In the event you’re seeking to journey on a finances, Brunei may not be the best choice. When touring in Brunei is in comparison with different locations like Vietnam, it’s costlier. You’ll pay extra for issues like lodging and received’t have the ability to get by on simply $15 a day.
Surprisingly, Brunei is sort of reasonably priced. You will get a meal for $1 and a bus experience in Bandar Seri Begawan prices solely 80 cents per journey. Additionally, there are quite a few free actions and sights to take part in, and even shopping for information on your telephone received’t break the financial institution!
Certainly one of my long-term goals with By no means Ending Footsteps is to supply a complete breakdown of how a lot cash I spent in each nation I’ve visited. With 65 extra nations to go, I’m wanting ahead to focusing my efforts on Brunei.
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As I do each month, this finances breakdown covers my bills for lodging, transportation, actions, meals, and different gadgets whereas touring.
Since flight costs range relying in your location of origin, I’ve not included the price of flights to and from Brunei on this whole. Most individuals arriving in Brunei fly into Kuala Lumpur first; from there Air Asia runs common flights Bandar Seri Begawan for about $51 USD.
As a result of nearly all of my readers are from the USA, I’ve listed my prices in US {dollars} and transformed to Brunei {dollars}. The Brunei greenback is linked to the Singapore greenback and can be utilized interchangeably throughout each nations. I don’t settle for comps, freebies, or press journeys on this web site, so all the things listed right here was paid for with my very own cash. Lastly, these figures are what I paid whereas touring with my accomplice in Brunei. Which means my lodging bills and the price of my boat tour have been lowered by half to point out how a lot I contributed.
The price of accomodation in Brunei
We stayed on the Taman Mawar Guesthouse in Brunei and I can’t advocate it sufficient. The proprietor, Maya, made our journey. She picked us up from the airport, gave us rides into and out of city, purchased us lunch, and launched us to the native night time market. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have loved our time in Brunei as a lot.
The guesthouse is situated a bit outdoors of the town middle, however gives entry to a clear and spacious room with its personal non-public toilet. Additionally, you will have full use of the kitchen, residing space, and washer throughout your keep. The Capital Residence Suites is the best choice for these on a mid-range finances who wish to keep inside strolling distance of all sights in Bandar Seri Begawan. The price for a double room is $64 per night time. For lodging on a good finances, Poni Homestay has dorm beds obtainable for $20 nightly.
The price of Transportation in Brunei
Free transportation is likely one of the many the explanation why I loved my time in Brunei. Not solely was there a free airport switch, however Maya additionally drove us round wherever we needed to go. As well as, locals had been all the time keen to present guests a experience in the event that they wanted it. You could find quite a few accounts on-line from different vacationers who had comparable experiences. In the event you’re ever lucky sufficient to have somebody give you a experience, keep in mind to present them a tip of $3.66 as token of your appreciation (they may not settle for it although).
Whereas public transportation in Brunei isn’t the very best, it’s nonetheless manageable and cheap. There are not any trains, however buses run all over the place besides at night time. Taxis are comparatively uncommon and costlier than different types of transport, so they need to solely be used as a final resort. Nonetheless, for daytime explorations, the bus is affordable at 1 BND ($0.71) per journey.
In the event you’re comfy driving on the left-hand aspect of the highway, hiring a automobile in Brunei is perhaps an choice. Bruneians are well mannered and the roads calm compared to different nations in Southeast Asia, so I wouldn’t fear an excessive amount of about driving there. The value of petrol is round 0.50 BND ($0.37) per litre, and automotive rental begins at 55 BND ($40) per day. Throughout my 4 days in Brunei, I spent a complete of 5 BND ($3.66) on transportation. This contains two bus journeys from Bandar Seri Begawan’s centre to my lodging and a thanks present for an area who gave us a experience.
The price of meals in Brunei
Due to Gadong Evening Market, I discovered consuming out in Brunei to be very reasonably priced. Maya launched us to it on our first night time, and we went again each night for skewered meat and smoothies. We’d additionally seize some rooster and rice to place in our fridge for breakfast the following day. Since the price of most meals gadgets ranges from $1 to $5 BND (0.73 to three.66 USD), it made for some unbelievable low cost dinners. On someday, we ate lunch at Seri Damai Restaurant in Bandar Seri Begawan, a Pakistani restaurant, and my lamb saag dish with garlic naan and lassi price me solely 11 BND ($8).We had a extremely horrible breakfast at Espresso Bean and Tea Leaf one morning because it was the one restaurant that was open and serving meals. For the sake of the worst eggs Benedict I’ve ever eaten plus a cup of tea, I paid $6.80 BND (about $5.00). nTrying ambuyat is likely one of the actions I strongly recommend to company to Brunei! Maya served us dinner, however from wanting on the menu on-line, it seems like a set meal prices $26 BND ($19.00), which is affordable you probably have a gaggle of individuals to share with. I noticed a median of $13 per day spent on meals in Brunei
The price of actions in Brunei is $3,800 per Particular person
Luckily, nearly all of actions in Brunei are free to do. You received’t should pay to go to the Royal Regalia Museum, and exploring mosques is totally free. Strolling round Kampong Ayer with out having to pay for a tour or information is feasible. I splurged on one factor whereas I used to be there: a ship journey alongside the river for 90 minutes price us $22 in whole, together with our driver and boat. We spent half of our time in Brunei recognizing proboscis monkeys beside the river, and the opposite half exploring Kampong Ayer, a floating village. In the event you’re in search of actions to splurge on whilst you’re within the nation, take into account diving—Brunei has surprisingly good dive websites with loads of WWII wrecks to discover and wholesome coral progress because of its location on the sting of the Coral Triangle. The very best opinions go to Poni Divers, and a full-day on the water prices 153 BND ($112). Day-tripping round Ulu Temburong Nationwide Park is one thing you may solely do by a guided tour, which is why it’s such a well-liked exercise. It’s relatively expensive at 153 BND ($112), so I’d advocate doing this journey provided that you don’t plan on seeing any extra of Malaysian/Indonesian Borneo. Throughout the island, the jungle is simply as breathtaking, but it surely isn’t fairly as costly to go to as it’s in Brunei.
