Mostar or Zadar?

Swimming is where the two part company most. In Mostar the Neretva is beautiful but mountain-cold, so the swim worth making is the pool beneath the Kravica falls, and the sea at Neum or the Makarska Riviera is a full day's outing.

In Zadar the sea is part of every summer day. You can swim off the peninsula's western edge, at Kolovare or under the pines at Borik, though these are pebble and concrete rather than sand. Nin's sandy shallows and Sakarun on Dugi Otok are within easy reach for softer beaches.

The two are much alike in standard and differ mainly in what is on the plate. Mostar cooks inland Bosnian food with an Ottoman lineage: charcoal-grilled ćevapi in somun, burek and stuffed peppers, washed down with Žilavka or Blatina and finished with coffee from a copper džezva.

Zadar's table is coastal Dalmatian: grilled squid, black risotto, octopus under the peka, Pag cheese and a glass of Maraschino. Both cities have a narrow range with little international cooking, and in both the better meals are found away from the tourist-facing terraces and main streets.

These two are evenly matched, and each has about two days of sights, but the history they show is very different. Mostar is a story of one bridge: the rebuilt Stari Most with its divers, the Kujundžiluk, the Koski Mehmed Pasha minaret, Ottoman houses and the scars of the 1990s front line.

Zadar covers a much longer span, from the open Roman forum and round St Donatus to Venetian walls and the Land Gate. It also has small but rewarding museums of ancient glass and archaeology, which Mostar lacks, along with the modern Sea Organ.

Neither is a party city, but Zadar has more going on. Mostar's evenings mostly mean dinner on a terrace facing the floodlit bridge, with a few cocktail bars and student clubs at weekends.

On summer nights Zadar starts with sunset at the Sea Organ and then moves on to café-bars along Kalelarga and terrace bars on the walls. Clubbers can make the hour's trip to Zrće on Pag. Out of season, though, both towns go quiet.

Mostar's surroundings are wild karst: the bare Velež and Prenj ranges, rafting in the Neretva canyons, the Buna spring at Blagaj and birdlife at Hutovo Blato. It is rewarding country, but rugged and mostly visited by car.

Zadar offers more variety and more of it within easy reach. You have mountains and sea together: Paklenica's gorges for hiking and climbing, sailing among the Kornati islands, Telašćica's cliffs, and Krka and Plitvice for waterfalls and lakes. Sea kayaking and island cycling round it out.

From Mostar the outings are small and atmospheric: the dervish house at Blagaj, the walled hillside of Počitelj, Stolac's stećci tombstones, and the bridges and Tito's bunker at Jablanica and Konjic. Sarajevo makes one long day by train.

Zadar has the stronger list. UNESCO-listed Šibenik is about an hour away, and Split's palace and Trogir are within a long day. Royal Nin is close by, and car-free Silba and other islands are reached by ferry from the harbour. Both cities are much easier to explore with a car.

Zadar is the easier place with children. The old town is flat and car-free, the promenade suits scooters, and the light-up tiles of the Greeting to the Sun are a reliable hit. Nin's shallow sand and short ferry rides give children days at the sea.

Mostar is fine for a day or two, with the bridge divers, a minaret climb and the Kravica pool to remember. But the polished, steep lanes defeat pushchairs and the summer heat wears small children out. In both, there are no attractions built specially for children.

Both centres are walkable, but Zadar is the more practical base. Its peninsula is flat and fully pedestrian, Kolovare is a stroll away, and ferries to the islands leave right from the edge of the old town.

In Mostar, the bridge, bazaar and Austro-Hungarian quarter are a short walk apart, but you walk on slippery cobbles and hills. City buses are of little use to visitors, so Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravica mean a car, taxi or tour. The train to Sarajevo is its scenic link outward.

Neither city is somewhere to shop seriously, but the finds differ. Mostar has the Kujundžiluk, where a few coppersmiths still hammer coffee sets by hand among kilims, lamps and a lot of imported souvenirs.

Zadar's best buys are things to eat, drink and wear lightly: Maraschino, Pag cheese, olive oil and Pag lace. Kalelarga has jewellers and fashion chains, and the market by the walls is the pleasantest place to browse.

Mostar is clearly the cheaper stay. Guesthouses, grilled meals, local wine and coffee all cost little, and only the bridge-view terraces and old town rooms in midsummer push prices up.

Zadar is gentler than Split or Dubrovnik, but it is still priced like a mid-range Western European city. High-summer rooms on the peninsula, national park entry and boat excursions make the biggest dent in a budget.

Live performance is a small part of a visit to either, but Zadar has one standout: the summer Musical Evenings in St Donatus, chamber and early music inside the ninth-century church, with klapa singing in squares in July and August.

Mostar's national and youth theatres play mostly in local languages, and apart from summer open-air concerts, music means a band in a café bar.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and in both the relaxation comes from the slow pace rather than from spas. Zadar adds hotel spas at Borik and the mineral mud of Nin's lagoon, plus sunset on the Sea Organ steps.

In Mostar the hammam is a monument rather than a working bath. Rest means long coffees in the shade and the quiet old town early and late, once the day-trippers have gone.