Bariloche or Queenstown?

Neither town is a beach destination, and both have cold glacial lakes. Bariloche comes off slightly better: its pebble and sand shores at Playa Bonita, Villa Tacul and Lago Gutiérrez make good picnic spots, and the water is a few degrees less harsh.

Queenstown's lake is colder still, and its town beach is a small shingle strip on Queenstown Bay where the main sport is jumping off the jetty. In both places, warmer water means driving to a smaller lake, such as Lago Moreno near Bariloche or Lake Hayes near Queenstown.

The two are on a level footing, but they eat and drink differently. Bariloche has a stronger regional identity: lamb roasted on an iron cross, lake trout, smoked meats, chocolate from Central European tradition, and craft beer in brewery gardens along the road to Cerro Catedral.

Queenstown has no cuisine of its own but more variety in a small space, from ramen and pies to polished lodge dining. Its real asset is Central Otago pinot noir, with winery lunches in Gibbston Valley a short drive away. Choose beer and fireside lamb, or wine among the vines.

Bariloche has more to show, though only modestly. The 1930s Centro Cívico by Bustillo and de Estrada gives the town a distinct architectural character, the Museo de la Patagonia covers Mapuche and settler history, and the Llao Llao hotel and its chapel make a fine stop on the Circuito Chico.

Queenstown has the 1912 steamship TSS Earnslaw, a few gold-rush stone buildings and no museum of real weight. Its history is better told twenty minutes away in Arrowtown. In both towns a morning is enough, but Bariloche's morning has more in it.

Queenstown is the better night out for adults. Seasonal workers, backpackers and skiers keep the bars around Shotover, Camp and Searle streets busy past midnight, with après-ski in winter and lakefront terraces in summer, though it is drinking and DJ bars rather than real clubs.

Bariloche's big dance clubs belong to the school-leavers' graduation trips, and most grown-up visitors will steer clear of them. What remains is a quiet evening of late dinners and brewpubs near Calle Mitre.

Both towns are among the great mountain-lake settings, and the difference is in the kind of experience. Bariloche is classic Andean walking country inside Nahuel Huapi National Park, with refuge-to-refuge trails to Frey and Jakob, coihue and lenga forest, Tronador's glaciers and South America's largest ski area at Cerro Catedral.

Queenstown adds an adrenaline industry to its scenery: bungy, jet boats on the Shotover, paragliding and gondola-served bike trails, alongside the Routeburn Track, four ski fields and Milford Sound. Pick Bariloche for quiet trails and Queenstown for thrills.

Queenstown has more places worth a day. Arrowtown's miners' cottages and Chinese settlement are only twenty minutes away, Wanaka is about an hour over the Crown Range, and the vineyards of Gibbston, Cromwell and Bannockburn, along with the goldfields towns of Clyde and Alexandra, make easy outings.

Bariloche's outings are mostly into scenery. Villa La Angostura, Colonia Suiza's curanto and El Bolsón's craft market are the town options, but there are no heritage sites or wine regions within reach.

Both are safe outdoor towns for children, but Queenstown has a few more things built with them in mind. The Bob's Peak gondola and luge, the kiwi wildlife park, the steamship cruise and the indoor pool at Frankton help fill a day, even if the famous jumps have age and weight limits.

Bariloche relies more on nature and treats: sledging at Cerro Otto, boat trips to Isla Victoria, chocolate workshops and the St Bernards in the Centro Cívico. With no zoo or aquarium, a wet day there is harder to fill.

In both towns, getting about is easy in the centre and harder beyond it. Bariloche's difficulty is its length: the town runs about 25km along Avenida Bustillo, so where you stay matters. City buses reach Llao Llao and Cerro Catedral, but Tronador or Villa La Angostura call for a car or a tour.

Queenstown's centre is tinier and more compact, with buses and a water taxi to Frankton and Arrowtown. Its weak point is the single Frankton road, which backs up at busy times, and wineries and trailheads still mean driving winding mountain roads.

Chocolate is what most people carry home from Bariloche, and greenstone or merino from Queenstown. Calle Mitre is lined with chocolatiers, with Patagonian wool, leather and smoked trout alongside, and the craft fairs add woodwork and Mapuche-style textiles.

Queenstown's Mall leans towards possum-wool knitwear, greenstone jewellery, landscape galleries and serious ski and bike shops. In both, the range stops short of fashion and design boutiques, so a short browse is enough.

Bariloche is noticeably easier on the wallet. It is expensive by Argentine standards, especially in July and January, but cabins in the side valleys, self-catering, city buses and free hiking keep a trip reasonable, and spring and autumn cost less.

Queenstown is costly at every turn: rooms, meals and drinks are at resort level, and the bungy jumps, jet boats, scenic flights and lift passes that draw people here add up fast. Frankton's supermarkets and free trails help, but it needs a careful budget.

Bariloche has the stronger musical tie. The Camerata Bariloche chamber orchestra carries the town's name, and the yearly Semana Musical Llao Llao brings chamber concerts above the lake, though on most evenings there is little to attend.

Queenstown offers pub covers bands, occasional touring comedians and a few days of street performance during the winter festival, with no orchestra or theatre season.

Neither has hot springs or a bathing tradition, so the two are close, and the difference is in style. Bariloche's rest comes from grand lakeside hotel spas such as Llao Llao and slow days of fires and dinners in the wooded valleys.

Queenstown's speciality is a private cedar hot tub on a hillside above the Shotover, plus lodge spas towards Arrowtown and the quiet of Glenorchy. In both places, stay outside the busy centre if rest is the aim.