However, any tourist basics are for sale at the shops that line Boracay Main Road and the steadily developed areas behind both White Beach and Bulabog Beach all contain convenience stores and food markets. Sunscreen is particularly expensive but simple products like soaps and bottled water are readily available.
Souvenirs include miniature plastic surfboards and decorations made out of coconut husks and sea shells. The ubiquitous place name t-shirts with various patterns and slogans can be bought off any of the racks at the shopping areas.
Caticlan Ferry
The area around the Caticlan Ferry bustles with activity. It is the main entrance point for new visitors and stock for restaurants and bars and there are a number of stores and cafés here to cater to tourists waiting around for the next ferry. Plenty of touts greet visitors with offers of great accommodation and transfers directly to certain bungalow operations buyer beware.
Boracay Main Road
Everything from souvenirs to bottled water is stocked in the dusty shop fronts that line both sides of the winding Boracay Main Road. The road connects all the main beaches of Boracay so at various points retail options build up depending on the visitor traffic flow.
White Beach
Sun-bronzed tourists stroll among the palm trees behind White Beach at various simple shops selling sunscreen, aloe vera treatments and basics like talc, soft drinks and bottled water. There are some excellent massage places here including a renowned Shiatsu center and some good budget travel agencies.
D'Mall
This shopping mall is partially open air and contains a decent food court and a couple of ATMs. There's also an air conditioned supermarket and quite a few shops selling beach clothes, towels and inflatable toys.
Boracay shopping tips
Stocks are highest during the dry season which runs from November to March. At other times of the year deliveries can be interrupted by cancelled ferry routes that cease operations during inclement weather. Visitors with priority needs regarding any kind of cosmetics or medications would be advised to bring their own supplies with them.
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