Lisinski hall and the Zagreb Soloists perform in churches. There are also jazz and rock clubs, and open-air concerts in Upper Town courtyards in summer.

Budva has the Grad Teatar festival on open-air stages in its old town squares in summer, plus cover bands in the seafront bars. For the rest of the year there is very little.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and both rely on hotel spas, so the difference is in where you find calm. Budva's resort spas are around Becici and Sveti Stefan. The town rests best in May, June or late September, when the sea is still warm and the late music has stopped.

In Zagreb the calm is that of a city: long café mornings, quiet Upper Town lanes and shaded parks. The warm mineral pools of Tuheljske, Krapinske and Stubičke Toplice are about an hour away in Zagorje.