Puerto Iguazu or Victoria Falls?

You won't find a beach at either place. Both towns sit far inland on big rivers that are not for swimming. At Iguazu the water is fast and muddy, and bathing below the falls is forbidden. On the Zambezi the danger comes from crocodiles, hippos and strong currents, so in both towns cooling off means a lodge pool.

The difference is one famous exception at Victoria Falls. At low water, guided groups from the Zambian side swim in Devil's Pool and Angel's Pool, rock basins right on the lip of the drop. It is a short, supervised thrill, and Iguazu has nothing like it.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, and the meals are similarly simple. In Puerto Iguazu that means Argentine grills, empanadas and river fish such as surubi, with yerba mate everywhere. The best evenings are spent at the Feirinha market, sharing cheeses, cured meats and wine over a long picada.

Victoria Falls revolves more around the lodges. The local speciality is game meat such as kudu and warthog, grilled at big outdoor dinners with drumming, and sadza is the everyday staple. Afternoon tea or a sundowner on the Victoria Falls Hotel terrace is the classic treat. There is no market to eat at and no café life.

Puerto Iguazu offers a view, and Victoria Falls offers a little history. In Puerto Iguazu, the obelisk at the Hito Tres Fronteras stands above the meeting of two rivers and looks across to Brazil and Paraguay. A visit to a Mbya Guarani community adds a glimpse of local life, but the town has no historic quarter or museum.

Victoria Falls has a thin layer of colonial history. You can walk across the 1905 railway bridge over the gorge or visit the Edwardian Victoria Falls Hotel in its old gardens. Neither town is really a sightseeing destination, and for a proper museum you have to cross to Livingstone in Zambia.

Evenings are quiet in both, but Puerto Iguazu has a little more going on after dark. Argentine dinners run late, a few bars and beer gardens in the centre fill with travellers, and there is a casino and some small dance spots at weekends. For a bigger night out, people cross to the Brazilian city across the river.

Victoria Falls is built around the sundowner on a river boat or a lodge deck, followed by hotel bars and the odd backpacker bar. There are no clubs. Because elephants and buffalo walk through town at night, getting between bars means taking a taxi.

These are two of the world's great waterfalls, and both are superb. The experience is very different. Iguazu is a wide horseshoe of some 275 cascades set in subtropical rainforest. Catwalks run out over the drops to the Devil's Throat, boats push into the mist, and the forest is full of coatis, toucans, monkeys and butterflies.

Victoria Falls is one long sheer curtain plunging into a narrow basalt gorge. It is better for adrenaline and big animals: rafting through the Batoka Gorge, the bridge bungee and flights over the spray, then game drives and canoe trips upstream past elephants and hippos.

Puerto Iguazu has more variety beyond its falls, because three countries meet here. You can see the panoramic Brazilian side of the falls and tour the huge Itaipu Dam. There is also the chaotic duty-free market of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and the amethyst mines at Wanda, although every border crossing takes time.

From Victoria Falls, most outings are wildlife trips rather than visits to other places. The main exception is Livingstone across the bridge in Zambia, with its colonial main street and good museum, along with the nearby village of Mukuni. Beyond that, the distances in this part of Africa are long.

Puerto Iguazu is the more practical choice for children. The main trails are paved or boarded, the forest train and drenching boat rides are easy wins, and pool hotels fill the hot afternoons. Children just need watching around the bold coatis.

Victoria Falls is exciting for older children, with elephants on the road and hippos from the boat. The limits are serious, though. It is a malaria area, rafting and the gorge activities have minimum ages, and some safari lodges turn away young children. It works best from about eight upwards.

Puerto Iguazu is easier to manage on your own. The centre is walkable, regular public buses run to the park entrance in about half an hour, and inside the park the train and walkways take over. Getting to the Brazilian side or Paraguay is simplest by taxi or transfer.

In Victoria Falls you can walk from the centre to the falls entrance and the bridge, and activity operators collect you from your lodge. There is no real public transport, though. The outlying lodges depend on taxis and shuttles, and wildlife in the streets rules out walking after dark.

Shopping is modest in both towns, and neither has fashion or design stores, but they sell different things. In Puerto Iguazu the best buys are edible: cheeses, salami, wine and yerba mate from the Feirinha. You will also find Guarani carvings, local amethyst and, across the border, the electronics stalls of Ciudad del Este.

Victoria Falls is about crafts. The big curio market sells stone sculpture, wooden animals, baskets and beadwork, and you are expected to bargain. A few gallery shops sell better pieces at fixed prices.

Puerto Iguazu is clearly kinder to the wallet. Town guesthouses, simple grills and the public bus keep daily costs moderate. The spending gathers around park fees, boat trips and the jungle lodges, and prices for visitors move with Argentina's exchange rate.

Victoria Falls is expensive almost everywhere you look. Falls entry, rafting, flights and game drives all carry international prices, riverside lodges charge safari rates and much of the food is imported. Backpacker lodges and choosing just one or two activities make a real difference. At both falls, seeing both sides means paying two entrance fees.

Neither town has a theatre, concert hall or regular music venue. In Puerto Iguazu you might catch a folk dinner show, or the accordion music of chamame at a local gathering. At Victoria Falls the drumming, dance troupes and marimba bands are livelier, but they are staged for visitors around a meal.

Neither town has a spa or bathing tradition, so rest in both means a good lodge, a pool and a quiet setting. The difference is how easily that calm comes. Puerto Iguazu is the gentler place to slow down because the whole town quietens once the falls are done for the day. A forest lodge on the park road gives you shade, a massage and birdsong without any effort, which suits a few lazy days at the end of a long journey.

At Victoria Falls you have to choose calm. The centre is geared to rafting and bungee, so travellers who want rest should book a lodge upstream on the Zambezi. There, a massage with a view of the river fits into the quiet middle of the day, between an early game drive and dusk on the water. It suits someone who wants rest as part of a safari rather than a break from sightseeing.