Asia - Anything to do in Brunei Airport

i potentially have a 10 hour stop over in brunei airport (during the day) and am somewhat dreading it. does anyone know if there is much to do there as i really don't fancy sitting on an uncomfortable chair for that length of time.

Welcome to Flyer Talk sharktooth :)

For 10 hours I would definitely head into the city (not far away, and choice of bus or cab to get there) and explore. There really is little to see and do in the airport (a couple of cafe/restaurants and souvenir shops is about it), and the terminal can get crowded and noisy at times.

Yeah, I'd also try to get out. BSB is pretty compact, and seeing the water village or the huge Mosque is pretty easily done. If memory serves, all the museums were free, too.

i potentially have a 10 hour stop over in brunei airport (during the day) and am somewhat dreading it. does anyone know if there is much to do there as i really don't fancy sitting on an uncomfortable chair for that length of time.


See if you can contact the Sultan. He might even take you where you need to go on his private jet: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/AWA1/501-600/walk573_SultanBruneiAirplane/walk573.htm
It looks much more comfy than any flight I've ever been on.

If that doesn't work, see the sites. :p

See if you can contact the Sultan. He might even take you where you need to go on his private jet: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/AWA1/501-600/walk573_SultanBruneiAirplane/walk573.htm
It looks much more comfy than any flight I've ever been on.

If that doesn't work, see the sites. :p

More proof that money will never buy good taste. That has to be the most ridiculous bathroom I have ever seen.

More proof that money will never buy good taste. That has to be the most ridiculous bathroom I have ever seen.


Heaven forbid if something happened to that plane. The solid gold sink basins and commode handles would likely be stolen from the rummage. Im sure looters would have a field day in that scrap pile.

I visited BSB for a few days last November. There is essentially nothing of interest at the airport so you definitely want to head into town. If you are coming from Singapore, Singaporean dollars are interchangable with Brunei dollars. There is a money exchange at the airport and ATMs around town.

IIRC there is a bus that makes the airport to downtown BSB run or you can easily hire a taxi. Downtown BSB is very compact and walkable.

The Yayasen Shopping Center isn't a bad location to be dropped off downtown; from here you can walk over to the jetty and hire a boat to take a ride through the Floating Village. Or you can walk in the other direction over to the Grand Mosque. The Royal Regalia Museum (free) is also downtown - gifts and treasures from the Sultan's collection and lots of photos of him and his family.

I have a six hour layover at Brunei Airport (Bandar Seri Begawan) as well, on the way to KK. I'll definitely follow the suggestions here. But does anyone have a rough idea how many Brunei dollars I should carry before I arrive? I'll probably bus around and grab a dinner. I understand the Brunei currency is linked to Singapore's, but I imagine the exchange options at the airport aren't exactly 1:1 ...

But does anyone have a rough idea how many Brunei dollars I should carry before I arrive? I'll probably bus around and grab a dinner. I understand the Brunei currency is linked to Singapore's, but I imagine the exchange options at the airport aren't exactly 1:1 ...
No, Brunei and Singapore currency are fully interchangeable -- not only can you use Sing notes anywhere in Brunei at 1:1, but you can use Brunei notes anywhere in Sing! ^

Budgetwise, S$/B$100 should be plenty for taxis to/from the airport and a decent meal.

Please continue this discussion in the Asia forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

I also suggest heading into town to Yayasen Shopping Center. There are a couple of good restaurants there (I especially enjoyed dinner at the Indian restaurant on the ground floor). Don't miss a boat ride through the floating village; just walk towards the river and you'll be approached by guides in boats offering tours. The mosque across from the center is also worth a looksee; non-Muslims may enter the sanctuary only during certain visiting hours but I believe you can pretty much walk the grounds anytime the mosque is open. The Royal Regalia museum absorbed a couple of hours of my time but depending on the heat and humidity you might want to take a taxi from the shopping center to get there rather than walk.

Thanks very much for the tips! I'll simply change for some SGD before I leave. I probably won't have enough time to visit the museum. It should be interesting to compare oil-rich Brunei to its neighbor, Kota Kinabalu. At least, I hope so. :)

Will report back soon.

One of these transit tours (http://www.bruneiair.com/promotion/transit/index.asp) may be worthwhile. But since I'm stopping over by myself, probably not...