Boracay’s D’Mall, D’Talipapa and CityMall, The Complete Guide
Boracay’s D’Mall, D’Talipapa and CityMall, each have their own vibe and appealing reasons to visit. Apart from that, it’s also good to know where you can find important amenities, such as the closest ATMs and a local sim card for internet…
So in this guide I’ll describe each of the 3 malls in detail, plus I’ll let you know where to go for the best shopping and dining experiences.
D’Mall: The Center of Boracay
A tour of D’Mall by Reekay from LifeBeyondTheSea
D’Mall is Boracay’s main open-air mall. It’s located in Station 2 in between White Beach and the main road. What I enjoy most about the mall is its street market vibe, which makes it a colorful and vibrant yet laid back place to walk around in.
The mall also has the largest variety of shops and restos in Boracay making it the best place for shopping, and a convenient place to grab a bite in between activities on the beach, or before heading out at night. Basically, it’s where you’ll find almost all things you need in one place.
Finding D’Mall is easy since there are multiple unmissable entrances, both from the main road and the beach.
About the 3 Areas within D’Mall
D’Mall’s points of interest
D’mall is made up of 3 areas that are a bit of a different to one another, these areas are…
Main Street

Main Street is the most beautifully designed part of D’Mall, with shops on either side and benches and palm trees in the middle. You’ll arrive there when you enter D’mall through the main road entrance next to Budget Mart, which is a small supermarket.
Main Street has a large variety of shops, from tasty snack stops to souvenirs, electronics etc.
For more details, click to expand…
The Local Market

The local market street named Palenke is a great place to go if you want to experience the local culture. It’s located about 100 meters south of Main Street and runs parallel to it.
You’ll find lots of little shops selling fruits, veggies and meat there. There are a few regular shops and restos as well, and a supermarket at the entrance.
For more details, click to expand…
The Beach Bordering Area

You’ll arrive at the beach bordering area once you reach the center of D’Mall. It’s a system of paths leading all the way up to the beach filled with restos, souvenir and clothing shops.
You’ll find most restaurants in the northern part, closer to main street, and most souvenir and clothing shops in the southern part, closer to the local market.
For more details, click to expand…
D’Talipapa: The Seafood Market
D’Talipapa is a must-visit for the seafood lover and anyone who enjoys the experience of a bustling local fish market. The unique thing about it is how you buy and order your food…
Instead of just ordering in a restaurant like usual, you first have to buy the seafood yourself at the wet market inside D’Talipapa. Once you’ve purchased your seafood, you can bring it to one of the many nearby restaurants who will then cook it for you for a modest fee.
The seafood restaurants inside D’Talipapa are specialized in cooking seafood, so they have many different preparations available. From grilled to cooked in mango sauce, sweet and sour sauce and many more… If you love seafood D’Talipapa is heaven 🙂
My favorite seafood is medium sized prawns, because they’re both affordable and yummy.
Seafood Restaurants

Plato D’Boracay’s branch in D’Talipapa, picture by Anna from Slightly Astray
Most restaurants inside D’Talipapa offer the same variety of seafood preparations and a cooking fee of around ₱150 (~$3 USD) per 500g. The difference is in their ambience and cooking quality. Here are the 2 that I recommend…
- Plato D’Boracay, D’Talipapa – A higher capacity open-air restaurant perfect for small groups and families. It’s also one of the best places to watch the seafood market in action while you eat, because it sits right next to it.
- Blue Jade Cafe – A smaller, more cozy and quiet restaurant with a warmer ambience thanks to its wooden furnishings. This is my personal favorite. You’ll find it in the small street behind and to the left of Plato D’Boracay.
Souvenir Shopping

While seafood is D’Talipapa’s main appeal, you’ll also find lots of souvenir shops there. It’s a good place to pick up some bargains because there are many so vendors to choose from.
How To Find D’Talipapa
D’Talipapa is located in between White Beach and the main road, about 500 meters south of and a 10 minute walk from D’Mall. It’s accessible via both the beach and the main road…
Finding the main road entrance is easy because it’s indicated with a big sign. The two entrances at the beach are a lot harder to find, because there are no indicators there. So to help you find the two beach entrances I’ll give you some landmarks instead…
The first beach entrance when coming from D’Mall is in between Zucchero Café and Barracuda Bar. The second one is just to the right of Victory Divers Resort and Kalinga Bar. Both entrances are pretty close to each other, so of you miss one you’ll probably find the other.
CityMall: The Modern Shopping Center

CityMall is what you’d expect from a modern air-conditioned shopping center. It’s located in the northern part of Boracay, just past Station 1 at the turn off to Diniwid Beach, and very close to the Fairways and Bluewater Resort. The best way to get there is by tricycle.
It isn’t a large mall, it’s single level, but it has the biggest supermarket on the island, and it’s a convenient option for people staying at the northern end of Boracay to pick up necessities.
For more details, click to expand…
Where To Get Internet & Money
Most people will want internet, and everybody needs money. So in this section I’ll point out the best place to go shop for a relatively stable and speedy internet connection, and the most reliable ATMs to get money from…
Internet

Inside the TechBiz store, your one stop shop for internet in D’Mall
Most hotels offer free WiFi, but it’s often slow. So if internet is important to you I recommend you consider getting internet via other means…
There are 2 mobile internet providers to choose from: Globe and Smart. Which is best depends on the area you’re in. In most places they both have pretty decent coverage though.
Globe also offers 30 minutes of free WiFi along White Beach every day. If you need more than that, or you if you don’t stay near White Beach, you’ll have to buy a sim card from either Globe or Smart. Sim cards are only ₱40 (~$0.80 USD), and internet costs about ₱50 per day (it varies based on the prepaid promo you choose).
To get the strongest internet signal possible I recommend getting a Pocket WiFi, which is a tiny battery powered mobile router for simcards. They have better antennas than smartphones, which can be important in Boracay since there are some areas with a weak signal. You can buy both sim cards and Pocket WiFis at TechBiz in D’Mall.
Money

The 2 BDO ATMs along the main road in Station 3
Each mall described in this guide has at least one ATM, and I describe their locations in the points of interest for each mall above. Sometimes these ATMs get depleted though, especially in the weekends. So then it’s good to know about a few backup ATMs…
The backup ATMs that I recommend are located along the main road in Station 3. You’ll find 3 banks in a row there, so if the ATMs at one bank are depleted you can try the next one. This strategy almost always works for me, even in the middle of the weekend.
To get to those ATMs hail a tricycle and tell the driver to bring you to the BDO ATMs along the main road. Once there you’ll also see PNB ATMs to your right, and an AUB ATM to your left.
As for money changers, you’ll find the best exchange rates on the island at the money changer in the street left of Astoria Hotel in Station 1. In D’Mall you’ll find the best rates at Queen’s Money Changer in the beach bordering area.
General Opening Hours
The shops in D’Mall are generally open from 9am until 10pm, and most restaurants are open from 11am until 10pm. A few outliers are Smoke Resto and McDonald’s which are open 24/7, and there’s Olé Spanish Tapas which is open until 2am.
Most places in D’Talipapa and CityMall are open from 9am till 9pm.
Conclusion & Summary
As you can see there are good reasons to visit all of these malls. D’Mall is the commercial center with the bigger choice of shops and restos, D’Talipapa has the best local seafood experience and souvenir shopping, and CityMall is perfect for when you want a modern shopping environment offering a little more than the basics.