Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Brunei

Brunei is a bit of an enigma. It’s a tiny enclave on the tropical Southeast Asian island of Borneo, yet is fabulously wealthy due to vast oil and gas reserves.

Ruled by one of the last remaining absolute monarchs, it’s a strict Islamic nation with sharia law and no alcohol or nightclubs for its citizens. Regardless, foreign workers flood in due to no income tax and a low cost of living.

Most travelers only come through for a night or two, basing themselves in the capital of Bandar Seri Bagawan, and perhaps taking a day trip out to the Ulu Temburong rainforest if they’ve got the time.

No matter how long you’re there for, though, you’ll find that staying connected is a simple, inexpensive affair. It’s easy to get set up with a local SIM card and even easier with a travel eSIM, and you won’t pay a lot either way. Here’s what you need to know.

There are three cell service providers in Brunei: DST, Progresif, and imagine. Since 2020 they all use the same physical infrastructure, which means you can expect the same coverage with each. 4G/LTE networks cover much of the country, with 5G rolling out in larger cities.

Imagine is a recent entrant to the market, and doesn’t seem to offer tourist-focused plans, which left the other two companies as viable options.

As I write this, both companies charge the same amount for their base tourist SIMs, but Progressif’s is valid for longer and includes a lot more data. Given that, there’s no real reason for visitors to go with DST.

If you’re only in the country for a day or two and just need a small amount of data to tide you over, save a few dollars by picking up a travel eSIM from Nomad instead. Unlike local SIMs and eSIMs, it doesn’t require registration or passport information.

As with all travel eSIMs, the purchase and setup process is very easy. You can do it whenever you like, including at home before you travel.

Head to the Brunei page on the site, buy the data pack you want, and follow the on-screen instructions to install and activate the eSIM on your phone. Enable it when you arrive in Brunei, and you’ll be good to go within a couple of minutes.

Purely in terms of price, the smallest 1GB/7 day bundle is the only one that will save you money Anything larger than that, and it’s cheaper to get the Progressif tourist SIM card instead.

You do also have the option of buying a data pack that lasts for 45 days: given that physical tourist SIMs expire after a month and can’t be re-used, it’s a useful option if you’re one of the few visitors staying in the country that long.

Nomad isn’t the only eSIM company out there of course, and while it usually has the best pricing for Brunei, deals can and do change. Check the table below before you commit: I update the details every week, most recently on 1 Dec 2025.

Like most travel eSIMs, it’s data-only: you don’t get a local number. I use apps for everything from communication to transport these days, so the lack of a local number very rarely matters to me, but you might have different needs.

New to eSIMs? They offer big benefits to travelers in terms of how quickly, easily, and (often) cheaply you can get connected when you arrive in a new country. Most recent phones support them, and you can read all about them here.

If you’re visiting other countries as well, make sure you check out our worldwide eSIM finder before you go. It has real-world recommendations for every trip, only takes a few seconds, and could save you a lot of money!

At the Airport

Both companies have kiosks conveniently located in the small arrivals area of Brunei’s sole international airport. If you need to get money out of an ATM beforehand, there are several available on the second floor, up the escalator.

In general you may as well buy your SIM at the airport, since prices are the same as elsewhere. Because I was getting picked up by my guesthouse owner and had already made her wait due to a delayed flight, however, I decided to postpone my purchase until I got into the city.

You can also pre-purchase your Progressif tourist SIM online before you travel to Brunei and collect it when you arrive, which saves time at the airport kiosk. You’ll need to do it at least three days before you travel, and upload scans of your passport.

Note that Progressif, somewhat unusually, offers a prepaid eSIM to tourists as well as a physical SIM. There’s no difference in the registration or purchase process either way. You can buy the eSIM either in person at the counter, or online beforehand so you’re set up on arrival.

In the City

Both DST and Progresif have stores beside each other downtown near the waterfront, but I ended up going to the Progresif store at Gadong Mall since I was in the area anyway.

The process was extremely straightforward. Two tourist plans were prominently displayed, so I picked the one I wanted, and mentioned it to the staff member.

She took a copy of my passport, asked me to sign a form, installed and configured the SIM, and sent me on my way within five minutes.

Progresif offers two different tourist packages, both valid for 30 days.

The base package, and the one that will suit most visitors, costs 15 BND (~$11.50 USD), and includes 20 minutes of local calls, 20 local texts, and 45GB of data.

If you somehow need more data than that, paying 30 BND (~23 USD) gets you 100GB, plus 30 minutes of calls and 30 local texts. You can add more calls, texts, or data for a few dollars extra, with a wide variety of options available.

Both the package and the SIM card itself expire after thirty days, and can’t be renewed or extended.

If you choose to go with DST instead (and with the current packages, I’m not sure why you would), expect to pay the same 15 BND for a tourist SIM with 3GB of data, valid for seven days. You’ll get 3 BND credit to use for domestic calls and texts.

The SIM card itself is valid for 30 days, so you can top-up each week until the month is up.

Brunei is one of the few countries where tourist SIM packages are actually the best deal for travelers. Other plans include a mandatory 25 BND annual registration fee.

Topping Up

Progresif and DST

Top-ups are available at all Progresif and DST stores. Don’t forget, though, that because the tourist SIM expires and becomes unusable after four weeks, you won’t be able to top it up after that time if you’re one of the few visitors staying in Brunei that long.

Nomad

Topping up with Nomad (or any of the other travel eSIM companies) is done by logging into the website or app. You just select your Brunei eSIM, hit the top-up button, and buy the same package again.

The top-up packs have exactly the same pricing and duration as the original eSIMs: there’s little difference between topping up your current eSIM and buying a new one, other than not having to activate it.

Coverage with Progresif was solid in and around Bandar Seri Bagawan, and for most of the short bus journey from there to the (eastern) border with Malaysia. I also had signal while transiting the Temburong section of Brunei shortly afterwards, although didn’t seem to get data service there.

Because all providers, including eSIM companies like Nomad, use the same physical network, you can expect the same coverage with any of them.

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Check out our guides to SIM cards and eSIMs in 65+ other countries here.