A thriving agricultural sector yields excellent meat, fruit and wines and the long coastline produces very fresh and cheap seafood. South Africans like to eat out so there is an excellent range of restaurants, especially in cities, where all international cuisines are represented. Meat dishes, including game, are a national favourite. Fruity and sweet Cape Malay cuisine can be found in Cape Town, the Indian influence on the KwaZulu-Natal coast provides authentic Asian food, and spicy Mozambican peri peri chicken and prawns are eaten all over the country. Braais (barbecues) are hugely popular: every campsite, self-catering resort and picnic spot has a braai pit. Vegetarians are offered at least a couple of dishes, even in small-town eateries.

Things to know: All restaurants, bars and cocktail lounges have waiter service: you pay your bill at the end. Some restaurants close on Sundays or Mondays. ‘Liquor stores' are open weekdays 0900-1800 and Sat 0900-1300. Supermarkets are permitted to sell wine but not beer or spirits. No alcohol can be sold from shops on a Sunday.

National specialities:
• Sosaties (a type of kebab).
• Bobotie (a curried mince stew).
• Potjiekos (a spicy casserole, traditionally slow-cooked in an iron pot, usually outside).
• Bredies (meat, tomato and vegetable casseroles: waterbolmmetjiebredie, made with a local water plant, is particularly good).
• Biltong (seasoned dried meat).

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: Normally 10 to 15% if service is not included. By law, hotel rates do not include a service charge.

All the large cities have cinemas screening international films, theatres showing plays, operas and musicals, and comedy clubs hosting cabaret nights. Some cities have arthouse cinemas which show grittier releases and foreign language films and occasionally host film and documentary festivals.

South Africa has a thriving music scene, covering everything from symphony concerts to late-night jam sessions. There is a unique South African township jazz style, exponents of which can be seen in all large cities, but particularly Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein. Local bands also play homegrown rock, reggae, rap and kwaito, a type of hip hop originating from Johannesburg.

There are a number of annual local music and arts festivals, of which the most famous are the Cape Town Jazz Festival (www.capetownjazzfest.com) in March, the Splashy Fen rock and pop festival in Underberg, KwaZulu Natal (www.splashyfen.co.za) in April, the 10-day National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape (www.nafest.co.za) in June and Woodstock, held near Johannesburg (www.woodstock.co.za) in November. Open air concerts are held in Cape Town's Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on summer Sundays (December to March). Sports stadiums host international pop and rock stars on a regular basis.

Most restaurants and cafes double up as bars in the evening and some have large screen TVs to watch sporting fixtures. In the towns and cities, the nightclubs stay open until late; Cape Town has a thriving gay scene. Sun City's glitzy casinos not only have gaming floors but also entertainment such as bowling alleys, restaurants, and sometimes supper theatres for comedy and cabaret.

Large hotels usually have live music, and may lay on tourist-oriented music, drumming and dance shows. In the parks and reserves, there may be some organised entertainment, but it tends to be low-key; it's more usual for safari lodge guests and staff to gather round a campfire to swap stories.

South Africa is home to the mega-mall - and more and more are being built. These large shopping centres generally have long opening hours and parking for hundreds of cars. Apart from shops, they feature post offices, banks, cinemas, restaurants, fast-food courts and supermarkets. The Gateway Mall in Durban is reputedly the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere; coming in second is Canal Walk in Cape Town. Johannesburg has several giant shopping centres including the Eastgate and Southgate malls.

In the tourist areas, malls feature shops selling crafts and souvenirs - particularly at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront where there are a number of upmarket African art and curio shops, and in Johannesburg's Rosebank Mall, which is also home to an African craft market.

Away from the malls, African souvenirs can be found in all the cities and along the coast. The bewildering variety of items to buy from across the continent include wooden sculptures, hand-crafted wire objects, cloth and batiks, jewellery, carved soapstone products, drums, stationery made from handmade paper and a vast range of pictorial books. Gold and diamonds make for good buys in South Africa and local wine, brandy and liqueur are cheap and usually excellent.

On departure at the airports or land borders, visitors can claim a 14% VAT refund, minus a 1.5% commission (minimum commission R10), on any unused purchases with a total value of R250 or more bought in South Africa. You need to show your passport, flight ticket, the items and their original tax invoices to the customs officer at the VAT refund desk. For more information look online (www.taxrefunds.co.za).

Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1400, although there is an increasing trend to open later and all weekend in major tourist spots and in the large shopping malls. In the cities, there are 24-hour convenience stores.