The island offers plenty of plain, wholesome, home-cooked food in restaurants. Service is informal and friendly. There are also many seafood outlets where fresh fish and shellfish can be bought in season and taken away for cooking on barbecues or camp fires.
Things to know: Waiters expect a 10 to 15 per cent tip. Most dining rooms are licensed to sell alcohol. Licensed premises are open until 0200. Off-licences (liquor stores) are open six days a week from 1000-2200 during the summer months. Hours of operation vary in winter.
Regional specialities:
• Shellfish – lobster, in particular – is a mainstay of the dinner table. Lobsters are steamed or boiled and included in casseroles and salads. Lobster suppers are a tradition on Prince Edward Island and they are often held in church basements or community halls where fresh lobster is served, along with home-made chowder, rolls, cakes and pies. ‘Seconds’ are available of everything except lobster.
• Oysters are popular; they may be served with tangy sauce, deep-fried, in pies, scalloped, in soufflés, soups and stews.
• Prince Edward Island is famous for its new potatoes – small, round potatoes – and a favourite with locals are new potatoes boiled with their skins, then mashed and served with lots of butter, salt and pepper.
• Fish cakes made with salt cod and potatoes.
Legal drinking age: 19 years.

Lounges on the Island usually have some live entertainment for all or part of the week. Theatres, located mainly in Charlottetown, Victoria, Georgetown, Mont Carmel and Summerside, offer cultural, musical or light entertainment.

The Island’s crafts include highly original pottery, weaving, leatherwork, woodwork, quilting, hand-painted silk and jewellery. Various guilds preserve the standards of production. There are also several antique dealers, second-hand stores, auctions, yard sales and flea markets. There are downtown malls and shopping outlets in the main shopping centres: Charlottetown, Summerside, Montague and Cavendish. Shopping hours: Mon-Thurs and Sat 0900-1700, Fri 0900-2100 (although these may vary depending on the area and the time of year).