Travel Date: 16-22MAY2018
From Kota Kinabalu – Brunei Darussalam via Ferry
- Go to Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal. Ticket counter opens at 6:30AM.
- Buy a ticket going to Labuan via Labuan Express Tiga.
- First trip is at 8:00 AM, last trip is at 1:30P with the arrival of 11:30 AM and 5 PM respectively.
- Prices starts at 36 RM – Economy and 41 RM – Business Class plus the tax.
- You will arrive in Labuan (Part of Malaysia) at 11:30. You need to drop off and change boat.
- The next trip going to Serasa Ferry Terminal, Muara, Brunei Darussalam is at 1:30PM.
- Before going around Labuan, you need to buy your tickets to Serasa Ferry Terminal (Brunie Darussalam) via Seri Anna boat.
- You can go around the area, buy chocolates or take your lunch. Just make sure not to miss your 1:30PM trip. As much as possible, be there before 1:30 PM at the immigration.
- You will arrive at Serasa Ferry Terminal at 3:00 PM.
- You still have approximately 30km to reach the city of Bandar Seri Begawan.
- Normally, Bus 38/39 goes around to Serasa Ferry Terminal before going to BSB for 2BND, however sometimes, they do not. So you can take a cab to BsB or take a cab to Muara Bus Station and take Bus 38/30 going to BsB. In our case, we took a cab for 10 BND to Muara Bus Station, and from Muara Bus Station, we took the Bus 38 for 1BND to Bandar Seri Begawan.
From Kota Kinabalu – Brunei Darussalam via Bus
- Head to City Park, on its adjacent, you will see the bus terminal going to BsB.
- Be sure to be there before 8AM.
- Tickets costs at 100 MYR.
From Brunei – Kota Kinabalu via Bus:
Take a bus from Brunei Darussalam to Kota Kinabalu through Jesselton or Sipitang Express.
- Schedule of the trip is at 8AM every day (This might change without prior notice).
- Prepare a 45BND cash if you have no online reservations.
Terminal in Bandar Seri Begawan & the schedule:
This might be very confusing. I have read on the other blogs that the bus leaves from the terminal. In our case, it’s just in front of where we stayed-front of Mc Arthur Building. It’s not a terminal though because the terminal is at the back of the property where we stayed. So, the day before you leave Bandar Seri Begawan, make sure to know the location of the bus for the next day.
- There is only one bus that leaves BsB to KK- make sure to be there before 8AM. Otherwise, you’ll look for another way, maybe BsB – Labuan, spend a night in Labuan and take a ferry to KK the next day.
Purchasing of tickets and its cost:
- If you didn’t purchase your ticket ahead of time, make sure to bring enough Brunei Dollar as the Sipitang/Jesselton Express needs to be paid in Brunei Dollar. In our case, we weren’t able to pay to the bus until we reached Sarawak where there is a money changer. We thought that the bus will accept MYR, but they couldn’t even though their arrival is in Kota Kinabalu.
- Fare from BsB to KK is at 45 BND.
The immigration & passport:
All passengers are give an arrival and departure card, make sure to fill that out. I am not really sure how this works in the entire trip because—I enclosed my arrival and departure card inside my passport so that every time we drop off the bus for the immigration, the office could take it. On our 1st stop, the IO took my departure slip, on our 6th stop, the IO took my arrival card, however my other companions—they kept their cards the whole time. So, I do not know how that affected our entries and exits. 😊
The IOs going to Brunei just asked us if how long are we gonna stay and when are we coming back, but there were no questions from Brunei to KK.
The bus and the trip:
- Departure is at 8AM and arrival is at 4PM. Bring your personal necessities and foods if you need.
- We’re actually surprised that when we started the trip in BsB, we were only 10 (including the driver and the other officer) until we reached Lawas, Malaysia where there were several passengers jumped off the bus.
- Be attentive with the bus stops and the immigration.
- You can ask the drive if you can buy maybe a food or a drinks very quick when you are in Sarawak.
- Lunch will be in Lawas, Malaysia.
The passport stamps:
For the entire trip you will experience coming in and out in Brunei and Malaysia for 4 times—that’s total of 8 stamps. I actually didn’t care the whole passport stamps thing—I just know that we are coming in and out in Brunei and Malaysia and there— we got 8 stamps in total.
PS: Have you heard about the IO Scams in Malaysia? I am just not sure if it’s true, but please if you are planning to cross the borders, be extra careful.
TORN BETWEEN CAREER AND PASSION 
Leave a Reply