Shopping in Bali: Best Markets, Boutiques and What to Buy

The Ubud Art Market (Pasar Seni Ubud) stands opposite Ubud Palace at the junction of Jalan Raya Ubud and Jalan Monkey Forest, rebuilt and reopened in 2023 as a tidy two-storey block after decades as a warren of stalls. Open roughly 8am to 6pm, it sells sarongs (IDR 50,000-100,000 after bargaining), rattan bags, baskets, carved masks, batik shirts, bead jewellery, incense, dreamcatchers and the painted wooden cats and penis bottle-openers that fill every Bali souvenir stall. Prices open at three to five times what you should pay, so it is a place to practise bargaining, not to find quality. The produce market behind it runs from 4am and is worth seeing before 8am.

The real craft trade is in the villages along the roads south and north of Ubud. Sukawati Art Market (Pasar Seni Sukawati), 25 minutes south on Jalan Raya Sukawati and rebuilt in 2021, is where the Ubud stallholders buy their stock: the same sarongs, kites, bags, paintings and carvings at half the Ubud price, open 8am to 6pm, with the Guwang art market 1km east as an alternative. Celuk, on the main Denpasar road just south of Sukawati, is the silver and gold village: a 2km strip of workshops and showrooms where you can watch filigree being soldered and buy sterling (925) rings, earrings and pendants from IDR 150,000-500,000 in small family shops or many times that in the large bus-tour galleries. Prices are by weight plus workmanship, so ask the gram rate and check for a 925 stamp. Mas, 6km south of Ubud, is the wood-carving village, with masks from IDR 100,000, a 1.5 metre teak or suar sculpture at IDR 5,000,000-20,000,000, and galleries such as Njana Tilem that show museum-grade work; carvings in unseasoned wood crack in a dry climate, so check for splits and ask what the wood is (most “ebony” and “sandalwood” are stained or scented softwood). Batubulan, closer to Denpasar, carves the grey paras sandstone temple guardians and garden statues you see outside every villa, from IDR 300,000 for a small Ganesha; the village also stages the Barong dance at 9.30am daily. Kapal, on the Mengwi road, does the same in cast concrete and stone at wholesale prices.

North of Ubud, the 5km of Jalan Raya Tegallalang before the rice-terrace viewpoint is the island’s homeware strip: open-fronted warehouses of rattan furniture, woven baskets, bamboo lamps, mirrors, carved doors, dreamcatchers and painted boxes, sold mostly to exporters but happy to deal with individuals. A round rattan bag that costs IDR 250,000 in Seminyak is IDR 80,000-120,000 here. Most shops will arrange shipping.

Seminyak is the island’s fashion district and the one place where you shop at fixed prices with air conditioning and card machines. The core is Jalan Kayu Aya (signposted Jalan Laksmana and nicknamed “Eat Street”) and its continuation Jalan Petitenget, lined with Bali-based designer labels that sell linen, resort wear and swimwear for IDR 500,000-2,500,000 ($30-150) a piece: Magali Pascal (French-Balinese womenswear), Uma and Leopold, Lulu Yasmine, Bamboo Blonde (cheaper beach dresses), Sea Gypsy for silver and semi-precious jewellery, and Kim Soo for whitewashed homeware and the Scandinavian-tropical look that Bali villas copy. Biasa, on Jalan Raya Seminyak, is the original Bali label, with hand-finished linen and cotton that costs IDR 1,500,000-4,000,000 and lasts for years. Seminyak Village on Jalan Kayu Jati is the small mall of the district, with a food court and the Bali Boat Shed outlet, and Seminyak Square on Jalan Kayu Aya has a Periplus bookshop and surf brands.

Jalan Raya Seminyak (becoming Jalan Raya Basangkasa northwards and Jalan Raya Legian southwards) is the busier main road: homeware showrooms, silver shops, the Bintang supermarket for food gifts, and stalls selling the same sarongs as Ubud at Seminyak prices. For furniture and decor, the road continues north as Jalan Raya Kerobokan, the island’s furniture street, covered under shipping below. Boutiques open around 9 or 10am and close at 9 or 10pm, seven days a week, and bargaining is not done; quiet-season sales (February to March, October to November) take 30-50% off.

Canggu’s shopping matches its crowd: swimwear, surfwear, yoga gear, crystals and ceramics in concept stores along Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong, Jalan Pantai Berawa and the Canggu Shortcut. Expect IDR 300,000-1,000,000 for a bikini or linen shirt from the small Bali labels, and the big surf brands (Deus Ex Machina’s Temple of Enthusiasm on Jalan Batu Mejan, Rip Curl and Quiksilver stores) at close to Australian prices. Love Anchor, a bamboo-roofed village of shops on Batu Bolong near the beach, holds its bazaar on Saturdays and Sundays from around 9am to 5pm, with 100-odd stalls of handmade jewellery, rattan bags, tie-dye, prints and street food; prices are higher than Sukawati but the quality is usually better and bargaining is gentle. The Samadi Sunday Market on Jalan Padang Linjong (8am to 1pm) is the organic farmers’ market, good for Kintamani coffee, cacao, kombucha and natural skincare. Pererenan and Berawa have a growing number of ceramics studios and homeware showrooms, and Echo Beach’s La Brisa club runs a Sunday craft market.

Kuta has the island’s malls. Beachwalk Shopping Center on Jalan Pantai Kuta, facing the beach, is the pleasant one: open-air walkways around a garden, Zara, H&M, Uniqlo and Sephora, a cinema, a food court and a Rip Curl flagship, open 10am to 10pm. Discovery Shopping Mall on Jalan Kartika Plaza, 1km south, is older and cheaper, with the Centro department store, Sogo and a beachfront food court; the surf-brand flagships (Billabong, Quiksilver, Volcom) cluster along Jalan Kartika Plaza and Jalan Legian around it. Mal Bali Galeria at the Dewa Ruci (Simpang Siur) junction on the bypass is where locals shop: a Hypermart supermarket, Ace Hardware, Matahari department store, a cinema and far fewer tourists, plus a large Krisna souvenir supermarket branch nearby selling fixed-price pie susu, coffee, T-shirts and sarongs for the hassle-averse. The old Kuta Art Market on Jalan Bakung Sari and the stalls of Poppies Lane sell fakes, sarongs and Bintang singlets; bargain hard. Sanur’s shopping runs along Jalan Danau Tamblingan, with jewellery shops, a small art market, the Sindhu market and kite sellers; Sanur is the home of Bali’s giant traditional kites, flown at the July festival on Padang Galak beach.

Denpasar is where Balinese people shop, and it is the cheapest and most interesting half-day on this page. Pasar Badung, on Jalan Gajah Mada beside the Badung river, is the island’s biggest market, rebuilt as a four-storey block after the 2016 fire and reopened in 2019: fruit, spices and offering flowers on the lower floors, sarongs, kebaya lace, batik, temple sashes and household goods above, with a night market outside. Go before 10am. Pasar Kumbasari, directly across the river, is the handicraft and textile market, four floors of paintings, carvings, baskets and bolts of cloth at prices far below Ubud. Jalan Sulawesi, the next street east, is the fabric street, lined with Indian-run textile shops selling batik, songket and endek (Balinese ikat) by the metre, and Jalan Hasanudin is the gold street. Denpasar has local malls too (Level 21 on Jalan Teuku Umar is the newest), but the markets are the reason to come.

• Silver: sterling rings, earrings and filigree pendants from Celuk, IDR 150,000-500,000 in family workshops. Insist on a 925 stamp; the cheap “silver” at markets is plated alloy.
• Wood carving: masks, Garuda and Buddha figures from Mas, IDR 100,000 for a small mask to tens of millions for a large sculpture. Check for cracks and ask the wood species.
• Batik, ikat and sarongs: printed sarongs IDR 50,000-100,000 at markets; hand-stamped or hand-drawn batik IDR 300,000-2,000,000; Balinese endek ikat and ceremonial songket from Jalan Sulawesi or the weaving villages of Sidemen and Gianyar. The Threads of Life gallery on Jalan Kajeng in Ubud sells museum-quality natural-dye textiles from across Indonesia with the weaver’s name attached, from about IDR 1,000,000.
• Kites: Sanur’s painted bamboo-and-cloth kites, from IDR 50,000 for a small one at Sanur and Sukawati stalls; the giant festival kites are not for sale.
• Rattan and ata baskets: round rattan bags IDR 80,000-250,000 depending on where you buy; genuine ata-grass baskets from Tenganan village in East Bali are smoked over coconut husk, cost IDR 300,000-1,500,000 and last decades. Most “handmade” rattan in Seminyak and Canggu comes off a production line in Java or Lombok and is fine, just not rare.
• Dreamcatchers: everywhere, and Balinese in no sense; they are cheap factory goods from Java. Skip them or treat them as IDR 20,000 decoration.
• Coffee: Kintamani arabica from the Batur highlands has a protected geographical indication and makes a good gift at IDR 60,000-150,000 for 200g from roasters in Ubud and Canggu. Skip kopi luwak: most comes from civets caged and force-fed on the “agrotourism” plantations on the Kintamani and Tegallalang roads, and the IDR 50,000 tasting-tour cups and IDR 300,000-plus bags are often not genuine anyway.
• Chocolate: Pod Chocolate, made in Bali from Indonesian cacao, IDR 40,000-70,000 a bar at its outlets and in Canggu grocers; Pipiltin and Krakakoa are the Jakarta-made alternatives.
• Surf brands: Billabong, Quiksilver and Rip Curl flagships in Kuta and Canggu sell real gear at roughly Australian prices; the IDR 100,000 board shorts in Poppies Lane are fakes.
• Essential oils and skincare: Utama Spice (Ubud) and Sensatia Botanicals (made in Karangasem, shops in every tourist town) sell natural oils, balms and soap at IDR 50,000-250,000.
• Art: Ubud’s galleries sell everything from IDR 200,000 tourist canvases to serious work. See the collections at Neka Art Museum, ARMA and Puri Lukisan first so you know what Batuan, Ubud and Young Artist styles look like, then buy from a gallery that names the painter and gives a receipt; ARMA and Neka both have sales galleries. The painters’ villages of Batuan and Penestanan sell direct.
• Food gifts: pie susu (milk tarts) from Krisna or the airport, Balinese sea salt from Kusamba, sambal matah paste, Bali Hai and Hatten wine (duty rules permitting), and base genep spice-paste kits from cooking schools.

Bargain at markets, street stalls, craft-village workshops and with beach vendors; do not bargain in malls, supermarkets, Seminyak and Canggu boutiques or fixed-price shops like Krisna. Ask “berapa?” (how much), offer about a third of the first price, and expect to settle near half; walking away slowly is the most effective move, and a smile matters more than persistence. The first sale of the day is lucky in Balinese belief, so early-morning offers go further. Have small notes: a stallholder who has agreed IDR 60,000 will not thank you for a IDR 100,000 note.

Malls open 10am to 10pm daily, boutiques about 9am to 9pm, art markets 8am to 6pm, Pasar Badung from before dawn, and craft workshops roughly 9am to 5pm, with some closing on Sundays and all closing for the big temple festivals (Galungan and Kuningan) and for Nyepi, 19 March 2026, when the whole island shuts for 24 hours. Many family shops also close for odalan ceremonies at their village temple with no notice.

Cash is king at markets and workshops. Cards (Visa and Mastercard; American Express less often) are accepted at malls, boutiques and galleries, sometimes with a 2-3% surcharge, and the many ATMs dispense IDR 1,250,000-3,000,000 per withdrawal; use machines attached to banks to avoid skimmers. QRIS, the QR code at every till, works for foreign visitors only if your home e-wallet is from a linked country (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and a few others), so most tourists cannot use it. Change money only at authorised changers with a licence displayed (PT Central Kuta and BMC are reliable chains); the “no commission” booths in Kuta and Seminyak with suspiciously good rates short-count the notes.

Indonesia charges 11% VAT (PPN) and refunds it to foreign passport holders who stay no more than 60 days. Shop only at stores displaying the “Tax Refund for Tourists” logo (mostly the department stores and brand boutiques in Beachwalk, Discovery and Mal Bali Galeria, and some Seminyak boutiques) and ask for a tax invoice (faktur pajak) with your passport details. Each invoice must carry at least IDR 50,000 of VAT, so a purchase of about IDR 500,000, and your combined invoices at least IDR 500,000 of VAT, meaning around IDR 4.5-5 million ($270-300) of shopping, all bought within a month of departure and carried out with you unused. At Ngurah Rai airport, find the VAT Refund counter in the international departures hall before you check your bags, with passport, invoices, boarding pass and the goods; refunds up to IDR 5,000,000 are paid in cash in rupiah, larger amounts by bank transfer. Market and craft-village purchases never qualify. Rules change, so check the tax office’s VAT refund page before you go.

Kuta’s Poppies Lane and Jalan Legian stalls sell fake Billabong, Ray-Ban, Nike and designer bags, and the Kuta Art Market and Ubud market sell fake “Bintang” merchandise and copied prints. Customs in Australia, the EU and the US seize counterfeits and can fine you, so buy the real thing in the flagships or skip it.

Standard allowances apply at home: about EUR 430 of goods, 200 cigarettes and 1 litre of spirits into the EU; GBP 390 into the UK; USD 800 into the US; AUD 900 and only 25 cigarettes into Australia, which also inspects wooden carvings for bark and borer holes and requires seeds, spices and food to be declared. Leaving Indonesia, the Cultural Heritage Law requires a permit to export objects more than 50 years old, so get a receipt saying “reproduction” for anything that looks antique (nearly all “antiques” in Seminyak and Kuta are). Declare more than IDR 100,000,000 in cash on departure and check keris and other blades into the hold.

Bali is one of the world’s great places to buy furniture, and the trade is set up for tourists. Jalan Raya Kerobokan, running north from Seminyak, and the parallel stretch of Jalan Sunset Road and the bypass are lined with showrooms of teak and suar dining tables, reclaimed-boat-wood cabinets, rattan chairs, carved doors and stone statues, with workshops behind that make to order. Most showrooms and all the Tegallalang warehouses work with freight forwarders who consolidate shipments into shared sea containers (LCL) by the cubic metre; expect roughly USD 200-400 per cubic metre to Australia or Europe including packing, 6 to 12 weeks in transit, and import duty and taxes payable at your end, which often exceed the Bali price for cheap items. A full 20-foot container is the economic option above about 15 cubic metres. Get the quote in writing with the forwarder named, photograph everything before it is packed, pay a deposit rather than the whole sum, and insure the shipment. Teak and suar move in dry climates, so ask for kiln-dried timber if you live somewhere with winter heating. Small, heavy items (stone, ceramics) are often cheaper by air cargo from Ngurah Rai or as excess baggage.

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