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Miri to Brunei (Bandar Seri Begawan) by road

18 September 2010:

If you happen to be in Miri, Sarawak, you should not miss visiting Brunei, because it is very nearby.  By road under normal driving and traffic, you should you should reach the capital city of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan within 2 hours with total distance of about 150 kms. But there are some formalities at the border crossing which could be quite tricky for the first timers, nevertheless it is a breeze if you know how. I will share my experience crossing Malaysia/Brunei border by road in this post.

The roads are all the way paved and some stretch are 4-lane highway and with fast car you will enjoy the speed of your machine. If you have time, you could enjoy the green tropical sceneries at one side and the South China Sea  breeze on the other side. You will see most towns in Brunei along this journey like Kuala Belait, Seria, Jerudong are all beach towns.

First stage is from Miri to Sungai Tujuh checkpoint. The checkpoint is about 30 kms from Miri city center. To reach this border checkpoint, you have two options. First you could drive north to Lutong along the coastal road and before reaching Kuala Baram, turn right following the direction to Sungai Tujuh. Alternatively from Miri  you could reach the checkpoint  via Tudan or Permyjaya. Either way, follow the roadsign leading to Sungai Tujuh checkpoint or Kuala Belait. No mention of Bandar Seri Begawan yet at this point in time.

Maneuvouring thru checkpoint is a bit tricky. First you must pass Malaysia Immigration checkpoint. No need for you and passengers to get off from the car. Just drive thru and at the counter hand over all the international passports to the clerk inside the booth. Malaysians do not need visa to enter Brunei, international  passports will do. Other nationalities please check with your own consulates. After passports stamped and returned, you will drive thru a winding road passing thru Brunei police station. By now you are already in the Brunei side of the border already. Do not stop at the police station. Just drive up along the winding road and you will reach Brunei Immigration checkpoint. Again, just drive thru and hand over the passports to a clerk at the counter. Here she will stamp the entry visa in your passports which allows you to stay in Brunei for up to one month on social visit pass. Then you will come to Custom checkpoint. Since you are bringing Malaysian car into Brunei, they will ask you to fill up a car pass. Get the form from them and fill up vehicle particulars. All info requested about the vehicles can be found in the car grant or title issued by JPJ Malaysia. So it is strongly recommended that you carry along a copy of such car grant. Pull over to a waiting bay to fill up the form.
Brunei is such a rich country that no fees whatsoever required. By the way the vehicle pass is valid for one month, which means you can use the same pass many times to enter Brunei. Thats why you see some drivers just drive thru and hand over their old car pass for stamping by the Custom official — because they already filled up once. Once you are done with the Brunei Custom, you are already on the way to Bandar Seri Begawan, some 127 kms from the checkpoints. On Brunei roads you will see majority big cars with Brunei plate numbers which starts with B or K refering to districts in Brunei. You can easily be mistaken with Kedah or Selangor plate number which also starts with K and B respectively, but the difference is bigger font size. You will pass by towns like Kuala Belait, Jerudong and Tutong before you reach BBS. After BBS is Muara, the town at the furthest end of the highway.

After a while you will come to a toll plaza at which every car passing thru must pay 3 Brunei Dollar. Take note that there is no proper rest area along the highway. As you are passing villages you may stop at the road-side restaurants or shops for a break. Observe speed limit as police patrol cars in latest Chevrolet Cruze are watching you.

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31 Comments

  1. I hv no experience renting a car from BSB then drive to SG Tujuh. Do you intent to cross over to Miri? Buses and taxis are aplenty. BTW taxis from BSB stop at Kuala Belait only. Check with car ental company and BSB airport. It should be common.

  2. rose

    hai.. boleh suggest x company kereta sewa dari Miri ke Brunei.. Thanks..

  3. Mohd Hadi

    I plan to travel to Brunei by road from Miri using rental car.Is it possible for me to travel there without any copy of the car grant,provided i already know the information required to fill in the custom form, ie the chassis number,engine number,make,etc? or is it compulsory to bring along the copy car grant while traveling in Brunei?

  4. Catherine

    is there are limit for tinted window for malaysia car entering brunei? and how much fines for tinted window? Tq

  5. mohd farookh

    Salaam abu bhai, im indian citizen actually im working in singapore as an architect, im planning to visit brunei fr this ramadan .So if possible can go thr by car from miri to brunei with frnd who is working in brunei ?… do i have to show any documents huh ?… thnks 

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  7. If you use Malaysian registered car, you must fill up car details in a Brunei custom form issued at Sungai Tujuh checkpoint. Car details include engine and chassis no. You must have a copy of car grant with you while crossing the border.

  8. I am not sure amount of fines. But heavily tinted windows will be stopped by Brunei traffic police. Normal tinting OK.

  9. Good to have a copy, just in case asked by Brunei customs. Just in case.

  10. Miri Airport has got many counters of car rental companies. Try arriving Miri day time. Another way is to search in mudah.my (under car rental category)

  11. Charlotte

    Good day, thanks for all the sharing.
    We want to go to Miri from Limbang at evening maybe around 5:30pm.  What is the operation hours at the border Malaysia-Brunei now?
    Thanks. 

  12. lala

    Salam mau bertnya bolehkah kita bawa kenderaan orang lain masuk ke brunei. Yg pntg roadtax nya masih lg hidup…

  13. Boleh saja. Kastam Brunei hanya melihat cukai jalan masih hidup.

  14. Closing time at Sungai Tujuh checkpoint is 10pm, open 6am.

  15. ummi

    salam, how if from brunei want to go to miri? how if using brunei car? my relatives’ car, and I am myself a Malaysian and possess Malaysia international passport
     
    thanks

  16. Salam ummi, I have never driven Brunei-registered car into Miri, so cannot tell you the what the process like. But I noticed that a lot of Brunei cars coming into Miri daily especially during weekends. I guess the process should be similar Malaysia car going into Brunei. Just fillup some form and handover to Malaysian custom. No need insurance, unlike Malaysian car going into Thailand at Rantau Panjang. May be you want to ask your relative in Brunei.

  17. ummi

    wassalam..thanks alot for the idea…may ALLAH bless u always..amin

  18. Ayiem

    Assalam. Saya bercadang nk ke Brunei mnggunakan Kereta Prebet. Ada x knalan or Tahu mna2 no prebet. Or kalo guna bas, pikul brape je yg ad. Tq

  19. Coba hubungi En Sabtuni 012-2658956. Atau Pak Bujang 0198843977. Atau Awang Azmi 0138372988. Pak Bujang selalu membawa pelancong menyeberangi sempadan ke Brunei.

  20. zharif

    Salam.. macam mana kalau bawa kereta malaysia masuk kedalam brunei? apa prosedur nya?

  21. Cassy

    Hello…. Im from Kk… I’m planning want to go Miri… if mirror tint silver car can pass or nt??

  22. Santhosh Gangadharan

    Dear friend,
    Thanks for your blog. The facts about Miri and Seria were quite interesting since I was born in Seria in 1956 and lived in Lutong, Miri till 1962. I plan to make a visit to these places during December 2014 with my family.
    Your narratives are quite nice and informative.
    Regards
    Santhosh

  23. Terimakasih. May it benefit travellers.

  24. Heavily tinted screens is big no-no in Brunei.

  25. Salam, please read ny previous posts on crossing to Brunei.

  26. Greetings! I’ve been following your weblog
    for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from
    Lubbock Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the
    great work!

  27. fahmi amni

    Im feeling more confident now driving to brunie. Nice sharing

  28. Alex

    Do you need to purchase temporary car insurance third party cover? Or malaysian third party cover will work..Thanks

  29. No need. Malaysia insurance cover is good.

  30. mary

    hi. if brunei to miri? im using my relatives car. what document shud i bring?

  31. I am not sure the other way around. U may ask Brunei custom on the requirement of taking Brunei registered car to Miri. Should be a piece of cake as I saw lots of Brunei cars in Miri roads over the weekends.

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