Positano or Pula?

These two are about level for swimming, but the shore is very different. Positano has a proper town beach: Spiaggia Grande, a broad curve of dark sand and pebbles packed with loungers, with Fornillo a cliff walk away and boats out to coves and Capri. It is steep and crowded in high summer, but it is the classic Amalfi Coast scene.

Pula has no town beach at all. You swim off rocks, platforms and pebble coves on the Verudela and Stoja peninsulas, or drive to the wild ledges of Cape Kamenjak. Pine shade and space are easier to find there, and the Medulin bays offer the shallow water Positano lacks.

Pula eats better and more widely. Istrian cooking brings fuži with truffle, scampi buzara, pršut and local Malvazija and Teran, and the market hall shows what is in season. The best meals are often in hinterland taverns a short drive away.

Positano's terrace lunches of clams, grilled fish and lemon desserts are lovely, but the menus repeat themselves, there is almost no everyday or market eating, and many kitchens shut through the winter.

The gap here is wide. Pula is a Roman city in its own right: the amphitheatre stands with its full outer ring above the harbour, the Temple of Augustus survives on the Forum, and a Venetian fortress and Habsburg naval buildings add later layers.

Positano's culture is mostly the town itself, its stacked pastel houses and the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta, plus the Roman villa beneath the church. For anything more, visitors leave town.

Neither is a party place, but Pula offers more of an evening. Drinks around the Forum lead on to beach bars on Verudela and Medulin, a few small clubs fill on summer weekends, and students keep some pubs going off-season. Positano's evenings are aperitivo, dinner and the one cave club at Spiaggia Grande, and that is a dressed-up, couples' scene that disappears after the season.

Positano has the more dramatic landscape: the Lattari mountains drop sheer into the sea, the Path of the Gods runs high over terraced lemon groves, and wooded trails climb to ridges above 1,000m. The walking here is steep and spectacular.

Pula's southern Istria is low and stony, with macchia and olive groves. Cape Kamenjak is a fine car-free headland for easy walking and cycling, and wreck diving and windsurfing are easy to arrange. Real mountains are an hour and a half away at Učka.

Positano has the richer set of outings: Amalfi, Ravello, Capri and Sorrento by ferry, Pompeii and Herculaneum within a day, and Paestum's Greek temples further south. The catch is that ferries are mostly seasonal and the coast road is slow.

Pula's range is broad too, covering Rovinj, the Euphrasian Basilica at Poreč, the hill towns of Motovun and Hum, and the Brijuni islands. With a car you can reach Piran or Trieste, but buses are thin, so you will need to drive.

Pula is far easier with children. The sheltered Medulin and Premantura bays suit small swimmers, the aquarium sits inside an old fort, kids can explore the Arena's underground passages, and a dinosaur park and water park are within an hour.

Positano is a town of stairs where pushchairs are useless, the pebbly beaches shelve quickly, and nothing is aimed at children beyond the sea. Older children who love boats will cope best.

Pula's flat, compact centre puts the Arena, Forum, market and harbour minutes apart, and city buses reach Verudela and the south. For the wider coast you need a car or scooter, but at least driving there is practical.

In Positano every walk means hundreds of steps, regional buses crawl in summer and a car is more trouble than it is worth. Seasonal ferries from the beach do the real work.

Positano has a style of its own and the shopping to match. White linen and printed resort wear known as moda Positano fill the lanes, along with made-to-measure sandals, hand-painted ceramics and lemon goods. It is one look, but a strong one.

Pula's best buys are things to eat and drink: olive oil, truffles, wine and pršut from the market or the producers themselves. Beyond that there are only chain stores and souvenirs.

This is the sharpest difference between them. Positano is among the costliest places to sleep in Italy, and the sea views, loungers, boat trips and transfers all cost extra. Many visitors save by staying in Praiano or Sorrento.

Pula is mid-priced, with private apartments, simple konobas and cheap buses and sights. Only July and August push rooms and harbour-side tables up towards Western European levels.

Pula has the edge thanks to one remarkable venue. In summer the Roman Arena hosts pop and rock tours, classical galas and the long-running film festival, and the Istrian National Theatre plays the rest of the year. Positano itself offers only occasional church concerts, and the nearest real draw is the Ravello Festival up the coast, with Naples for opera.

Positano is the better place to be looked after. Neither town has a bathing tradition, so the difference lies in the hotels and where they sit. Positano's upscale hotels put their spas and pools on the cliff edge, so a massage or a swim comes with the whole coast in view. Pula's spas belong to large resort hotels on Verudela and in Medulin, comfortable but with nothing about them you would not find on any resort coast. Positano's calm depends on timing, though. High summer fills its lanes and beaches, and the town is at its most restful in May, June and late September.

Pula's restfulness is plainer but easier to find. Outside July and August the whole town slows down rather than just its hotels, and with a flat centre and low coastal ground, an idle day takes no effort at all. It suits travellers who want to switch off without a treatment menu, while those who want a spa to be the highlight of the stay should choose Positano.