Bahrain

Government advisories

• ☐ United States: level 3/4 — Level 3: Reconsider Travel
• ☐ United Kingdom: level 1/4
• ☐ Canada: level 3/4 — Avoid non-essential travel

Health notices

• ☐ Global Measles (level 1)

Entry requirements

☐ Most visitors to Bahrain can apply for a visa on arrival or an e-Visa before traveling. Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have freedom of movement in Bahrain and may enter with a national ID card. Passport must be valid for 6 months from arrival and visitors must hold return or onward ticket.

☐ Passport valid 6+ months beyond your stay

Practical

• ☐ Plug type G, 230V — bring an adapter if yours differs
• ☐ Drives on the right
• ☐ Emergency (police): 999
• ☐ Emergency (ambulance): 999
• ☐ Emergency (fire): 999
• ☐ SIM: The country code for phone calls to Bahrain +973. For international calls from Bahrain, you can use "00" instead of "+". There are no area codes, although the first digits of landline numbers generally tell the city or region. Landline numbers usually start with 17, mobile phone numbers often with 3 or 66.
• ☐ Money: The currency in Bahrain is the Bahraini dinar, denoted by the symbol " .د.ب " or "BD" (ISO code: BHD). It is divided into 1000 fils. One dinar is worth US$2.66, as the exchange rate is fixed, making this one of the world's highest-valued currencies (second only to Kuwait). This can take some getting used to: that seemingly cheap BD 10 taxi ride is in fact almost US$27 and thus an extortionate rip-
• ☐ Tipping: Tipping is generally not done, though it's fine to tip the underpaid and overworked delivery person that brings your food or delivers your groceries.

Laws that could get a tourist arrested

• ☐ Pregnancy outside marriage — Pregnancy without a marriage certificate can lead to a conviction.
• ☐ Sharia law offenses — Islamic Sharia law applies to cases of alcohol abuse, adultery, and homosexuality.
• ☐ Gender-unconforming clothing — The wearing of gender-unconforming clothing is prohibited.
• ☐ Drug possession — Drug use is punishable by up to life in prison, and penalties for possessing even small quantities are severe.
• ☐ Defamation of the king — Defamation of the king is a punishable offence.
• ☐ Public consumption during Ramadan — Eating, drinking, and smoking in public during the day in Ramadan is strictly prohibited and risks a fine or jail term.

Before you go

General trip-prep, not specific to Bahrain — the same short list applies anywhere.

• ☐ Register with your embassy's traveler program if one exists
• ☐ Check your passport's validity and blank-page requirements on your destination's official entry-rules page
• ☐ Photograph/screenshot your passport, visa, and travel insurance documents
• ☐ Download offline maps for your destination
• ☐ Confirm your bank/card issuer knows you're traveling
• ☐ Check whether your phone plan needs a travel add-on or a local SIM