Brunei is a small country nestled on the northern coast of the island of Borneo and offers unique experiences for travellers seeking off the beaten path adventures.
It is an oil rich nation, governed by the Sultan of Brunei, a leader in one of the few remaining sultanate countries worldwide.
As a predominantly Muslim country it contains architectural wonders like the stunning Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque with its gold covered dome, and the Moroccan style Ash Shaliheen Mosque. These are only some of the Best Mosques to Visit in Brunei while you’re there.
From the clean streets of Bandar Seri Begawan and the Gadong Night Market, to the “Venice of the East” Kampong Ayer water village and the untouched rainforests of Ulu Temburong, the list of apps below will help you on your travels.
If you’re also backpacking around Southeast Asia, check out what travel apps you’ll need in Vietnam and Indonesia too
TRANSPORT
There are public buses in Brunei, but the information out there can be a little confusing for tourists. A fare is only $1 BND for one trip and you can check the official website HERE for bus routes.
DART
Dart is the only ride sharing app in Brunei and is similar to Uber and Grab in other countries. You download the app and use that to book a car to get you from A to B.
MOOVIT
Moovit is an excellent app to use in Brunei to find out when the public buses are arriving. This should be your go to app when using public buses in Brunei.
TRANSPORT BN
This transport Brunei app has a section to show bus routes and their codes. You can also use it to call a taxi.
ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES
Royal Brunei Airlines is the official airline for Brunei and is the only airline that flies direct from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah Malaysia to Brunei. I recommend downloading this app because when I tried to book my plane tickets on the website, it wouldn’t work. But then I downloaded the app and it worked perfectly. The app allows you to sign up for their loyalty program, manage your bookings and add on baggage and meals.
MAPS
MAPS.ME
Maps.me is one of the best navigation apps and I use it wherever I go for finding unique places to visit and small paths that aren’t shown on Google Maps. You can download a local map to use offline.
GOOGLE MAPS
This app will be your main go to navigation app for general day to day. Although it actually doesn’t have street view anywhere in Brunei, it’s still helpful to direct you to the main sights and find out how many minutes it will take you to walk from A to B. I also use it to find vegan friendly food.
COMMUNICATION
This is the best communication app you’ll need to communicate with your friends and family back home. Sign up with your home phone number and even if you change SIM cards while travelling, it will still keep you signed up as your normal number. You can send video, photos, messages to anyone who also has WhatsApp.
ACCOMODATION
AGODA
All my accommodation in Brunei (and Borneo) was booked using Agoda. I use this app to book majority of my hotels in Asia when I travel. It’s very easy to find hostels or hotels through this app and you can usually choose to pay when you book, or pay on arrival when you check in.
BOOKING.COM
Booking is the other accommodation app I use if I’m searching for hotels. Sometimes places aren’t on both apps so I go back and forth with both of them. I never book direct and I have had no issues at all using Agoda and Booking dozens of times on my travels.
CURRENCY
CURRENCY CONVERTER PLUS
Currency Converter Plus is a very simple and lightweight app to use to work out how much things cost in your own currency. Add it to your Home Screen to use quickly when at a restaurant or a store. It also works offline and doesn’t need signal.
(Download: iOS / Android )
FOOD
HAPPY COW
Happy Cow is the go to app to find vegan and vegetarian friendly food. Unfortunately after COVID, a lot of the places have closed down so it’s still trying to get updated and relies on the public to do that. In Brunei, I would go between using this app and Google maps to find vegan food. Check out my Vegan Food Guide to Brunei too!
