The main thoroughfare in Brunei is the Pan Borneo Highway, a joint project with neighbouring Malaysia.
You can get around the country by bus, taxi or hire car. However, public transport is mainly concentrated in and around the capital.
Car rental
Renting a car is one of the best options for getting around Brunei if you want to explore even the small towns and villages.
However, be aware that most of the tourist attractions are in Bandar Seri Begawan, where the DART taxi app works well, or in the rainforests, which can only be reached anyway with an organised trip through a tourist agency.
Renting a car is especially worthwhile if you want to explore the non-touristy part of Brunei and visit the more remote villages.
Where and how to book a car?
Several large multinational car rental companies, namely Avis and Hertz, have a counter directly at Brunei BWN Airport.
You can also try booking through one of the major search engines such as Booking.com or Skyscanner.com, but in Brunei in particular, most car rental companies have most of their capacity set aside for direct booking on their own websites.
Car rental prices in Brunei
The usual price for renting a regular compact car is around 80 bnd for 1 day.
The price is not dependent on the season, but we strongly recommend booking a car well in advance as rental capacities are limited in Brunei.
Traffic and traffic regulations
Driving in Brunei is on the left.
The quality of the roads is very good even outside Bandar Seri Begawan and local drivers are considerate and obey traffic regulations.
Traffic in Brunei is considerably quieter than in, say, Thailand or Indonesia.
On the roads you will normally encounter mainly classic cars. Motorbikes and mopeds are not as common here as in other Southeast Asian countries.
The speed limit on roads outside the city is 80 km/h and 100 km/h on highways.
Signage is very clear and written in both Malay and English.
Taxi, DART mobile app
For getting around cities, and even between cities, the most reliable option is the DART mobile app, which is the local equivalent of Uber or Grab.
Uber, Grab, GoJek, Bolt and other well-known ride-sharing apps don't work in Brunei.
However, DART works on a very similar principle and the app is extremely easy to use.
Car availability is best in the cities of Bandar Seri Begawan, Muara, Seria and Kuala Belait, but you can also use the service from small villages in the hinterland. You just have to allow for a waiting time of over an hour.
However, fares outside Bandar Seri Begawan are very high and you can pay for rides to Kuala Belait, for example, via 100 bnd.
If you want to venture outside Bandar Seri Begawan on your own, renting a car is definitely worth it.
We describe in detail how the DART app works in our guide to Bandar Seri Begawan.
Public transport - buses
Public transport is provided by buses only. There are no trains, trams or metro in Brunei.
Intercity transport outside Bandar Seri Begawan is very sporadic and consists of virtually only two bus routes:
- Bandar Seri Begawan - Tutong - Seria
- 1x per hour.
- approx. 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Fares 2 bnd
- Seria - Kuala Belait
- 1x per hour
- approx. 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Fares 1 bnd
A considerably denser bus network operates in Bandar Seri Begawan and its close surroundings. Public transport in the capital is detailed in our guide to Bandar Seri Begawan.
Boat transport
Although more than 8% of Brunei's land area is covered by water, regular ferries do not operate within the country.
You can only take advantage of an adventure cruise from one of the local travel agencies (such as freme.com), a motorboat service to the Kampong Ayer water village (a 1-minute cruise within the centre of Bandar Seri Begawan) or an international ferry to the Malaysian island of Labuan.
