Central Market, Bali | What To Shop, Tips

Central Market, Bali Overview

The central market in Ubud, Bali offers a taste of authentic Balinese lifestyle. Hustling with activity right from early morning, the market sells everything from flower and leaf arrangements to make offerings, to a variety of fish to spices and condiments. Ideally visited around 7am before the touristy setup takes place, the market also offers various breakfast options for a morning in Bali.

The Central market is rich in authentic art items and serves as a continuity of the tradition of when the princes were great patrons of art. Any trip is incomplete without some great shopping; the Central market thus paves the way for becoming one of the best shopping destination in Bali. The street is dotted with shops and galleries selling a wide variety of items to choose from while one bargain to get the best price.

What to Shop at the Central Market

We advise that one should opt for an early start to get the most of the shopping experience since it would be less crowded. Here are some of the best things to shop:

1. Religious Items:

People in Bali mostly follow Hinduism or Buddhism, and this is primarily reflected in the sale of religious items. Different things like Hindu idols, Topeng masks, and costumes, Buddha figurines, coupled with religious offering items for locals as well as tourists like canang sari can be purchased.

2. Homemade Fragrances:

Another unique thing at the Central Market is the plethora of available fragrances. One can choose from a wide variety of natural scents, essence, cologne, and even soaps. If one is on the lookout for natural perfumes, do pick out some of these homemade fragrances. However, do not start purchasing at the first shop that one comes across and check the prices in some other stores to get the best rate.

3. Picture Frames:

The beauty of a picture is enhanced if it is placed in an even more beautiful frame. At the Central Market, one will find some great pieces of the beautiful artwork on the picture frames which complement the décor of the home as well as the photographs.

4. Silver Jewelry:

The Central Market is a place to find some attractive and beautiful crafted jewellery; but, it requires a practised eye to know if one is getting value for money. However, after some careful examination and search, one is sure to find some fantastic pieces of artwork here.

5. Clothing and daily use items:

Here one will find many everyday items which are available on the island like beach clothes and shirts with 'Bali' printed on them. However, the main highlight is the ikat woven skirts and bohemian skirts of satin. There are also daily use authentic items to oomph the home décor like Moroccan-style oil lamps, quilt-stitched batik camisoles, and so on.

Tips while shopping in the Central Market

The best time to buy is during the morning to get an easy walkthrough, avoid crowds and getting a reasonable price on the items.
The Central Market offers some of the most authentic pieces of artwork as compared to the nearby markets at Monkey Forest Road, with a higher artistic value than any other market in Bali.
There is no set price, so one can haggle and bargain to obtain the best price.
We also advise tourists not to purchase from the first shop that one comes across and check prices in other stores so that there is some levelling ground while haggling.