Bars and restaurants open until late, with a very wide choice of local and Western food and drink. Chinese, Indian and West Indian cooking is available on both islands. Tobago also offers some notable seafood specialities and all types of fried fish.
National specialities:
• Creole soups, the best being sans coche, calaloo and peppery pigeon pea soup.
• Tatoo (armadillo).
• Manicou (opossum).
• Pork souse, pork boiled and served cold in a salty sauce with lime, cucumber, pepper, and onion slices.
• Tum-tum (mashed green plantains).
• Lappe (island rabbit).
• Pastelles: meat folded into cornmeal and wrapped in a banana leaf - a speciality generally available over Christmas.
• Seafood in Trinidad includes bean-sized oysters and chip-chip (tiny shellfish similar in taste to clams).
• Freshwater fish cascadou.
• Indian dishes on both islands include roti (dahlpuri bread stuffed with chicken, fish, goat or vegetables).
• Palhouri, fritters made with split peas, and hot curries.
National drinks:
• Excellent rums and Angostura bitters are used to make rum punch.
• The local beers are Carib and Stag.
Tipping: Most hotels and guest houses add 10 per cent service charge to the bill, otherwise a 10 to 15 per cent tip is usual in hotels and restaurants.

Trinidad has a wide and varied nightlife including hotel entertainment and nightclubs with calypso, limbo dancers and steel bands. During the carnival season (from New Year to Carnival, held 2 days before Ash Wednesday), both islands are alive with live music in the calypso tents and pan (steel band) yards. In Tobago, the main Calypsonians from Trinidad travel over to perform at Shaw Park, Scarborough and Roxborough. There is something happening most nights of the week at this time - details available from the locals and the Tobago News.

Goods from all over the world can be found in Port of Spain, but local goods are always available. Special purchases include Calypso records, steel drums, leather bags and sandals, ceramics and woodcarvings. Gold and silver jewellery can be good value, as can Indian silks and fabrics. Rum should also be considered. Bright, printed fabrics and other summer garments are available in Trinidad & Tobago, particularly in Port of Spain. Shopping hours: Mon-Thurs 0800-1600, Fri 0800-1800 and Sat 0800-1300. Some shops stay open later in Port of Spain, and malls are often open till 2100. Shops close on public holidays, especially during Carnival.