Everyday practical information for Bahrain

The basics

• Plugs are the British three-pin type G, 230 V. UK chargers work unmodified.
• Arabic is the language and English is very widely spoken - Bahrain has one of the highest levels of English in the region, and every sign, menu and official form is bilingual.
• UTC+3 all year, no daylight saving - the same as Saudi Arabia and an hour behind the UAE.
• The weekend is Friday and Saturday.

Getting a sense of the place

• Bahrain is the most socially relaxed of the Gulf states after the UAE - alcohol is legal, cinemas show more, and the dress code is more forgiving. It is still a Muslim country and the rules in the safety section are real.
• It is also the oldest. Dilmun was here 4,000 years ago, the Bahrain Fort sits on a tell of stacked civilisations, and the pearling trail in Muharraq is a UNESCO site about an industry that ended a century ago.
• The Tree of Life is a 400-year-old acacia alone in the desert, which is either remarkable or a tree, depending on your mood.

Ramadan

• Eating, drinking, smoking or loud music in public during daylight are criminal offences, not lapses of manners. This applies to visitors.
• Hotels serve food discreetly to guests during the day.
• Everything opens after sunset and stays open very late.

Small things

• Adliya is where you eat. Block 338 is the restaurant district and it is genuinely good.
• Cover shoulders and knees away from a hotel pool.
• Friday midday is quiet everywhere until after prayers.