Croatia Travel Guide - Going Out

National specialities:
• Hungarian, Italian and Austrian influences can be found in Croatian food, with hearty meat stews and goulashes dominating the menu in the hinterland.
• The Adriatic coast is renowned for its variety of seafood dishes, including scampi, seafood risotto, seafood pasta, white fish, squid and mussels. Fish is either chargrilled or fried.
• In the interior, visitors should sample kulen (spicy sausage) or fis paprikas (spicy freshwater fish stew).
• Prsut (raw ham that has been either cured or air-dried) and Paski sir (salty goat's cheese from the island of Pag) are served in restaurants throughout the country.

National drinks:
• The regional wines are good.
• Sljivovica (plum brandy), travarica (herb brandy) and grappa (a fiery grape-based spirit) are commonly drunk at celebrations and after dinner.
• Croatia has a coffee culture, with Italian espresso, bijela kava (milky white coffee) and macchiato (espresso served with a shot of milk) all popular.

Legal drinking age: 18.

Tipping: 10% is expected in hotels, restaurants and taxis.

The capital Zagreb buzzes with bars and clubs year round, but the lion's share of the inland action moves to the tourist-boosted coast in the summer months. Venues include everything from informal beach bars and pavement cafes through to style bars and glitzy nightclubs.

Traditional handicrafts like embroidery, woodcarvings and ceramics make good souvenirs. Tourists can reclaim VAT on expenditure of more than 500 Kn. Visitors should ensure that all receipts are retained after any purchase is made, as financial police have the power to fine visitors without relevant documents. This is to prevent VAT evasion by shopkeepers.

Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-2000, Sat 0800-1400/1500. Some shops in cities may open on Sundays.