About the Location

Bahrain

Bahrain is an Arabic word meaning “Two Seas” and refers to the two sources of water surrounding the islands, fresh water springs and the surrounding seas.

Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 small islands and enjoys a strategic location in the Arabian Gulf midway between the Qatar peninsula and Saudi Arabia. It is connected to Saudi Arabia by a 25km causeway. Bahrain is divided into five governments: Capital, Central, Muharraq, Northern and Southern. Apart from its booming financial services sector, Bahrain main products are aluminum, crude and refined oil, petrochemicals and gas.

Language

While Arabic is Bahrain’s official language, English is widely spoken, especially for business purposes.

Currency

The Bahraini dinar (BD) is the official currency of Bahrain. It is divided into 1,000 fils. Coins are of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 fils. Bank notes are in denominations of 500 fils, BD1, 5, 10 and 20. The exchange rate is $1 = BD0.3770 and £1 = BD0.6259 approximately.

Time Zone

GMT + 3 Hours

Visas

Visas are not required by GCC passport holders. Visas are required by all other nationalities visiting Bahrain.

Passport holders from the following countries: Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the Vatican City can obtain a one week visa on arrival at Bahrain International Airport

Kindly contact the Gulf Hotel by email on rgc@gulfhotelbahrain.com or by phone +973.17.746342 for further information.

Climate

The climate of Bahrain is an arid type; mean annual rainfall is small (70.8mm) and irregular. Broadly speaking, the year may be divided into two main climatic periods from the months of June to September, which are very hot and humid with average temperatures of around 42 degrees Celsius, and from the months of December to March, with average temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, separated by two transitional periods April/May and October/November. The best months for visiting are October to May.

Suggested wardrobe

Lightweight summer clothing is ideal with a wrap, sweater or jacket for air conditioned premises. Women are usually advised to dress modestly.