Full Brunei Experience - City Excursion - Water Village and Mangrove Safari

Overview

Available languages

Chinese (Taiwan)

English

9 hours

Mobile ticket

A full day tour introducing you to the symbols of Brunei wealth, faith and identity. Some of the highlights are Royal Regalia, Jame Asr' Hassanal Mosque and the Royal Palace, followed by a beautiful tour through the old and new parts of the Water village perfect for you to discover one of the heritage jewels of Brunei by crossing the Brunei river and strolling the wooden walkways. The safari starts now - the mangroves harbor a various selection of wildlife, such as mangrove cat snakes, crocodiles, monitor lizards and the proboscis monkey. Some of the highlights are panoramic boat tour past Water village, Royal palace and wildlife spotting.

Additional Info

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

A minimum of 1 people per booking is required

A maximum of 15 people per booking

Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

All taxes, fees and handling charges

Lunch

Mineral water

Landing and facility fees

Fuel surcharge

Pick-up/Drop-off from the EMPIRE HOTEL & its vicinity

Visits/Stops outside of the itinerary

Food and drinks beyond those included

Additional services beyond those stated

Free gifts or souvenirs

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Meeting points

Bandar Seri Begawan

Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei Darussalam

End points

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

This package provides you the ideal glimpse to Bandar Seri Begawan’s top sights. You will be greeted in the morning by our friendly representative for your historically filled tour. Your first pit stop will be the Royal Regalia Building in the bustling capital. Enjoy its grandiose exhibits of Brunei’s royal family and life-sized replicas of the Sultan’s life and success. No visit to Brunei is complete without a visit to the majestic Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Dubbed as one of the best in Islamic architecture, this glitter domed mosque is the country’s icon and its sheer grandness resonates. The tour will then bring you to the picturesque Jame Asr Mosque. Built by the current Sultan, this spectacular mosque can fit up to almost 4,500 worshippers. To wrap up your delightful tour, you will stop by at Istana Nurul Iman. Considered the largest residential palace in the world, catch a glimpse of the royal cars passing by if you’re lucky. Relax and enjoy your lunch break before your Brunei discovery continues. Continue to the Water Village which is one of Brunei's heritage jewels, being not only the world's largest settlement on stilts, but also the cultural heartland of the Brunei Malay. The 'village' in its name is rather misleading, as it was the capital and centre of the Brunei Empire until the modernization drive during the Resident's administration (the current city centre only begun being developed around that time). Take a wooden water Taxi ride to visit the Water village gallery on stilt, stroll along wooden walkways with your guide and have a close look at villager's home. In the late afternoon we will bring you into the mangroves. The tropical mangroves are a rich repository of numerous species of trees and other plants but they are perhaps most well-known for harboring an interesting selection of wildlife, such as mangrove cat snakes, crocodiles, monitor lizards and the most curious of all, the proboscis monkey. Endemic only to certain parts of Borneo, these monkeys became known for their bright-orange brown coats, long white tails, and the protruding noses on the adult males. Head into the mangrove wilderness in an open boat for an adventure to spot these, and perhaps even more! Short Itinerary & highlights • Pick-up from hotel lobby • Visit Royal Regalia Building • Stop at Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque • Visit Jame Asr' Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque (Thursday & Friday closed for inside visit)· • Stop at 'Istana Nurul Iman', the Royal Palace • Lunch (approx. noon) • Panoramic boat ride to Water Village • Visit Water Village Gallery • Stroll from Village to village on wooden walkway • Panoramic boat ride past Water Village and back of Royal Palace • Wildlife spotting in the mangrove forests • Return boat ride • drop-off

Options

Full Brunei Experience - City Excursion - Water Village and Mangrove Safari

Pickup included

Reviews

4.69

16 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Must Do!
Lauren G,
Nov 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Absolutely incredible tour! I truly loved every moment of it from start to finish. It was great going into the mosques, just a note that if you’re a woman, the mosque will give you robes to enter, no matter your attire but it’s best to dress conservatively to respect the current culture. The lunch restaurant was a perfect way to try local cuisine. The water village and boat tour were also highlights. I was able to see monkeys, the gigantic lizard, and a crocodile. My guide/driver, Fikri, was so positive, kind, funny and truly has a passion for Brunei.
Must do!
Lauren G,
Nov 24, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Absolutely incredible tour! I truly loved every moment of it from start to finish. It was great going into the mosques, just a note that if you’re a woman, the mosque will give you robes to enter, no matter your attire but it’s best to dress conservatively to respect the current culture. The lunch restaurant was a perfect way to try local cuisine. The water village and boat tour were also highlights. I was able to see monkeys, the gigantic lizard, and a crocodile. My guide/driver, Fikri, was so positive, kind, funny and truly has a passion for Brunei.
Great way to spend a day in brunei
Stephen C,
Nov 7, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Very enjoyable day visiting the highlights of BSB. A wonderful tour guy who was so pleasant and friendly. The highlight was the trip up river to see the monkeys
Beautiful day at the...
Olivier M,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Very nice day to discover Brunei. We had plenty of explanations to understand everything. The homestay visit was perfect. We had the chance to see different animals Thanks to our guide
Best time to spotting monkey late afternoon
michaelgX4283FA,
Sep 12, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had a good experience with the company, we spotted a lot of Proboscis monkey, the tour guide Aziman & the skipper Bibi had so much knowledge about where is the best place to spotting the monkey. Very recommend.
Comprehensive tour!
geed987,
Jun 23, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We saw just about everything there is to see in Brunei on this full day tour. Our guide, Grace, was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We covered a lot of ground in at a good pace. Unfortunately, because of the upcoming holiday, we were not able to enter the mosques, but still took pictures from outside. Lunch was delicious and a lovely location. I loved the boat ride and getting to see the proboscis monkeys!
Super helpful, honest, and graceful
Work2TraveltheWorld,
Nov 13, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This is a review about Bruneian Guide, the tour guide. We were in Brunei on a cruise. We booked the tour via Viator (same company as TripAdvisor) initially. It turns out the tour was only available for pickup at a hotel in town (Bandar Seri Begawan). Also, the timing for the cruise docking isn't compatible with the tour he has. So Bruneian Guide messaged me in Viator indicating as such. But he was so super helpful. Initially he tried to help me find another guide who can accommodate us. But after trying for some time, it turned out everyone he knew was already booked up (the cruise came with 3,000 passengers). Then he tried to just find us a driver (and a car), and actually found a driver for us. Well, at the beginning of the cruise, we ran into a few fellow cruisers who happened to have space in their tour, so they invited us to join. And we decided to join their tour, as with a driver (and a car), we will have to do our own research on where to go. So we asked to cancel. Bruneian Guide was so super graceful, and just helped us cancel with the driver. We can't thank him enough. All in all, he is just a super helpful and honest person. If we return to Brunei, he will be the first we will call.
Experience Brunei !
Michael M,
Jul 22, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
For a stopover in Brunei I had booked this tour and can highly recommend it. Nora and Brian looked after me very well and showed me the short time as much as possible. In addition to the city tour with the mosques, the palace and the market, we also made a nice trip to the mangrove forests and the water village. Many thanks to them for the great day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to do another tour in the surrounding area and get to know the ethnological aspects in the villages. The agency also offers such tours.
Great tour and fantastic guide
Lynn Z,
Oct 17, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our driver Eric was great. His English was wonderful and we had no problem understanding him. He was very knowledgeable about the country and the culture. He made us feel very comfortable throughout the day. The tour was fun and informative. We started at the market, where Eric explained the foods that were specific to the region. I asked him to identify a lot of the fruits and vegetables and he was happy to answer. Eric also explained the local foods at the lunch buffet so that we knew what to expect. We visited two mosques, which were both beautiful and fascinating as I had never been inside one. Eric graciously answered all of our questions about the religion. The river cruise was great. Eric and the boat driver managed to find us a troupe of monkeys, even though I had been told it would be hard to see them during this time of year. We also walked through the water village, which provided us with insight into the local culture. The only thing I would change would be the amount of time we spent at the Royal Regalia Museum. It got a little repetitive after a while, and it was really cold inside! But I am definitely glad we visited as the items displayed were beautiful. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Brunei.
Perfect intro to Brunei
SeanYoong,
Jul 16, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
If you have only one day in Brunei, this is your best bet - a great mix of history and heritage, urban life and nature, all rolled into a fun, convenient and enlightening experience with a very friendly Brunei-born guide!