Brunei Water Village Experience

General information

Destination
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Program details

There are two worlds in Brunei - one of development and modernisation and one of tradition. On this Brunei tour, you'll have glimpses of the former and get to fully experience the latter, immersing you deep into local tradition and culture in Brunei.


Your Brunei tour will start with a typical form of local transportation: hailing a water taxi to cross the river. On the other side is the Water Village Cultural and Tourism, museum where you will be taken on a guided tour of the various galleries and given background information on the Brunei water villages you'll be visiting later in the tour.


After this water village introduction, we continue our Brunei tour with more of a river tour by taking another water taxi to get to the water village. Along the way, see the lesser-known side of the Istana Nurul Iman, the biggest residential palace in the world. The palace has up 1,788 rooms and is the official home of His Majesty, the Sultan of Brunei.


Our next stop is the Brunei Water Village, the largest of its kind in the world and a preserved national heritage site. It's an absolute must for anyone wanting to see and experience authentic local life in Brunei.


The village is home to 30,000 residents and has been around for over 1,000 years. Stretching about 8km, it is a self-contained community with schools, police stations, fire brigades, and mosques. The village is actually a cluster of smaller villages, each with their own leader or chief, known as Ketua Kampung. The villages are connected by a complex web of walkways and bridges.


We'll take you on a walking tour of the water village where you can mingle with the locals as they go about their everyday lives. We'll stop and for tea at a local café, which is the best place to really get to know the village and the people who live here.


During the afternoon, the scene at the jetty bustles with life as school children and adults come home from work on water taxis. Join the throngs of people and board a water taxi to return to the city and your hotel as you finish your ultimate Brunei village experience.