El Calafate or Puerto Natales?

Neither town is a place to swim, and the difference is only in the kind of cold water. El Calafate looks out on glacier-fed Lago Argentino, while Puerto Natales faces the Última Esperanza Sound, a fjord with a gravel and rock shoreline. Either way, the waterfront is for a windy walk, and a hotel pool is the only realistic swim.

Both towns cook the same signature dish, Patagonian lamb roasted on iron crosses over an open fire, so the difference lies in what surrounds it. El Calafate leans towards Argentine grills along its main avenue, with Malbec on the table and calafate berry in desserts and liqueurs, and an estancia lunch in the countryside is often the highlight.

Puerto Natales puts more cold-water seafood from the southern channels on the menu, pours its own craft beers alongside Chilean wine, and has a handful of trekker-focused places with more ambition than its size suggests. Many of them cut back or close in winter.

Sightseeing in both towns takes an afternoon. El Calafate's offer is mostly about understanding the ice, with the Glaciarium as its centrepiece, plus Tehuelche rock paintings at the Walichu caves. Puerto Natales has more character in its streets, with colourful timber and corrugated-iron houses, and in the old Bories cold-storage plant, a national monument to the wool and mutton trade.

Both are early-to-bed towns, where dinner is the evening's main event. El Calafate adds a small casino and a few pubs on the main avenue that stay open late in high summer. Puerto Natales feels a little more sociable, with trekkers fresh off the trail comparing routes over the town's own craft beer, though neither has a club.

These are two of Patagonia's great gateways, and the choice comes down to ice or mountains. From El Calafate, the draw is Perito Moreno, a wall of blue ice you can watch from walkways, cross in crampons or approach by boat, with longer lake cruises to the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers. The wide, dry steppe and Laguna Nimez's waterbirds complete the picture, but serious trekking means the long trip to Fitz Roy.

Puerto Natales has a slight edge for those who want to walk. Torres del Paine's granite towers, the Cuernos, turquoise lakes and puma country lie about two hours away, with the W and O treks, iceberg kayaking and day hikes. Boats from the town pier also reach the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers, so ice is part of the trip here too.

The best half-day out of El Calafate is a working sheep estancia, some of them reached by boat across Lago Argentino, where shearing sheds and pioneer houses come with a lamb lunch. Puerto Natales has the Milodón Cave, where the remains of a giant ground sloth were found, a short drive into the hills.

The next places worth seeing are too far for a return trip in a day. El Chalten is about three hours from El Calafate, and Punta Arenas about three hours from Puerto Natales. The journey between the two towns takes longer still once you add the border crossing. Plan each of these as a stay of its own rather than an outing.

El Calafate is noticeably easier with children. The Perito Moreno walkways bring the falling ice close without a demanding hike, and the Glaciarium, Laguna Nimez and an estancia with horses and sheep give gentler days in between. Long bus rides, raw wind and age limits on glacier treks still argue for a short stay.

Puerto Natales asks more of young legs. The life-size sloth at the Milodón Cave and guanacos and rheas along the park road are good fun, but the main attraction means long drives and tough trails, so it suits active families with older children.

Both have a small centre you can cross on foot in minutes, and in both the real sights are a long road journey away on gravel. El Calafate's main trip is simpler, as scheduled buses and tours run to one glacier, with boats from a port along the lake. Torres del Paine is larger and more fragmented, with coaches to the entrances and a catamaran and shuttles inside, so a hire car or tour matters more in Puerto Natales, especially when off-season buses thin out.

El Calafate's main avenue is the better place to browse. It mixes outdoor clothing with sheepskin, leather, mate gourds, regional chocolate and calafate berry jams, and there is a small crafts market of Patagonian handiwork. In Puerto Natales, shopping is mostly about getting ready for the trail, with gear shops and supermarkets. A few craft shops there sell wool knitwear and lapis lazuli jewellery, a stone strongly associated with Chile. In both towns you will find souvenirs and spare fleeces, but nothing worth planning a trip around.

Neither is cheap, but El Calafate is the easier of the two on the wallet. Its main cost is the excursions, from park entry to glacier treks and cruises, while parrilla meals and simple guesthouses stay reasonable and hostels are easy to find.

Puerto Natales costs more across the board. Groceries and restaurant meals carry the price of being trucked to the end of Chile, summer rooms are scarce, and Torres del Paine adds transfers, guided tours and refugio or campsite nights. Self-catering and booking well ahead make the biggest difference.

There is nothing in either town to plan an evening around. At most you might hear a folk guitarist over an estancia dinner near El Calafate, or catch traditional Chilean dance if a local festival coincides with your stay in Puerto Natales.

El Calafate is slightly better for unwinding. Its lodges offer pools, saunas and lake views, and a glacier day spent on walkways leaves energy for a slow evening under wide skies, though early starts still take some of the ease away.

In Puerto Natales, relaxation is a reward for effort, such as a hot tub or sauna at an upscale lodge on the sound after a long day on the trail. The calm of the fjord at dusk is real, but the town is built around exertion rather than rest.