Travel Guide: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei (Where to Stay, What to do in Brunei, Itinerary and a lot more)

Crossing out one Southeast Asian country on my list, I visited BRUNEI Darussalam last September 2019. I was hesitant about the idea at first but luckily I was able to meet a few Bruneians at the Trip of Wonders event organized by Indonesian Tourism. They eventually became my friends. Giving me a few more reasons to visit the country Brunei.

Brunei may not be part of your dream destination for most of the Filipinos that goes here stayed for work. In fact, Filipinos are on the 3^rd as the largest non-locals in Brunei. But there are still a number of things that you can do here. Aside from visiting different famous mosques and ‘architectures’  friends from Brunei told me that exploring their food is one thing this country can offer.

The photo was taken at Jame’ Asr’ Hassnil Bolkiah Mosque in Brunei

Brunei is a very slow-paced, chill country. A person who is accustomed to a fast pace environment would definitely need to adjust in here. We had days that we were just hanging in coffeeshops the whole afternoon and/or just waiting for friends to come.

The people here love tourists and very welcoming. As said by my local friends, they would usually insist to tour visitors around, which is actually understandable, after all, almost everyone here owns a car.

One of the oldest Malls here called Yayasan Complex. Just see that there are almost none people outside.

Honestly speaking, I am not really expecting too much in this place, but I felt curious as to why and how this silent country has been known as the “Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures” and “Abode of Peace.

In this blog, I will be giving you a guide and tips from my first-hand experience if ever you would visiting Brunei. I list down places where to eat, where to stay, sample itinerary in Brunei and more …

Brunei Dollar to Peso Currency Rate

Me, preparing to go out on day 2

I always change Peso to other currencies at the airport (NAIA) just to be safe. For there are some countries that don’t accept Peso. I didn’t really check if Brunei Money Changers do accept peso but anyway the currency in Brunei is Dollar (BND). When I exchange peso to BND, it was priced at 1BND to 38.40 PHP. I decided to just bring BND 105 or equivalent to Php 4,032. 

Budget Allocation 

The Famous Empire Hotel in Brunei, which with a little wit, you could be able to go and tour inside. 

Just like what I’ve said a while ago, I intend to spend only BND 105. Honestly speaking, this amount can already support your stay here, of course, not including the airfare and accommodation.

Here is an overview of the ideal budget you would need to bring on your visit base on my expenses:

• Airfare – Php 3,000  (We got the tickets on sale)
• Accommodation – Php 10,000 (for 3-nights)
• Decent Meal – Php 300 per meal (depending on which restaurant and kind of meal)
• Transportation – Dart base price BND 5 (Php 190)
• Bus Ride – BND 1 (Php 38)
• Attractions – Mostly free

Accommodation in Bandar Seri Begawan

Picking the location for your accommodation is always essential and accessible to whatever things you are going to do in whichever place. Here in Begawan, picking the right location is really important. Even though the whole city can be toured for just a day or two, it is still essential to pick a place that is somehow accessible to other amenities like a convenience store, restaurants, and the likes.

In my visit, I already decided that we should be picking a location within the city center, a place near to almost all of the destinations we are visiting. Honestly, I was torn between picking a hostel near the river or a nicer hotel that is a bit farther. And because we only have a few choices. We decided to pick the latter. That is due to the fact that we also want to just stay at the hotel for quite longer.

We booked at Badi’ah Hotel. It was 10 to 15 minutes away from the airport and is also a few kilometers away from the famous Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Our total rent for our 3-night stay in the hotel is priced at Php 10,000. That includes a buffet breakfast and airport transfers to and from.

Here are the other Accommodations I can suggest.

1. Badi’ah Hotel
2. Venice Lodge
3. Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam

4. Al Afiah Hotel
5. The Brunei Hotel

Booking.com

Transportation / Going Around Begawan

Look at that very spacious road in Begawan. This is taken while I was having breakfast. That Building across is a Hospital. 

True to what is mostly written online, one can tour the whole Brunei for one day. Aside from that, there aren’t many tourist destinations here, the efficiency of traveling (and not having traffic) can bring you from one point to another in less than a few minutes.

Almost every household here got its own cars. Actually, a friend of mine tells me that their family here got 4, and it is just normal here. Hence, public transport isn’t that too many. The only public utility they have here that goes around the area are the buses, which you can ride for only B$ 1 (Php 38). Though on my visit I was only able to see a few of it going around, meaning you might need to spend a few moments spotting one.

At the back of the Yayasan Complex. Some vehicles within this area usually park along the road but still don’t cause traffic. 

Actually, most of the places that you can go here are walkable from our place. But due to the extreme heat, walking would not be advisable. In fact, only a few people do that here.

Yup, there is no other bigger mall here than The Mall in Begawan. 

Grab or Uber isn’t popular here. What they got here is called DART. As to what the Dart Driver told me, DARTs are available 24 hours and they can bring you whenever you wanted to go within Brunei. One of the drivers we have ridden to even said that there was one customer he had that requested to drive them straight to KK (Kota Kinabalu).

Dart ride starts at B$ 5. You can download it on both Android and IOS.

We tried strolling around the city and found out that we were the only ones walking. This is around 7 pm only. 

Sample Itinerary (Whole Day City Tour)

It is true that within a day or two you can already saturate the whole Bandar Seri Begawan. Most of the attractions or landmarks sit just beside each other and most of the time, you would only spend a few minutes to an hour in a place.

Even before my visit to this country, my Brunei friends were already telling me that if I am foodie, I would be able to really enjoy the country for there isn’t much to explore.

Well, true to what they have said, it was a small city and there is no traffic in Begawan (in relation to EDSA), hence you’ll reach your destination right on the dot.

I listed down some of the places you could visit. You can actually do this the whole day, but if you are staying for more than a day or two, you can simply distribute these places so you could be able to have a more relaxing trip.

What to See (Whole Day City Tour):

1. Tamu Kianggeh
2. Royal Regalia Museum
3. Istana Nurul Iman
4. Brunei State Museum
5. Malay Technology Museum
6. Jame’ Asr’ Hassnil Bolkiah Mosque
7. Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
8. Yayasan complex
9. Kampong Ayer / Brunei River Cruise
10. Empire Hotel
11. Jerudong Park
12. The Mall
13. Night Market

An iconic bridge you would be able to see up close when you ride the River Cruise

Called the most Haram place in Brunei for the reason that it is a pork market.

A shot of Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in between pillars

Food + Restaurants to Try in Bandar Seri Begawan

Bruneians love eating and they have a distinct taste when it comes to food. When you visit Brunei, restaurants are one of the most numbers of establishments that you could see here. There are a lot of variety to choose from. They even got popular fast foods here like Jollibee, KFC, and McDonald’s. We actually visited each of these stores and I was surprise to know that they have different menus compared here in Manila.

We drove miles just to visit one of the famous store who sells Nasi Katok, which simply means Chicken and Rice. One can purchase it for a dollar.

I was also able to have coffee in CBTL and visited the famous milk tea house Chatime.

Brunei is a Muslim country hence, expect that most (if not all) restaurants are Halal certified. There are some that are not specially to those that the locals called Haram (which means not clean). I’ve learned that the number of Chinese residents here was expanding hence, their Chinese restaurants that offer pork are also increasing here.

Price range is from BND 5 and up

There was this one restaurant that my famous blogger friend Thanis Lim brought us. It is called Fang’s Kitchen and is located within a pork market called Lim Ah Siaw Pork Market. We were told that locals describe this place as the most Haram place for they deliberately selling pork.

Yam Clay Pot Mee and Bakete Soup

Here are some of the restaurants I tried and visited try and visit:

1. Liho Tea Brunei
2. Sui Heng Chinese Restaurant – try the Yam Clay Pot Mee and Bakete Soup
3. Kaka Restaurant – Famous for its BND 1 Nasi Katok (Chicken & Rice)
4. Rack & Brew
5. Fang’s Kitchen

Other Observations and Useful Tips you should know

1. Brunei got a really hazy weather with very minimal rains.
2. When we visited in September, it was still really hot, best to bring light clothes.
3. Walking is okay but not advisable.
4. Renting a Car in Brunei could be very helpful. But if you got friends, might as well ask them to drive you around instead. By the way, be ready for the right-hand-driving
5. They got a very low to none crime rate. Most of the news I’ve seen in the newspapers were positive news.
6. It is a myth that there are no pork meals here in Brunei, you just need to know where to go.
7. Gasoline here is so affordable it is sold for only half or less a dollar.
8. Most of the establishments here open late and closes early. At around 10’o clock in the evening it would be hard already to find a restaurant that is open.
9. Items in the stores are a bit outdated. They even sell CD cases here.
10. We tried visiting the cinema here. A movie cost BND4 (Php 150+). The cinema is a small theater that relatively comparable to rich man’s home theater. It only got (if I am not mistaken) 7 rows of 10.
11. Filipinos got a huge number of populations here as well, sometimes it is okay to speak Filipino specially if you encounter our kababayan tending stores and restaurants.

With friends Rod Magaru, Brunei’s Famous Bloggers – Thanis Lim and Gzul

Would I recommend for you to visit Brunei?

I actually got a really nice experience here in Begawan, Brunei. Aside from the fact that I was able to connect to some of my friends, I was able to learn and understand their culture. I had a different outlook about the whole place before brought by the different newscast I am hearing about it. But as to how I experience the city, it gave me a different outlook not just about the people but as well as the whole country.

But asking me if I would want to come back again? Hmm maybe not in the near future. For now, my visit was already enough. Would I recommend you to visit Brunei? Definitely, especially for travelers who were able to cross out other nearby countries. But for those people who get to travel only once or a few in a year, I suggest you to try the more exciting countries first.

Will try to update this article if I got a few more info to add. Let me know if you got other suggestions that could help other travelers. Do comment it on the box bellow.