Buzios or Punta del Este?

Both towns sit on peninsulas with a calm side and an Atlantic side, but Buzios fits far more variety into its coastline. It has more than twenty beaches, from clear, sheltered coves such as Ferradura and Tartaruga for snorkelling to the long surf sands of Geriba. Water taxis reach the coves you can't drive to, and the sea stays warmer for more of the year.

Punta del Este has the same split in a simpler form: Playa Mansa for calm swimming, Playa Brava for surf, and wide beaches running east to José Ignacio. Even in high summer the water is refreshing rather than warm, and outside the season it is too cold for most swimmers.

Neither is a place to plan a trip around food, and the two eat very differently. Buzios is about seafood by the bay: moqueca, grilled fish and shrimp along Rua das Pedras and the Orla Bardot, with kiosk snacks and caipirinhas on the sand.

Punta del Este cooks over wood embers, with parrilla beef and lamb, chivito sandwiches, and fish from the port where sea lions wait by the stalls. It also has the wine country around Garzón, where Tannat and Albariño make a long winery lunch possible, and Buzios has nothing like that.

Neither town is built for sightseeing, but Punta del Este has a little more to fill an afternoon. Casapueblo, the white house-studio Carlos Páez Vilaró built on the cliffs at Punta Ballena, is a real sight. The hand sculpture on Playa Brava, the lighthouse and a museum of Latin American art add to it.

Buzios offers about an hour's stroll: the whitewashed streets of the old fishing village, the chapel of Sant'Ana, the boats on Ossos beach and the Bardot statue on the waterfront.

Both scenes depend on the summer calendar, but Punta del Este goes harder while it lasts. From Christmas to late January, the clubs in La Barra and along the coast road run until after sunrise, and beach clubs hold afternoon parties for a young, moneyed crowd.

Buzios is smaller and centred on one street. People eat late on Rua das Pedras, then move on to lounge bars and small clubs, and New Year and Carnival bring the busiest nights. Out of season, both towns go quiet after dinner.

Buzios is best seen from the water. There are turtles and reef fish in the sheltered coves, schooner trips around the islands and steady wind for kitesurfing at Rasa and Manguinhos. Arraial do Cabo, under an hour away, has some of the best diving in Brazil.

The landscape at Punta del Este is gentler and greener, with pine woods, dunes and lagoons for kayaking and birdwatching. Boats run to the sea lion colony on Isla de Lobos, and southern right whales pass in spring. It has more to do on land, such as the Lussich Arboretum and the low hills near Piriápolis, but much less under the water.

Punta del Este has far more within reach. Montevideo, with its old town and port market, is two hours away. Piriápolis, José Ignacio, the wine village of Pueblo Garzón and the colonial core of Maldonado are all easy outings, and Colonia and Cabo Polonio are worth an overnight stay.

From Buzios the choice is thin: the seventeenth-century fort at Cabo Frio, boat trips from Arraial do Cabo and a few quiet coastal villages. Rio is three hours by road, too far for a comfortable day out.

Both suit a simple beach stay with children, who stay out late with everyone else in either place, and neither has a zoo or aquarium. Punta del Este has the edge. Its residential neighbourhoods are safe and green, the Mansa side is calm, and the summer crowd is largely local families. Sea lion boat trips and the arboretum add variety.

Buzios has lovely shallow bay coves and plenty of pousadas with pools. But it is hilly, getting between beaches means taking taxis, and Rua das Pedras gets crowded at night.

The pattern is the same in both: a compact centre you can walk, then a resort that spreads out beyond it. In Buzios that means a hilly peninsula with no pavements on some roads, so taxis, beach buggies and water taxis between the bay beaches do most of the work. The road transfer from Rio's airport takes about three hours.

Punta del Este stretches along the coast instead. It has a seaside path for walking and cycling, buses to Maldonado and La Barra, and coaches to Montevideo. A hire car is the easier way to reach José Ignacio and the wineries, although summer traffic slows the coast road.

Punta del Este gives you more choice. There are fashion and beachwear chains on Avenida Gorlero, a large mall just inland, and designer boutiques that open for the summer. La Barra and José Ignacio have homeware and design shops, and the Plaza Artigas market sells leather, wool and mate gourds, though much of this closes out of season.

Buzios has a narrower range but a pleasant one. Brazilian swimwear labels, linen, jewellery and galleries line the lanes around Rua das Pedras and stay open late, and there is an evening craft fair.

Buzios is much easier on the budget, though it is not cheap by Brazilian standards. It costs roughly what a mid-range vacation in Southern Europe would. Per-kilo lunches, beach kiosks and the months from April to November bring costs down further.

Punta del Este is priced for wealthy summer visitors from across the region, in a country that is already costly, and January is especially steep. Buses, groceries and the parrillas on the peninsula help. December, March and the shoulder months bring far lower room rates, but fewer places are open.

Punta del Este has something to plan around, at least in January. A long-established international jazz festival takes place on a country estate near the town. Chamber concerts around José Ignacio and touring Argentine shows fill out the summer, and for the rest of the year Montevideo is the place to look.

In Buzios, live music means bossa nova and samba in waterfront restaurants. It is a pleasant backdrop to dinner but never the reason for an evening out.

Buzios is the easier place to slow down, mainly because the warmth lasts. Its hillside pousadas and resorts have pools and massage rooms looking out to sea. From April to November, a day of cove, long lunch and sunset over the bay is quiet and unhurried. In high season, a calm stay means sleeping well away from Rua das Pedras.

In Punta del Este, the calm is found in its pine-shaded streets and in the slow lagoon country beyond José Ignacio. Its day spas and yoga studios mostly open only for the summer, and its quietest time, the shoulder months, is also its cooler time. As in Buzios, there is no bathing tradition to plan a trip around.