Shopping in Java

Java’s main tourist centres- Surabaya, Bandung, Jakarta and Yogyakarta- are the best places for shopping; these are the places where you’ll find the greatest variety of handicrafts and indigenous arts- but often at fairly high prices.

If you want to get really good bargains, you should head for the places where these handicrafts are actually produced. Batik (which is easily Java's best known craft), for instance, has centres in Yogyakarta, Pekalongan, Surakarta and Cirebon, while Yogyakarta is also known for the exquisite silverware you can buy there. Other than these, you can buy paintings, woodcarvings and local fabrics all over the island.