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The Best Things to Do in Brunei
Where is Brunei and How Do You Get There?
Many people would have a hard time identifying Brunei’s location on a world map. With its stunning natural beauty and intriguing culture, Brunei is indeed one of the best-kept travel destination secrets in southeast Asia. You won’t find too many tourist crowds this far off the beaten path, but you will find stunning natural beauty, remarkable architecture, and an intriguing culture.
Brunei is smaller than the US state of Delaware or around twice the size of Luxembourg. Even so, you’ll have plenty of unique things to see and do if you set aside 3 days to visit Brunei.
Pairing a visit here with travel to other countries in the region can work very well. Short, direct flights to Brunei from neighboring Malaysia are easy to arrange and inexpensive. Depending on the time of year, nonstop flights to Brunei are likely to be available from Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, London Heathrow, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, to name a few.
What to Know Before You Arrive
Before we talk about what to do in Brunei, let’s address a few more things you need to know about this country, including what not to do during your stay. Pay attention to this section because it’s important and just might save your life!
Note that Brunei only recently reopened for tourist travel in August 2022. Travelers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter.
It’s a clean, orderly, and strictly controlled Muslim majority country governed in accordance with Sharia law. The sale of alcohol and tobacco are prohibited, as is drinking alcohol in public (you can still imbibe in your hotel room, though). Eating in public during Ramadan and criticizing the sultan are illegal. Possession of pornography is a crime. Homosexual acts are illegal. Possession of drugs is punishable by death.
Exploring Brunei is a bit challenging to do on your own, so I’d recommend getting help from local tour agencies and hotels as needed. For example, the Freme Tour Agency can arrange many kinds of day trips and multi-day trips at reasonable rates.
Here’s a short overview of what to do in Brunei to have an enjoyable and memorable trip:
Overview of Brunei Itinerary
With 3 days in Brunei, you’ll probably want to focus your time on the sights of the capital area Bandar Seri Begawan and the primeval rainforest of Ulu Temburong.
Day 1: Explore Bandar Seri Begawan. Visit Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Kiangeh Market, Malay Technology Museum, Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Empire Hotel and Country Club, Istana Nurul Iman, and Kampong Ayer Water Village.
Day 2: Visit the primeval rainforest at Ulu Temburong National Park. Use Freme Rainforest Lodge as your base for hiking and boating. Visit an Iban longhouse.
Day 3: Continue exploring Bandar Seri Begawan. See Taman Peranginan Tasek Park, the Royal Regalia Museum, and the Brunei History Center.
Now let’s explore this Brunei itinerary in greater detail.
3-Day Brunei Itinerary in Detail
Day 1: Bandar Seri Begawan
Arrival in Brunei
The recently renovated Brunei International Airport is polished and easy to navigate.
You might arrange for a driver to pick you up at the airport. The Brunei Hotel can do so for a reasonable rate if you’re staying there. It’s a short 15-minute drive from the airport to the hotel, which has a cool, gray, elegant lobby. Breakfast here is excellent. The hotel has been known to let people check into their rooms in the morning subject to room availability.
The Brunei Hotel is conveniently located next to the Freme Tour Agency, one of the country’s biggest travel agencies, where you can finalize arrangements for any sightseeing plans. I’d recommend scheduling a half-day city tour of some of the harder-to-reach places in Bandar Seri Begawan for the afternoon.
A bank is also within walking distance of the hotel. There you can withdraw some Brunei dollars (BND). Nearby you can get a good haircut from a barbershop for less than $5.
Spend a couple of hours walking about Bandar Seri Begawan on your own to get oriented and see a few of the sights.
Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
The gleaming white and gold Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, named after Brunei’s 28th sultan, is a good first stop. It’s an impressively large building—big enough to accommodate 3,000 worshippers—surrounded by palm trees, a lagoon, and well-kept gardens. By law, no other building in the capital can exceed the height of its 52-meter minaret. There’s a replica of a large 16th-century barge called Mahligai out on the water here.
Kiangeh Market
Proceed to the Kiangeh Market, which is filled with tropical produce at reasonable prices. Try some. Carrots, string beans, okra, green-skinned oranges, and small bananas are good choices here.
In the afternoon, meet your tour guide for a half-day excursion to see the Malay Technology Museum and Kampong Ayer Water Village.
Malay Technology Museum
Don’t be fooled by the name, you won’t find much about technology inside the Malay Technology Museum. Instead, it’s dedicated to the lifestyles of Brunei’s seven major ethnic groups—Brunei Malay, Kedayan, Bisaya, Murut, Dusun, Belait, and Tutong. The dominant group, the Brunei Malay, are better represented in the country’s government than the rest of the groups.
The museum is spread across three floors. One floor focuses on 19th and 20th century stilt homes and boats of the Kampong Ayer Water Village. Another showcases the village’s tools, such as fish and crab traps and nets and implements for boat making, roof making, forging, and cloth weaving. The last floor features longhouses and traditional Brunei cultural practices, like making and using blowguns. One display shows how locals make a special gelatin called ambuyat from sago pith.
This is one of the few places in Brunei where you might encounter a large tour group, probably from another Asian country nearby.
Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
After you’ve had your fill of the museum, make your way over to the Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, built in 1992 for the 25th year of the sultan’s rule. Admire the building’s 29 golden domes.
Once inside the mosque, you’ll need to lock up your cameras and bags. No photos of the interior are allowed. Female visitors will be expected to wear robes.
You’ll walk across floors covered with Chinese marble and see stairs and fancy fountains made of expensive Italian marble. You’ll see Islamic symbols on the gate painted with gold leaf.
The men’s prayer hall in the mosque is a sight to behold. It’s a massive domed expanse covered with woven rugs and a sweeping dome adorned with Islamic octagonal shapes. It’s illuminated perfectly and dramatically with recessed lighting. Swarovski crystal chandeliers with gleaming golden panels hang from the ceiling.
Empire Hotel and Country Club
From the mosque, drive north to the coast to see the Empire Hotel and Country Club. The sultan’s brother Prince Jefri had it built for over $1 billion and the lobby has a lamp worth $500,000.
Inside the hotel are tall white and gold columns with green marble bases. Even the bathrooms are fancy, with green marble, fancy wood, and plants.
Outside the hotel you’ll find a nice pool, palm trees, and fountains.
Istana Nurul Iman
Proceed to Istana Nurul Iman, the sultan’s 1,788-room residence. Each year at the end of Ramadan, the sultan throws a big party here that lasts for three days. He greets each guest, provides food, and gives each child a few dollars. I can’t tell you what the residence looks like on the inside because I did not visit at the end of Ramadan, so it was closed to visitors.
Kampong Ayer Water Village
The highlight of your day of sightseeing is likely to be a visit to Kampong Ayer Water Village. Welcome to a real life Waterworld. First built more than 1,000 years ago, the water village today houses some 15,000-30,000 people.
You’ll take a speedboat from the pier, zipping past a school, police station, fire station, and numerous homes, all on top of stilts above the water. It’s a remarkable sight.
At the water village, your guide should take you to a house where you’ll be served biscuits, ambuyat, and black tea. The one I visited had many chairs and couches to receive guests. Framed photos and trophies celebrating the owner’s boat racing contests adorned the walls.
Many catfish reside in the waters here, but the locals don’t eat them. Much of the garbage produced here is taken away in small boats, but one wonders about how the water village disposes of bathroom waste.
Bandar Seri Begawan at Night
The area around Saifuddien Mosque comes alive at night. Explore the many food and beverage stalls around here. Here you may also see a Jollibee, a fast food restaurant common in Southeast Asia and known for fried chicken and spaghetti. At one of the stalls you can order a burger with a fried egg that they’ll cook right in front of you.
Day 2: Ulu Temburong National Park
Ulu Temburong National Park and Rainforest is of Brunei’s truly unique places and should not be missed during a visit to the country. This 125-million year old forest is one of the very few places like it left on Earth.
Below I’ll describe what you can do with a guided Freme tour. Alternatively, provide as much or as little from the itinerary below to your tour guide or agency of choice if you’d like to emulate it.
To begin your excursion, travel to the jetty, where you’ll see a massive bridge that connects the capital with Temburong. Take a speedboat and enjoy the 45-minute ride to the port in Bangar. Along the way, you’ll have a windshield tour of Bangar.
Freme Rainforest Lodge
At the Freme Rainforest Lodge, enjoy some tea and snacks. Then board a smaller boat and admire the river on your way to another lodge where you’ll need to register. These are protected lands, and only a small fraction of the rainforest is accessible to tourists.
Soon you can begin a hike through the forest. Be careful in a few of the steep and muddy areas, especially if it’s raining. Plan to arrive at the canopy walkway before noon. The heat and humidity here may be stifling, even in December. Expect to sweat all over.
You’ll come across five towers soaring above the treetops. Scale these and you’ll be treated to some grand views of mist-shrouded forest. The towers are a network of gray, sometimes wobbly bars. Beware of the ferocious ants you’ll see on some of them.
Afterward, return to the ground for the hike back. The bizarre siren-like sound of Bruneian cicadas may fill the air. Along the way you’ll probably see a small waterfall.
Much of the flora in this area looks like how you might imagine prehistoric Earth, with giant palm leaves and strange fork-shaped tendrils of green vegetation in places.
Then return to the Freme Rainforest Lodge for lunch. If you’re spending more than a day in the area, this may be a good place for overnight lodging too. Here I enjoyed a delightful meal of river prawns, fish glazed in a white sauce, mixed vegetables, chicken, beef, and rice. Dessert included papaya, pineapple, and a succulent red pear-like fruit.
After lunch, you’ll have the option of doing some ziplining or just hanging out.
Iban longhouse
Next, visit an Iban longhouse, home to several Iban families. Here you can try on traditional Iban clothing. Taste some interesting, sweet tarap fruit. They’ll crack open a spiny brown skin to reveal lots of white, succulent fruit beneath.
Then return to the Bangar jetty for the 45-minute boat ride back to Bangar Seri Begawan.
Day 3: Bandar Seri Begawan
Taman Peranginan Tasek Park
Early on your third day in Brunei, trek up to Taman Peranginan Tasek, a recreational park that looks like a tamed rainforest. To avoid the worst of the heat and humidity, it’s best to go early in the morning.
Climb up a steep hill to a wooden tower and see the waterfall and another Menara tower.
Exotic tropical trees and plants line winding creeks. The park is worth an hour or so of your time.
Royal Regalia Museum
Then visit the Royal Regalia Museum. You’ll need to remove your shoes and check your bags. No photos are allowed beyond the main room with a chariot and equipment from the sultan’s coronation in 1968.
Most of the museum houses extravagant gifts the sultan has received, mainly from neighbors in the region and provinces of Brunei. Most of these gifts feature lots of gold and jewelry.
A few of the highlights include a giant glittering silvery model of the mosque at Mecca from Saudi Arabia, a tailed demon riding a horse from Indonesia, and a silver teardrop-shaped bowl from the United States.
One display showcases accolades from the sultan’s childhood associates that attest to his intelligence and leadership skills. Another describes his fondness for badminton, football, and rugby.
Another hall showcases the epic chariot from the sultan’s 25-year reign parade in 1992. It’s a long golden vehicle with places for 48 men to move it. The rest of the hall shows the outfits of those who participated in the parade.
Brunei History Center
Proceed to the Brunei History Center. There you’ll find exhibits on ancient Brunei, its golden age, spices, and the tomb of a sultan from the 1400s.
Nearby is the Brunei Library, which isn’t really worth more than a quick look. Its cracked, peeling floors include a poor selection of dated books, such as four copies of a book on typing published in the 1980s.
Return to the hotel and prepare for your next destination.
We hope this has been a useful overview of the best things to do in Brunei, a hidden gem in southeast Asia.