Country Information

Meat is big in South Africa, while its long coastline guarantees fresh seafood and numerous vineyards produce excellent wines. The restaurant scene is thriving, although South Africans tend to be fickle; what is hot one season can disappear a year later. The country's cosmopolitan heritage means all types of cuisine are available, with fruity and sweet Cape Malay cuisine a speciality of Cape Town, and a strong Indian influence making Durban's curries divine.

Braais (barbecues) are hugely popular and most campsites, self-catering resorts and picnic spots have braai facilities.

National specialities:
• Boerworst (a fairly spicy high-quality sausage).
• Bobotie (a curried mince stew).
• Potjiekos (a spicy casserole cooked in an iron pot).
• Bredie (meat, tomato and vegetable casserole).
• Biltong (dried meat, typically beef or venison).

National drinks:
• Umqombothi (a home-brewed sorghum beer). Castle lager is also popular.
• Excellent local red and white wines (including chardonnay), sherries and brandies.
• Rooibos (a red-leafed tea grown in the Western Cape).
• Amarula Cream (a sweet creamy liqueur made from the fruit of the Marula tree).

Legal drinking age: 18

Tipping: A tip of 10 to 15% is expected.

Nightlife revolves around restaurants, bars and cinemas, with good nightclubs a little scarce. There's a thriving theatre scene, and the quality of stand-up comedy is improving. Some cities have art house cinemas that screen less mainstream movies and run offbeat film festivals.

Cape Town is the place for jazz, with several live music venues and an annual international jazz festival. South Africa is firmly on the international pop and rock circuit, and the local music scene is also flourishing sufficiently for most cities to have a scattering of live music venues. Classical music and opera fans will probably only get their fix in larger cities.

Football and rugby are national addictions, and many bars and some restaurants have large-screen TVs for sports enthusiasts.

Shopping centres are far more common than shopping streets; the Gateway Mall in Durban is reputedly the largest in the southern hemisphere. However, areas where shops and restaurants spill out onto the streets are proving hugely popular, and are steadily becoming more common. Traditional African arts and crafts are sold in numerous craft markets, including Cape Town's V&A Waterfront craft shed and Johannesburg's Rosebank Mall craft market.

Impromptu craft stalls often appear at the side of the road, particularly on popular tourist routes, and some have become permanent attractions in their own right, such as the one between Johannesburg and Sun City.

Traditional crafts include wooden carvings, sandstone sculptures and bead work. Gold, diamonds and local wine also make excellent buys.

Visitors can claim a 14% VAT refund, minus commission, on purchases worth more than R250. You need to show your passport, flight ticket, the items and invoices to the refund desk in airports.

Shopping hours: Many shops stay open until at least 1800, and large shopping malls and tourist spots generally stay open even later.