Things to do in Bahrain

Bahrain is an archipelago of some thirty islands and about 786 square kilometres. It is the smallest Arab country. The main island runs fifty kilometres top to bottom, so tours are sold plainly as north or south.

How the country is laid out

• Manama and Muharraq. The capital and the older island beside it, joined by causeway. The airport sits on Muharraq, and the merchant houses behind its waterfront are what the Pearling Path threads together.
• The north coast. Qal'at al-Bahrain, the mound that was the Dilmun capital, with layers running from 2300 BC to the eighteenth century. A World Heritage Site since 2005.
• The west. The Dilmun burial mounds — twenty-one sites and some 11,700 graves raised between about 2050 and 1750 BC, listed in 2019.
• The south. Desert, the Tree of Life standing alone in it, and the Sakhir circuit that has held the Grand Prix since 2004.

Crossing between them

Taxis and hired drivers do the work. The bus network exists but is not built for visitors. The King Fahd Causeway has run twenty-five kilometres to Saudi Arabia since 1986, and it fills on Thursday evening.

What the country puts on sale

A short catalogue, and an honest one. History comes first, and half-day tours split the island north and south. One follows the Dilmun story forward; kayaking covers the shallow water and the mangroves.

Practical

• Season. November to March. Summer is hot and humid together, and the sea gives no relief from it.
• Three World Heritage Sites. The fort, the burial mounds, and the Pearling Path on Muharraq — a 3.5-kilometre trail through the houses of the pearl trade, listed in 2012. That is a great deal for 786 square kilometres.
• Money. The dinar is pegged at about 2.65 dollars and is one of the highest-valued currencies anywhere: prices in single digits are not small ones.
• Alcohol. Served openly in hotels and licensed restaurants, which is much of why the causeway is busy at weekends.
• Ramadan. Daytime kitchens close, the evening starts late, and the heritage sites keep shorter hours.
• Dress. Relaxed by regional standards in Manama, more careful at the heritage sites and in the older quarters.