Bali is not only a paradise to start surfing but also for shopping. If you don’t come here to shop, you’ll probably end up with something you cannot resist to buy. There are many different kind of shops where you can buy your cute small souvenir until a fancy designer dress. In Kuta there are several big shopping malls where you can buy everything you want. Besides the shopping malls, there are also a lot of boutiques, especially in the Ubud area and in Seminyak, where you can buy high-end fashion or handcrafted art, wood- and stone carvings or silver and gold jewellery.
In Kuta, and all other touristic places in Bali, there are many small stalls where they sell many imitation hats, shirts, football jerseys, sunglasses and many more. If you like that, poppies 1 and 2 and Legian street are the ideal streets. Between the many restaurants, bars and clubs there are many shops where you can buy your imitation Ray Ban Clubmaster or FC Barcelona shirt for a cheap price. Don’t forget to bargain. They like to negotiate about the price because they know the first price they give is too high. You don’t have to be scared to bargain, it’s a game where you and the salesman both end up as winners. He will get a good price for his product and you will have your souvenir for a few dollars.
If you want to buy something from the real brand, it isn’t that much cheaper than in Europe but it’s still cheaper. There are many official stores from surf brands, fashion, skin care, make up, electronics, but you wont find them always down the street. Some of the stores are in one of the many shopping malls that are places all over Kuta. Close to Odysseys Surf School is Beachwalk Shopping Mall. This mall is opened in 2012 and is the biggest shopping mall project in Bali so far. Beachwalk has everything you need. There are many different kind of international stores for fashion like Armani Jeans, Zara and Pull & Bear. For kids there is the Amazing Kuta playground area if they don’t want to go shopping with you. There is a whole food court where you can gain extra energy for some more shopping. Many international restaurants are there together under one roof so you can choose whatever you want. When you need a haircut or your nails done, its all possible. There is even a cinema where you can watch the latest movies! The big mall offers parking place for a thousand cars so even parking isn’t a problem.
Besides Beachwalk there is also the Discovery Mall in Kuta, located more in the center. This mall has also a lot of shops like the Beachwalk Mall but is a bit smaller but has more outlets so can you can score your favorite brand for a cheap price! What makes the difference is that Discovery Mall host special events like fashion shows and auto modification contests. Across Discovery Mall is the famous Waterbom waterpark, where you can cool down after some intense shopping.
If you don’t like to shop in a mall there is also Kuta Square, which is located 50 meters away from the beach. Kuta square is designed in boulevard style and packed with a lot of international and local brands. You can shop for fashion, sportswear, and a new watch or have some dinner in one of the restaurants or fast food chains. There is a big department store called Matahari. This is a local department store where you can buy everything for him, her and the kids. The nice part about this department store is that most of the brands are local.
If you go more in the direction of Tuban, you will find the Lippo Mall. This mall opened in 2014 and has three main retail levels where you can find everything from fashion for him, her and kids to electronics and memory cards. The mall has a small food court where you can eat different types of food. For the kids is there an Amazing Kuta playground as well.
These are the places to go in Kuta if you want to score some souvenirs, watch a movie or have some dinner. The malls have all large opening hours, from 10am until 10pm. If you have bought some nice souvenirs and you want it to share it with us, don’t be shy! We would like to hear about you experience about shopping in Kuta. Just leave a comment or come to the Odysseys Surf School office!