First trip to Brunei: two nights, entry, rules and costs

Bandar Seri Begawan, Kampong Ayer and Temburong: what a first visit holds

Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB from here on) is a low-rise capital on the Brunei River, and three buildings set its tone. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, completed in 1958, raises its gold dome and Italian marble columns over a lagoon where a replica of a 16th-century royal barge is moored. The Jame' 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, built in 1994 for the Sultan's Silver Jubilee, is the country's largest mosque, with 29 golden domes marking the Sultan as the 29th ruler. The Royal Regalia Museum greets visitors with the golden chariot that carried the Sultan through the streets at the Silver Jubilee in 1992.

Across the river lies Kampong Ayer, one of the largest water settlements in Southeast Asia: houses on stilts joined by wooden walkways and bridges, home to a community that has lived on the river for more than a thousand years. Wooden water taxis cross to it from the waterfront. Our Bandar Seri Begawan guide has the sights in detail and where to sleep.

Temburong is the eastern district, cut off from the rest of Brunei by a strip of Malaysia and reached by road over the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge. Its Ulu Temburong National Park covers 46,210 ha and is regarded as one of the best-preserved rainforest areas in Borneo, home to Bornean gibbons and several kinds of hornbill. Day trips take a traditional longboat upriver to a canopy walk 50 metres above the ground and, when the river and the weather allow, a waterfall.

Two nights in BSB cover the city at an easy pace. If you want Temburong too, add a third night: the forest day fills most of a day, and squeezing it in beside the city day leaves too little time for either.

Two nights in Bandar Seri Begawan, and a third for Temburong

Brunei International Airport (BWN) is about 15 minutes' drive from the city centre, so the arrival and departure days lose little time. Plan the city day for Sunday to Wednesday: the mosque and both museums are open, and BorneoGuide, which runs the guided city day, changes its itinerary on Thursdays and Fridays for mosque closures.

• Day 1: land at BWN and take a taxi from the rank: the airport's fixed fares on the tourism board's list are BND 20 per taxi to most hotels in and around Bandar Seri Begawan from 06:00 to 18:00 and BND 25 from 18:00 to midnight, and BND 25 and 30 to the downtown hotels such as The Brunei Hotel and Radisson. Dart cars meet arrivals at the P2 car park, with a fixed BND 3 airport surcharge on the fare shown in the app and BND 2 more for over two bags. In the evening, walk round the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and its lagoon and along the waterfront as the heat goes out of the day.
• Day 2: the city day. A guided day suits a first visit because it bundles the boat, the museums and a home visit: BorneoGuide's Brunei Essentials day (from BND 145 per person, minimum two, about seven hours) collects you from your hotel and takes in the morning market, the Jame' 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, a photo stop at the Royal Palace, the Malay Technology Museum, lunch, the Royal Regalia Museum, a water-taxi ride round Kampong Ayer with tea and local snacks in a private home, and the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. On your own, museum tickets are BND 5 (Royal Regalia) and BND 3 (Malay Technology) per non-resident adult, and water taxis charge BND 2–5 a ride, agreed before you board. In the evening, take a taxi to Gadong night market for dinner at its food stalls; our Bandar Seri Begawan guide has the details.
• Day 3: fly out, or continue by road to Miri in Sarawak; the Brunei from Sabah and Sarawak itinerary covers the border and the onward legs.
• With a third night, Temburong: BorneoGuide's Ulu Temburong day costs from BND 150 per person (minimum two) and includes the park guide, the park entrance fee and lunch. It starts at 09:00 at Sumbiling Eco Village, an eco lodge in an Iban community on the Temburong River, and lasts about five hours. The operator's return car from BSB costs BND 100 per vehicle for up to three people and the road takes about 1.5 hours, so expect to leave BSB at about 07:30; the operator says there is no public transport from BSB to Temburong. The day costs from BND 400 for two.
• In the forest and on the river: go into the rainforest only with an official guide, check there are life jackets for every boat passenger and keep your hands inside the boat, as saltwater crocodiles live in the rivers around BSB.

What two nights cost, all in

These are totals for two adults sharing a room for three days and two nights in BSB, arriving before lunch and leaving after lunch, on weekdays outside Ramadan, with prices checked on 29 October 2026: about BND 70, 130 and 150 per person a day. They include the room, every meal, bottled water, the airport runs and town taxis, museum tickets, two tourist SIMs and a 10% buffer. The standard-room level sees the city on your own, with a water taxi to Kampong Ayer and back, as our Bandar Seri Begawan guide describes. The other two take the guided city day, BND 290 for two with its lunch; its inclusions list the stops but not museum tickets, so every level counts BND 8 per person for the two museums. Our Brunei trip cost guide builds the same model line by line.

The rooms are a standard, superior and executive double in one hotel on Jalan Tutong, a short taxi ride from the centre, at starting rates of BND 98, 115 and 160 a night; the budget covers breakfast separately. Each person has two breakfasts, three lunches and two dinners, the everyday food of Gadong's cafés: roti and tea for about BND 2–4 in the morning, chicken biryani for BND 5 or mee goreng for BND 4.50 later in the day, and rice plates for BND 6–8 with the dearer rooms, with tea or iced drinks at about BND 1. Bottled water is counted at about BND 1 a person a day, the price of the cheapest drink on the café menu. Getting around means the hotel's free airport shuttle on the standard-room level, or the BND 20 airport taxi each way with the dearer rooms, plus four short daytime rides in town at about BND 6.70; on your own you add two evening rides at about BND 10 and the water taxi at BND 5 a person each way, the top of the published BND 2–5 a ride. The guided day costs from BND 145 per person, and each SIM is DST's BND 15 tourist pack.

Royal Brunei Airlines flies from London Heathrow; on 1 November 2026 its fare page listed economy returns from GBP 746, subject to availability. Allow about GBP 750–900 per person, which is BND 1,280–1,540 at the European Central Bank rates of 29 October 2026. A Temburong day with a third night adds about BND 600 for two with a superior room: BND 400 for the tour and the car, plus the room, a day's meals and the buffer.

Entry: visa, E-Arrival card and passport

The Brunei Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists every nationality's visa category at mfa.gov.bn, and most European travellers need no visa:

Canada is the one row where Brunei's own pages disagree: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' central visa list places Canada among the countries allowed up to 90 days, while the embassy in Washington lists 14 days. Plan a stay of up to 14 days on a Canadian passport, or ask a Brunei mission before booking a longer one.

Fill in the E-Arrival card at imm.gov.bn before you arrive; it may be asked for at check-in. It applies at airports, ferry terminals and land borders alike: you register an account with a one-time password, enter your passport, travel and accommodation details and receive a reference number, worth carrying printed. Travellers who stay airside and do not pass through immigration need no card. Complete the health declaration too, before or on arrival, through the BruHealth app or an online form.

Your passport should be valid for at least six months on arrival (UK advice for British passports; Brunei asks the same of visa applicants), undamaged and with no missing pages. Never overstay: the penalties include detention and caning. From the age of 9 months, a yellow fever certificate is needed if you arrive from a country with a risk of transmission or after more than 12 hours in transit through an airport in one. There is no limit on the cash you bring in or take out, but BND 15,000 or more, or the same in foreign currency, must be declared on a CBNI declaration report, handed to Customs on arrival or to Immigration before you leave; an incomplete or false report can bring a fine of up to BND 50,000, up to three years in prison or both.

Customs: alcohol, cigarettes and what to declare

Alcohol is not sold in Brunei. Non-Muslim visitors aged 17 and over may bring in two bottles of liquor (1 litre each) or up to twelve 330 ml cans of beer, declared to customs on arrival, for their own use in private, and again only 48 hours after the last import. These are the Royal Customs and Excise Department's limits; Brunei Tourism's summary says over 18, and two bottles and twelve cans. Declare in the Customs.BN app before you land or at the terminals at the customs check, and keep the liquor declaration form with any unfinished alcohol.

Drink only in your hotel room or another private place. Never drink in public or with Muslim Bruneians, and never give alcohol to them; the imported liquor may not be given, sold or passed to anyone else.

Tobacco is not sold in Brunei, and there is no duty-free allowance: every cigarette you bring in must be declared and pays BND 0.50 in excise duty, so bring none. Smoking is banned in many public places, including shopping and eating areas, bus stops and car parks.

Fridays, Ramadan, dress and the law

Shops and restaurants close from midday to 2 pm on Fridays for prayers. During Ramadan, eating, drinking and smoking in public in daytime is forbidden, also for non-Muslims, and restaurants serve takeaway only during fasting hours. Breaking the daytime rule can bring a fine of up to BND 4,000, up to a year in prison or both, while eating in a private room out of public view is allowed. Ramadan moves with the Islamic calendar: in 2027 it is expected from about 9 February to 9 March, with Hari Raya from about 10 March; moon sighting sets the exact days (see festivals and events in Brunei).

Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the festival that ends Ramadan, changes a visit too. Most shops and restaurants close for its first three days, while Istana Nurul Iman, the Sultan's palace, opens to the public on one of the few occasions in the year, with a long queue and modest dress that covers the arms.

Fridays shape the sightseeing as well. Brunei Tourism lists the Jame' 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque as open to visitors from 08:00 to 11:30 and 14:00 to 15:00, Saturday to Thursday, and closed on Fridays; the Royal Regalia Museum opens 09:00–17:00 from Monday to Thursday and on Saturdays and 08:30–16:30 on Sundays, and like the Malay Technology Museum it is closed on Fridays. The Malay Technology Museum lists opening hours for Sunday to Thursday only. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is best seen from its lagoon and gardens.

Dress conservatively: cover shoulders, knees and cleavage, men should skip shorts, and avoid yellow, the Sultan's colour. In mosques women cover head, shoulders and knees, everyone removes their shoes and keeps quiet, and some mosques lend robes and shawls. Keep affection out of public view, and do not offer to shake hands with someone of the opposite sex unless they offer first.

Brunei applies the Syariah Penal Code alongside common law, and several of its offences also apply to non-Muslims. Same-sex sexual activity is criminalised, and drug offences can carry the death penalty, although executions are under an indefinite moratorium. Adultery and closeness in private between an unmarried man and woman are illegal if one of them is Muslim, and public criticism of the Sultan and royal family may lead to legal action. The UK and German travel advice set out these points.

Everyday crime is low, with occasional petty theft, and France keeps the whole country at its normal level of vigilance. Check your own government's travel advice too.

Money: Brunei dollars, Singapore dollars and cards

The currency is the Brunei dollar (BND, written B$), pegged at par to the Singapore dollar. Banks in both countries exchange the two currencies one for one without charge, but the central bank (BDCB) points out that shops and money changers are not obliged to take Singapore notes, so carry Brunei dollars for small purchases. On 29 October 2026 the European Central Bank's rates put GBP 1 at about BND 1.71 and EUR 1 at about BND 1.43.

Cards are widely accepted, and cash machines in shopping centres take Visa Plus and Mastercard Cirrus cards. Keep small notes for market stalls and water taxis.

SIM cards and getting around

All three mobile companies, DST, Progresif and imagine, have booths in the airport arrivals hall. DST's Easi Tourist pack costs BND 15 for 3 GB of data and BND 3 of credit for local calls and texts, valid for seven days from activation; the SIM itself expires after 30 days, and you buy it with your passport at DST's airport branch, to the right as you leave arrivals. Progresif's Tourist Plan also costs BND 15, with 4 GB of data and 30 minutes of local calls.

Grab and Uber do not operate in Brunei; the local ride-hailing app is Dart. Metered taxis charge BND 3.50 for the first kilometre or minute and BND 0.20 for every further 250 metres or 15 seconds, plus BND 3 to or from the airport, BND 8 between districts and 50% from 18:00 to 06:00. Buses cost about BND 1 a ride and run from 06:00 to 20:00, and hire cars cost BND 60–100 a day. A UK driving licence is valid for 90 days.

Getting there: the airport, the Miri road and the Labuan ferry

Brunei International Airport is the gateway. Royal Brunei Airlines, the national airline, flies to 22 destinations across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australia; AirAsia flies in from Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Singapore Airlines from Singapore and Cebu Pacific from Manila.

By road, the main crossing to Sarawak is the Sungai Tujuh border near Miri; Kuala Lurah serves Limbang, and Labu and Ujong Jalan in Temburong lead to Lawas and Limbang in Sarawak, the road used from Sabah. BSB to Miri is about 160 km by road, so the drive and two border posts take up most of a morning; the airport's fixed taxi list prices the run at BND 160 to the Sungai Tujuh border and BND 200 to Miri. At the border you leave Brunei and pass Malaysian immigration, with a Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) filed online beforehand, and Sabah and Sarawak keep their own immigration control, so you get entry and exit stamps there even if you arrive from elsewhere in Malaysia. Check your stamps before you leave the post.

By sea, ferries cross Brunei Bay from the Serasa terminal near Muara to Labuan, towards Sabah; the Brunei from Sabah and Sarawak itinerary has the sailings and fits two nights in BSB between Kota Kinabalu and Miri.