There are restaurants and cafes serving a wide selection of cooking styles including American, Argentinian, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and Spanish. There are many fast-food chains and continental-style cafes. Food usually varies in price rather than quality and some of the cheap eateries are amongst the best.

National specialities:
• Kaq Ic (soup made from turkey and seasoned with samat (a herb from Alta Verapaz).
• Guacamole.
• Flan de naranja (orange-flavoured flan).

National drinks:
• Coffee.
• Gallo beer.
• Quetzalteca (an extremely potent raw cane spirit).

Tipping: 10% is normal in restaurants where service has not been included.

In Guatemala City in particular, there are nightclubs with modern music and dance, featuring national and international artists. Guatemala is the home of marimba music, which can be heard at several venues. In the cities, the marimba is a huge elaborate xylophone with large drum sticks played by four to nine players. In rural areas the sounding boxes are made of different shaped gourds (marimbas de tecomates). There are regular concerts throughout Guatemala. There are also theatres with numerous plays in English and other cultural performances. Films with English and Spanish subtitles are often shown in major towns.

Special purchases include textiles, handicrafts, jewellery, jade carvings, leather goods, ceramics and basketry. Markets are best for local products and bargaining is necessary. Ceramics can be purchased cheaply in many places including Villa de Chinautla, San Luis Jilotepeque and Rabinal. Cobán is the cheapest place to buy silverware. The Central Market in Guatemala City and the Craft Market provide a range of crafts combining traditional and modern styles.

Guatemala City contains many modern shopping centres. Gran Centro Comercial Los Proceres, Galerias La Pradera, Plaza Cemaco and Geminis International Mall are all located in Zone 10. Other malls include Tikal Futura, Peri-Roosevelt Shopping Mall and the Century Shopping Centre.

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1930. Malls are also open on Sunday.