Most hotels serve local Tanzanian food that usually consists of meat stews or fried chicken accompanied by staples including chips, boiled potatoes or ugali (maize meal porridge eaten all over Africa). There is much greater variety of cuisine in the cities and tourist spots, and the major hotels and safari lodges offer Western and other international food. The Swahili style of food is delicately flavoured by spices and coconut milk and features fragrant rice, grilled fish and prawn curries; it can be sampled on Zanzibar and the coast. The Indian Ocean provides a full range of seafood, and just about every fruit and vegetable that exists is grown in Tanzania. Coffee is grown on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and is served freshly ground in small porcelain cups; chai (tea) is served very sweet in small glasses.

Things to know: Table service is normal in restaurants, while bars generally have counter service. The larger hotels and lodges offer buffet meals. On the coast and on Zanzibar, the population is predominantly Muslim, so while alcohol is available in the tourist hotels and resorts, it is not available in local restaurants and should not be drunk in public.

National specialities:
• Seafood such as prawns and lobsters.
• Tropical fruit such as coconuts, pawpaws, mangoes, pineapples and bananas.

National drinks:
• A good lager, Safari, is produced locally.
• Konyagi is a popular gin.
• A chocolate and coconut liqueur called Afrikoko.
• A wine called Dodoma, which comes in red or rosé.

Legal drinking age: 18.

Tipping: Not generally common, though waiters in tourist hotels and restaurants may expect to be tipped.

Nightlife is limited in Tanzania but in Dar es Salaam, there are several nightclubs, cabaret venues and cinemas. Generally, nightlife is centred on the top tourist hotels and restaurants on the coast, which often feature bands at the weekends and dance floors on the beach.

The city and town centres usually have markets that sell curios such as African drums, old brass and copper, batiks, soapstone knick-knacks, handmade chess sets and large wooden carvings of animals or salad bowls fashioned from a single piece of teak, mninga or ebony. Masai items such as beaded jewellery, decorated gourds and the distinctive red-checked blankets worn by all Masai men make good souvenirs. Kangas and kikois are sarongs worn by women and men respectively and are often in bright colours and patterns. You can pick up packets of Zanzibar's famous spices in Stone Town. Haggling is accepted, indeed often expected. A speciality of Tanzania is the semi-precious stone tanzanite, which ranges from deep blue to light purple. Tanzanite jewellery can be found in the up-market curio shops in Arusha and Dar es Salaam.

Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1200 and 1400-1800; Sat 0830-1230. Some shops open on Sunday. In the larger cities markets are open daily 0800-1800.