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Surrounded by the South China Sea, Brunei is tucked between Malaysia’s states of Sabah and Sarawak’s western coast and features over 20 dive sites which are largely shallow reefs rich with unexploited gardens of the marine world. Brunei’s coastline is also dotted with wreck sites including several artifacts from WWII.
Look beneath the surface of this well-ordered and tightly regulated sultanate and you’ll see the underlying warmth of Brunei’s people and the biodiversity of its oceans.
About
travel info
Dive Sites
Dive Centers
Dive Professionals
Map
Weather
About
Number of dive sites : 24
Type of Diving : Guided – boat, deep, drift, wreck
Skill Level : Beginner to advanced
Main Diving Attraction : Historical wrecks, and pristine coral reefs with a distinctive co-occurrence of reef building corals, soft corals, and gorgonian sea fans.
Average Water Temperature : 25°C (77°F) to 28°C (82.4°F)
Seasonality : All year round (Ideal months to go between March to October. Best times to visit according to locals is from mid-May to July when it is the driest)
Typical Visibility : 10m (32ft)
General Current Conditions : Mild to strong
Family / Non-Diver Friendly : Yes
Availability of Other Leisure Activities : Snorkelling, various land tours – trecking at Ulu Temburong National Park, going on the proboscis monkey river safari, visiting the world’s larges royal palace and water village.
travel info
CLIMATE : Tropical climate with average temperatures of around 28°C (82.4°Ffor most of the year. Rainfall occurs the heaviest between September and December.
TIME ZONE : UTC+08:00
CURRENCY : Brunei Dollars (BND) which is on par with the Singapore Dollar (SGD), and widely accepted as equivalent exchange
CALLING CODE : +673
ELECTRICITY : 240V, 50Hz
PLUG TYPE : G (British three rectangular prong type)
True to its status as a hudud-enforced Muslim nation, Brunei is a dry country with no alcohol at all. As with dress codes, discreet, loose-fitting clothing that covers the shoulders and knees is appropriate. When in doubt, dress conservatively. Bruneian values are strongly influenced by Islam, some courtesy to observe include the following:
- Remove shoes before entering mosques
- Do not pass in front of people in prayers
- Do not touch the Qu’ran
- Food and gifts to be passed with the right hand
Primary route is by air to Brunei International Airport (IATA: BWN), located in the city area just 20 minutes by car to the coastal areas of Muara, Brunei.
Brunei treats drug offences extremely severely which carried a mandatory death penalty for trafficking and even posession of small amounts of drugs. You can also be charged for unauthorised consumption as long as traces of illicit drugs are found in your system.
Brunei Malay is the national language. Mandarin and English are also widely spoken.
VISA and Mastercard are widely accepted in commercial areas and supermarkets. Some establishements however may impose a minimum spending limitation.
Tipping is not customary in Brunei. However if you have the means to do so, it can be small token of thanks for good service which could brighten someone’s day.
Brunei has a non-contiguous working week consisting of Monday to Thursday and Saturday. The rest days are Friday and Saturday. By law, everything is closed on Friday from 12noon to 2pm for Friday prayers. Most shopping centres are open daily from 10am to 10pm.
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Visitors must possess a valid passport for at least 6 months past your arrival date into Brunei. Entry will be refused to citizens of Israel. Details on visa regulations are available here (Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Banks generally open from 9am to 3pm on weekdays and 9am to 11am on Saturdays. Some bank branches open daily until late with ATMs and foreign exchange services. Kindly check the websites of the relevant banks for details on operating hours and rest days.
Labuan Recompression Chamber : +6087 412 122 24hr
Dive Medical Helpline : +673 277 1778
Royal Brunei Navy Hotline : +673 277 5143/5000
Police : 993 (Landline)
Ambulance : 991 (Landline)
Search & Rescue : 998 (Landline)
**Note: It is always advisable to have the telephone number and the address of your embassy or consulate with you.
Dive Sites
- Maximum Depth : 10m
- Currents: Low to mild
Froggie Lair
If you enjoy muck diving in search of macro life, this is it! Froggy Lair is popular among underwater macro photographers, and the site is just teeming with marine critters hidden in the seabed and the crevices. When is comes to muck diving, one has to sacrifice on visibility. But search carefully, and you will be rewarded with various nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, mandarin fish, frog fish, crocodile fish, ornate ghost pipefish, stargazers, flamboyant cuttlefish and more! You will need an experienced divemaster with excellent eyes as the main action will not be in the distance, but closer to your mask.
- Maximum Depth : 40m
- Currents: Mild to strong
Lobster Wall
Dive down a slope running down to 20m or so, and you will be greeted by a colorful reef crammed with colorful marine life such as ghost pipefish, clownfish, lionfish, rabbitfish, seahorses, and pufferfish. Take a closer look inside the crevices and you may find its lobster inhabitants. Currents can be strong here depending on the tide, in which case you will drift along the reef keeping an eye out for turtles, peacock mantis shrimps and even a flamboyant cuttlefish.
- Maximum Depth : 40m
- Currents: Mild to strong
Seaventures Dive Rig
To some, the decommissioned oil rig is a bit of an eyesore in the horizon, but it is an absolute treasure throve for divers. Descend beneath its steel structure which varies between 12m and 17m, you will find a whole batch of frogfish in varying hues of red, yellow and black. Pygmy seahorses are almost a guarantee here, living amongst the beautiful gorgonian sea fans. Lionfish number in the dozens, and the tasseled scorpion fish is commonly found too. Perhaps, the highlight of the dive is probably an encounter with “Elvis”, a 3m long moray eel that calls Seaventures home.
- Maximum Depth : 25m
- Currents: Mild
Eel Garden
As its name suggests, there are a large number of garden eels which rise out of the sandy seabed. Spend sometime at the bottom and you may find frogfishes of various colours, giant mantis shrimps, blue ribbon eels and moray eels.
Dive Centers
Borneo Divers Mabul Resort
- Packages from : RM2,901
- Mabul Island, Semporna, Sabah
Founded in 1984, Borneo Divers is the pioneer of Sipadan and the first PADI 5 Star Resort in Mabul Island. Your best choice for dive travelers who seeks the best Sabah has to offer.
Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort
- Packages from : RM2,901
- Kapalai Island, Semporna, Sabah
Exquisite water chalets on stilts above the shallow sandbanks of Ligitan Reef that spans almost a mile long stretching into the horizon offering the purest image of natural serenity.
ND Drivers
- Packages from : RM1,450
- Bum Bum Island, Semporna, Sabah
Dive with the locals, that is their motto. A simple homestay styled dive center with its private house reef offering the best local experience around Semporna.
Seaventures Dive Rig
- Packages from : RM3,600
- Mabul Island, Semporna, Sabah
Looking for something unique? Seaventures is the world’s first oil rig module converted into a dive resort with a PADI 5 Star accreditation to its name with outstanding service and dive quality. Sipadan permits can be guaranteed with minimum stays of 3 nights.
Dive Professionals
OOPS
there are no dive centers here. We will update this listing soon.
Map
Weather
If you are looking to travel to Brunei, you are inevitably looking for a weather forecast. So here’s a forecast for the next 7 days. Although weather forecasts are not always accurate with ever-changing weather patterns, it does provide a good guess on what’s to come. Every little bit helps!
