Markets in Goa, day by day: Mapusa, Anjuna and the Saturday night bazaar
Goa shops to a weekly rhythm: Mapusa's town market at its liveliest on a Friday, Anjuna's flea market by the sea on Wednesdays in season and a bazaar by the Baga river on Saturday nights.
On this page
In short
- Mapusa market is open every day, and I'd go on a Friday, when it's liveliest: spices, Goan chouriço sausages, cashews, fruit and sweets.
- Anjuna flea market runs on Wednesdays in season: clothes, crafts and jewellery by the sea.
- On a Saturday night, go to Mackie's night bazaar by the Baga river, from November to April, once you've confirmed it's on that week. Ingo's at Arpora has not reopened since COVID.
- Panjim and Margao keep daily covered markets for fish, fruit and spice.
- UPI works almost everywhere, but keep cash for markets, and bargain gently at the flea markets.
Goa's markets run on a weekly rhythm. Mapusa's town market is open every day and at its liveliest on Fridays. Anjuna's flea market is on Wednesdays in season, and Mackie's night bazaar by the Baga river runs on Saturday evenings from November to April. The famous Saturday Night Market at Arpora, Ingo's, has not reopened since COVID.
The guide I give my guests ties each market to its day. This piece does the same, with room for what to buy and how to bargain, and for the Saturday market people still ask about. If you're shaping a week around them, Wednesday in Anjuna and Friday in Mapusa are the fixed points, with Mackie's on Saturday evening if it's on.
Goa's markets, the week at a glance
Three days are fixed: Wednesday for Anjuna, Friday for Mapusa at its peak and Saturday evening for Mackie's. Everything else opens daily, so Panjim and Margao fit any morning you have spare.
| Day | Market | Where | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every day | Mapusa market | Mapusa, North Goa's market town | Liveliest on Fridays |
| Wednesday | Anjuna flea market | Near the beach at Anjuna | In season only |
| Friday | Mapusa's big market day | Mapusa | Vendors come in from the villages |
| Saturday evening | Mackie's night bazaar | By the Baga river | Nov to Apr; confirm it's on that week |
| Saturday evening | Ingo's night market | Arpora | Not reopened since COVID |
| Every day | Panjim and Margao markets | The two cities | Covered markets for fish, fruit and spice |
Mapusa, best on a Friday
Mapusa is North Goa's market town, and its municipal market, built in 1960, was the first planned market in Goa. It has more than a thousand shops in five blocks, grouped by what they sell, and it's open every day.
Friday is the day to go. Vendors come in from the surrounding villages with what they grow and make, and the whole market lifts. Mapusa is also the nearest big town to Siolim, where Rivara sits, and the hub for the buses, so it's an easy morning out.
Mapusa market
Open every day, liveliest on Fridays: spices, Goan sausages, cashews, fruit and sweets, alongside pottery, seedless tamarind and straw hats.
Go in the morning, before the heat, with small notes for the stalls.
Photo: Aaron C, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons- Goan chouriço: spiced pork sausages, the ones that go into a sausage pão.
- Spices: for the recheado and xacuti you ate the night before.
- Cashews and fruit: Goa grows its own cashews, and the villages bring in what's in season.
- Seedless tamarind, pottery and straw hats: all sold here, and all easy to carry home.
- Feni, if you want a bottle to take home: Goa's own spirit, from cashew or coconut, and strong at about 43%. Taste it first in an old tavern; the cashew stills only run from late February to mid-May.
If you'd like to taste before you buy, the dishes behind these ingredients are in what to eat in Goa.
Anjuna flea market, on Wednesdays
Anjuna joined the hippie trail in the late 1960s, and its Wednesday flea market still carries some of that spirit: a day market near the beach, with goods from all over India. It runs in season only.
Go in the morning, before the heat, and give yourself time to wander. Ask the price before you fall for anything.
Anjuna flea market
Clothes, crafts and jewellery near the sea, spread out through the day.
Carry cash, and bargain with a smile.
Photo: Alexey Komarov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThen stay on for the evening. Anjuna's cafés and beach restaurants make an easy sunset, and outdoor music here stops at 10 PM.
Saturday nights: Mackie's, and why not Ingo's
Ask about Goa's Saturday night market and you'll often hear about Ingo's at Arpora, which ran from 2000 until the pandemic. It hasn't reopened. In August 2023 its organiser told Gomantak Times it was too early to restart, and it was still closed in September 2026. Don't plan an evening around it.
Mackie's is the Saturday night market I'd try instead: evening stalls, food and live music on the banks of the Baga river, from November to April. It's an evening market, so it pairs with dinner rather than breakfast.
Mackie's night bazaar
Evening stalls, food and live music on the banks of the Baga river: the Saturday night market to try in the north.
Confirm it's on that week before you go, and take a taxi back.
For the rest of a Saturday night, see Goa nightlife.
Panjim and Margao, any morning
For the everyday Goa of fish, fruit and spice, go to the covered markets in the two cities. They open every day, and the morning is the time to go.
Panjim market
The capital's busy covered market, for fish, fruit, spice and colour.
Pair it with a morning walk in Fontainhas.
Margao market
South Goa's main town has a covered market full of spice and colour.
Pair it with Braganza House at Chandor on a day out south.
Both fit into longer days: see a day in Panjim and a day trip to South Goa.
A market week, and the monsoon
Three fixed days make an easy week from anywhere in the middle of the north, with the city markets for any morning in between. This is the shape I'd suggest, loosely held.
A market week, loosely
- Wednesday morningAnjuna flea market, before the heat, then lunch by the sea and the sunset from Anjuna.
- Friday morningMapusa market at its liveliest, then a long lunch in Assagao.
- Saturday eveningMackie's night bazaar by the Baga river, if it's on that week, and a taxi home.
- Any morningPanjim's market with a walk through Fontainhas, or Margao's on a day out south.
Bargaining, paying and getting there
Bargain gently. Ask the price first, offer a little less if it feels high and keep it friendly. A fair deal is one both sides are happy with.
More on buses, taxis and scooters in getting around Goa. Then go early, with small notes and a cloth bag, and expect to come home with more spices than you meant to buy.
Questions people ask
Yes: Mackie's night bazaar by the Baga river runs on Saturday evenings from November to April, with stalls, food and live music. Confirm it's on that week. The older Saturday Night Market at Arpora, Ingo's, has not reopened since COVID.
Wednesday, in season. It's a day market near the beach at Anjuna, selling clothes, crafts and jewellery. Go in the morning, before the heat, and carry cash.
Mapusa's market is open every day, but Friday is the big day, when vendors come in from the surrounding villages. Go in the morning for spices, Goan sausages, cashews and fruit.
No. Ingo's Saturday Night Market at Arpora has not reopened since COVID; its organiser told Gomantak Times in August 2023 it was too early to restart, and it was still closed in September 2026. Go to Mackie's on a Saturday instead, once you've confirmed it's on.
Often, yes: UPI works almost everywhere in Goa. Still, keep cash for markets, small shops and ferries, just in case.
Goan chouriço sausages, spices, cashews, fruit and Goan sweets, plus seedless tamarind, pottery and straw hats. Friday is the best day, when vendors bring in what they grow and make.
Sources and checks
- The House of Nivak guest guide (facts checked 27 Sep 2026)
- Mapusa Municipal Market, Wikipedia
- Goa's Saturday Night Bazaar yet to regain pre-Covid zest, Gomantak Times (4 Aug 2023)
- Anjuna, Wikipedia (the hippie trail and the flea market)
Opening days, prices and seasonal rules change. I check them before every update; please confirm anything time-sensitive before you go.
