Shopping by area
How shopping in Bali works
What to pay with, when things open, where bargaining is expected and where it is rude. The practical half of shopping here, before you pick a district.
Seven districts covered
No venue pays for a mention on this page. We are an independent directory, not a retailer or an agent for one.
Quick facts
- Currency
- Indonesian rupiah, IDR
- Paying
- Cards in malls, cash at markets
- Malls
- 10:00 to 22:00 daily
- Markets
- From 06:00, winding down by 17:00
- Boutiques
- Roughly 10:00 to 20:00
- Bargaining
- Markets and stalls only
- VAT refund
- Ask For Price minimum, claimed at DPS
- English
- Widely spoken in retail
Hours are the building's, not the individual shop's. Inside a mall a boutique can open later and close earlier than the doors it sits behind, and at markets the published closing time is when stalls start packing rather than when the last one leaves.
Carry cash in small notes. Market vendors, parking attendants and warungs rarely take cards, and a Ask For Price note for a Ask For Price purchase is a slow conversation.
The shopping day, by the hour
Markets, boutiques and malls run on three different clocks. Planning around them is worth more than picking the right district.
- 06:00
Produce markets open
Sindhu Market in Sanur trades fruit and vegetables from six and is done by ten. Every district has one, and none of them are aimed at visitors.
- 08:00
Art markets open
Ubud Art Market and Kuta Art Market both start around eight. This is the cheapest hour of the day to buy from either.
- 10:00
Malls and boutiques open
Ten across the island, with almost no exceptions. Joger is the one that closes early, at eight in the evening.
- 13:00
The hot hours
Open-air venues like Beachwalk and Bali Collection are hard work between one and four. Enclosed malls are the sane choice in that window.
- 17:00
Art markets wind down
Stalls start packing around five. Vendors are keener to close a sale in the last half hour, though the range has thinned by then.
- 22:00
Malls close
Ten at night, every mall in the guide. Street stalls in Kuta and Legian run about as late, and cinemas run past it.
Traffic decides more than opening hours do. Any road in the south roughly doubles in travel time between four and seven in the afternoon, in both directions.
Seven districts, seven answers
Where you stay narrows the choice more than anything else. These are the seven that account for almost all visitor shopping.
Where bargaining belongs
Getting this wrong in either direction is the most common visitor mistake here. Haggling in a boutique is rude; paying the first price at a market is not politeness, it is just the first price.
Bargaining is expected
- Art markets Ubud and Kuta. Offer about half the first price and expect to settle somewhere between 50 and 70 percent of it.
- Street stalls Jalan Legian, the beach paths, anywhere without a till. The same rule applies and the starting price is usually higher.
- Beach vendors Sarongs and jewellery carried along the sand. Walk away once and the price moves.
- Small souvenir shops If nothing is priced, bargaining is expected. If everything is priced, it is not.
Bargaining is not
- Malls and department stores Prices are marked and fixed. Asking for a discount here reads the way it would at home.
- Krisna and Joger Both are fixed-price by design, and that is much of why people use them.
- Boutiques with tags Seminyak, Canggu and Jimbaran. A marked price is a statement, not an opening.
- Duty-free T Galleria prices are set before the tax comes off. There is nothing to negotiate.
Bargaining is a conversation, not a contest. Smiling, taking your time and being willing to walk away does more for the price than any opening number.
Practical questions
Compare the venuesHow hard should I bargain?
At a market, offer about half the first price and expect to settle somewhere between 50 and 70 percent of it. Do it once, politely, and be ready to walk. Anywhere with a price tag, do not bargain at all.
Cash or card?
Cards in malls and established boutiques, cash everywhere else. Carry small notes: markets, parking and warungs are cash only, and change for a large note is a slow business.
How does the tax refund work?
Indonesia refunds VAT to departing tourists on invoices of at least Ask For Price from a participating retailer. Ask before you pay, keep the invoice in hand luggage, and claim at Ngurah Rai after immigration.
Where is duty-free?
T Galleria by DFS on the Bypass Ngurah Rai, and the airport. Off-airport purchases are sealed and collected at the terminal after immigration rather than carried out of the shop.
Can I ship things home?
Yes, and for furniture, large art or anything fragile it is the sensible answer rather than the last resort. Our shipping desk handles packing, paperwork and customs at both ends.
How do I tell real batik from printed?
Look at the back. Hand-drawn and hand-stamped batik carries the pattern through the fabric with the reverse almost as strong as the face. Printed cloth has a pale back and perfectly even repeats.
Concierge desk
Tell us the district and we plan the day
Hours, traffic and where things actually are decide a shopping day here more than any list does. A driver who knows the roads removes most of what goes wrong.