Kotor or Zadar?

Kotor sits at the enclosed inner end of its bay, so swimming means stepping off jetties and concrete platforms towards Dobrota and Muo. The water is calm and warm but not especially clear. For sand you take the half-hour trip over the hill to Jaz or the coves around Budva and Sveti Stefan, so beach days are outings rather than part of daily life.

In Zadar the swim is part of the day. The open water off the peninsula is clear enough to jump in from the promenade, and Kolovare and pine-shaded Borik are both within easy reach. Those town beaches are pebble and concrete too. Nin's long, shallow sandy beaches and the ferry trip to Sakarun on Dugi Otok give Zadar the better choice of real beaches close by.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, and both cook the same Adriatic staples of grilled fish, octopus and black risotto. Kotor adds mussels farmed in the bay, smoked Njegusi ham from the mountains and dark Vranac wine. Its old town terraces are uneven, though, and the better meals are out in the shore konobas of Dobrota, Prcanj and Perast.

Zadar's table is a little broader. Lamb or octopus cooked under the peka bell, Pag cheese and pršut, and Maraschino, the town's own cherry liqueur, add variety. The market by the walls is the better of the two for a morning browse, and there is at least a modest fine-dining tier.

Both have UNESCO-listed Venetian walls and a Romanesque cathedral, and both take about two days to see. The difference is in kind. Kotor's appeal is the whole picture: marble lanes, old seafaring palazzi and the walls zigzagging up the cliff to St John's fortress, with the Maritime Museum as the one real collection.

Zadar is about layers of history and small, good museums. The open Roman forum sits beside the round ninth-century St Donatus, and the Museum of Ancient Glass and the church treasury reward a slow visit. Kotor has nothing like the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun, which give Zadar a modern side.

Both towns send serious partygoers elsewhere: Kotor to Budva's seafront clubs, Zadar to Zrće beach on Pag. Kotor's own evenings are a terrace drink under the floodlit walls once the day visitors have left, plus a handful of late summer bars. Outside the warm months it is quiet early.

Zadar has a bit more going on. The evening starts with the sunset crowd at the Sea Organ, then moves to café-bars along Kalelarga and garden bars on the walls. It is still relaxed rather than wild, and it too goes quiet from October.

Kotor's mountains start at the town gates, while Zadar's parks and islands lie further out. Above Kotor, limestone walls more than 1,000m high rise almost straight from the water. The Ladder of Kotor mule track climbs directly from town, and the hairpin road leads up into Lovcen's beech woods and karst meadows. Kayaking along the shore shows how close the mountains come.

From Zadar the range is wider, but every outing means a drive or a boat ride. Paklenica's gorges, about 45 minutes away, offer serious hiking and some of Croatia's best climbing. Boats run out to the bare Kornati islands and to Telašćica's cliffs and salt lake, and you can reach Krka and Plitvice in a day. Kotor has nothing to match that variety, and Zadar has nothing as dramatic right outside the door.

The bay itself supplies most of Kotor's day trips, whereas the best outings from Zadar run along the coast to larger towns. From Kotor, Perast and the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks are twenty minutes away, and Herceg Novi stands at the mouth of the bay. The road over Lovcen reaches Cetinje, the old royal capital, and the Njegos mausoleum. Dubrovnik is possible, though the border can slow you down.

From Zadar, Šibenik and its UNESCO-listed cathedral are about an hour away, and Nin, the tiny town of medieval Croatian kings, is closer still. Split and Trogir make a long but rewarding day. Ferries to car-free Silba and the nearer islands add outings by sea that Kotor's water taxis only partly match.

Zadar is the easier town with children. The waterfront promenade is broad and flat, the Sea Organ and the tiles that light up after dark are a hit, and Nin's shallow sandy beaches suit toddlers. Short ferry rides add a sense of adventure.

Kotor's car-free lanes are safe, and the street cats often win children over. Beyond that, little is aimed at them. The fortress climb is steep and exposed, midday crowds fill the old town, and swimming is off jetties unless you drive to Budva. The boat to Perast's island church is the outing that works best.

Both old towns are flat and car-free, and you can cross either in minutes on foot. The difference comes once you leave. Kotor depends on one road around the bay that jams in summer and on patchy regional buses, so most visitors end up hiring a car or a driver.

Zadar is a little easier. Island ferries leave from the edge of the old town and a footbridge crosses the harbour. Buses reach Borik, although the national parks still call for a car or an organised excursion.

Neither is a shopping destination, and in both the best things to take home are edible. In Kotor that means Vranac, Njegusi ham and bay olive oil, and there is silver filigree and a lot of cat-themed souvenirs in the lanes. For brands you have to go to the Tivat marina.

Zadar gives you slightly more to browse. Kalelarga has jewellers and fashion chains as well as souvenir shops, and Maraschino and the fine lace from Pag are more unusual buys than anything in Kotor. There are also malls on the edge of town.

Costs are broadly similar, and both are cheaper than the famous names nearby, Budva in one case and the Dalmatian towns further south in the other. Kotor may be slightly easier on the budget, provided you stay in a private apartment in Dobrota or Muo rather than inside the walls in high summer.

In Zadar the extra spending tends to come from park entry fees and boat excursions rather than the room. In both towns, May, June and September are the months that stretch a budget furthest.

Neither has a year-round stage, but Zadar's summer is more rewarding for music. The Musical Evenings in St Donatus put early and chamber music inside a ninth-century church, klapa singing turns up in the squares and a small national theatre runs a season.

Kotor's summer festival is lighter, mostly recitals, choirs and children's theatre. What it does have is spectacle. Its long-established carnival and Boka Night, with decorated boats on the bay, are occasions Zadar has nothing quite like.

Neither town has a bathing tradition, and spas in both mean resort hotels. Zadar offers more for slow days, though. There is the mud lagoon at Nin, long café mornings and the nightly sunset from the Sea Organ steps.

In Kotor, rest means getting away from the crowds. Stay along the shore, swim early in the still bay and visit the old town only before or after the midday crush.