Port Moresby's retail runs from stilt markets built over the sea to an air-conditioned mega mall on Waigani Drive. Bilum string bags, Sepik carvings and single-origin Highlands coffee are the buys; small kina notes and a trusted driver are the tools.
The capital's largest open-air market, trading 06:00–17:00 daily, where Highlands women sell hand-knotted bilum string bags in dyed wool and kumbu bark fibre alongside kaukau, buai and Morobe pandanus mats. Cash only.
A timber market on stilts over the harbour at Koki, busiest when Motu canoes land their catch. Past the reef fish and mud crabs, stalls sell Hiri-trade clay pots, coconut-shell spoons and strands of shell money from Central Province.
A warehouse-scale artefact dealer in Gordons stacked floor to ceiling with Sepik crocodile carvings, Chambri spirit masks, Trobriand ebony bowls, kundu drums and Bougainville upi hats. Staff handle crating and export paperwork.
Boroko's pedestrian shopping square, where footpath traders spread bilums, pandanus baskets and beaded meri blouses in front of the arcade shops. Prices sit below Gordons because vendors are clearing the day's stock before dusk.
Papua New Guinea's largest mall, opened 2010 on Waigani Drive, with roughly 40 tenancies over two levels: RH Hypermart, fashion chains, a Paradise Cinema and jewellery counters selling South Sea and black-lip pearls.
The waterfront precinct in the old Steamships wharf sheds holds Duffy Cafe, which roasts Eastern Highlands arabica on site and sells retail bags, plus Stop & Shop for Sepik vanilla pods and Lae Biscuit tins to take home.
The flagship of PNG's oldest homewares retailer, founded 1958, mixing imported kitchenware with locally designed pieces: bilum-pattern cushions, Motu-motif table linen, Ramu sugar gift packs and framed contemporary PNG prints.
The arcade beside the Vue restaurant at Airways Hotel on Jacksons Parade carries the city's most curated selection: bilum-weave clutches by Highlands cooperatives, pearl jewellery and small gallery-grade carvings, all fixed-price.
Held on the last Saturday of the month along the Ela Beach foreshore, this is the one day artisans from Milne Bay, Sepik and the Highlands sell directly: tapa bark cloth, kina-shell necklaces, carved paddles and screen-printed laplaps.
The Motu-Koitabu village built on piles along the harbour west of Downtown, where families sell shell jewellery, woven armbands and Porebada-style pottery from front verandahs rather than shops. Arrange a village host first.
The best-stocked supermarket for edible souvenirs: whole-bean Sigri and Kongo estate coffee from Wahgi Valley, Sepik vanilla pods, Ramu brown sugar, Trukai rice packs and Paradise biscuits, all at shelf prices instead of hotel markups.
The departures concourse carries a PNG Arts kiosk, a duty-free counter and a small bookshop stocking Michael Somare's writings and Papuan cookbooks — the last chance for bilums, but at roughly double Gordons Market prices.