Loading destination…
Bahrain eSIM
4 data plans · from £9.90 · instant QR code by email
Choose your plan
Travelling as a group? Buy everyone an eSIM in one checkout and the discount is applied automatically — no code needed. See group pricing
4 data plans · from £9.90 · instant QR code by email
Travelling as a group? Buy everyone an eSIM in one checkout and the discount is applied automatically — no code needed. See group pricing
10 GB
30 days
Streaming, tethering and heavy use
£23.00
£2.21/GB
Buy →
Connects automatically to the strongest signal across STC.
Setup
It takes about a minute. Tap the install link we email you, leave the line switched off, then switch it on when you land — and you're online.
On iPhone (iOS)
On Android
Bahrain: 21 plans, from 3 to 20 GB. Validity runs from 1 day to 30 days. 20 of them run on 5G where the local network has it.
16 plans can be topped up without installing a second eSIM. Plans run on STC, Zain, Orange, Etisalat.
Counted from our live catalogue, not a marketing figure — the plan list above this section is the same data.
19 regional plans carry Bahrain cover. The widest spans 12 countries — worth it if this is one stop of several rather than the whole trip.
Regional coverage starts at £4.10 for 0.48828125 GB over 1 day.
A Bahrain travel eSIM is a digital SIM that downloads straight to your phone — no plastic card, no queuing at an airport counter. You buy online, tap the install link we email you (the QR code is in there too), and your phone adds a second line alongside your normal SIM. It stays dormant until your trip begins, then connects automatically to STC on 5G where available, LTE everywhere else. Your normal number carries on working for calls and texts while the eSIM handles the data.
Maps, messaging and taxi apps use very little data — roughly 300–500 MB a day. If you add photos, social media and the occasional video, expect to use closer to 1 GB a day. For a one-week trip, a 5 GB plan is usually plenty; for two weeks, tethering, or heavy use, opt for 10 GB or more, or choose a top-up plan you can reload as you go. Bahrain plans start at £9.90 across 4 sizes, with the per-GB price clearly shown so you can easily spot the best value.
Yes. A Bahrain travel eSIM is a local data plan rather than international roaming — you pay the price you saw online, and there are no per-megabyte charges from your home network provider. Set the eSIM as your mobile data line, switch data roaming off on your normal SIM, and nothing unexpected turns up on your next bill. Full refund at any time before installation, so buying ahead costs you nothing.
Machboos
Spiced rice cooked with fish, chicken or lamb, sharpened with loomi — dried black lime — and a local baharat blend. The national dish and the default centrepiece of a family meal.
Traditional restaurants across Manama; better still if you are invited to a home.
Muhammar
Sweet rice cooked with date syrup or sugar and cardamom, served alongside fried or grilled fish. The sweet-savoury pairing is characteristic of the Gulf coast and surprises most first-time visitors.
Fish restaurants; a standard Friday lunch.
Balaleet
Sweet vermicelli with cardamom, saffron and rosewater, topped with a thin savoury omelette. Breakfast, and another example of the sweet-and-salt combination being entirely normal here.
Traditional breakfast cafes and hotel Gulf buffets.
Samboosa
Fried pastry triangles filled with spiced meat, cheese or vegetables. Everyday food, and made in enormous volume during Ramadan for the breaking of the fast.
Bakeries and cafeterias; street stalls appear in quantity during Ramadan.
Harees
Wheat and meat cooked for hours and beaten until they become a single smooth paste, finished with ghee. Plain-looking, deeply savoury and associated with Ramadan and celebrations.
Traditional restaurants, particularly in Ramadan.
Gulf fish
Hamour, safi and chanad are the names to know — grouper, rabbitfish and kingfish. Grilled whole or fried and eaten with rice, lime and a chilli sauce.
The fish market at Muharraq early in the morning, and the fish restaurants around it.
Khubz raqaq
Very thin bread cooked in seconds on a domed iron plate, folded and eaten hot. The traditional bakeries make it in front of you at speed.
The old bakeries in Muharraq's lanes.
Bahraini halwa
A translucent, chewy sweet of cornflour, sugar, saffron and rosewater studded with nuts, served in small pieces with coffee. It is quite unlike Levantine or Indian halva.
Muharraq, where the long-established halwa houses still make it in copper pans over wood fires.
Dates and dibs
Bahrain's name has long been tied to its palm groves and springs. Dates are served with coffee as a matter of course, and dibs, the thick syrup pressed from them, sweetens everything from bread to rice.
The souq in Manama; date farms in the northern villages.
Karak chai
Strong black tea boiled with evaporated milk, sugar and cardamom, sold in small cups from roadside cafeterias and drunk at all hours, often without leaving the car.
The cafeterias along the main roads; ordering it from the car window is the local method.
Qal'at al-BahrainKarbabad
A UNESCO-listed tell on the north shore holding layers from the Dilmun civilisation onward, topped by a Portuguese fort. The site museum explains what you are looking at, which the mound alone does not.
half a day
Bahrain National MuseumManama
The best single explanation of Dilmun, the burial mounds and the pearling economy, in a waterfront building that is itself worth seeing. Go here before the archaeological sites, not after.
2 hours
Dilmun Burial MoundsA'ali and Saar
Thousands of low earth tumuli spread across the plain, UNESCO-listed, from a period when the island served as a burial ground on a scale found nowhere else. At A'ali the modern town has grown around them.
half a day
Pearling PathMuharraq
A UNESCO-listed trail through the old town linking merchant houses, oyster beds and the Bu Maher fort where divers embarked — the physical remains of the industry that supported the island before oil.
a day
Al Fateh Grand MosqueManama
One of the largest mosques in the Gulf, with a fibreglass dome and a substantial library. Guided visits for non-Muslims run outside prayer times, with clothing provided.
2 hours
Bab Al Bahrain and Manama SouqManama
The 1940s gateway building marking the old customs house, with the souq behind it — gold, spices, textiles and pearl dealers. Liveliest in the evening.
half a day
Tree of LifeSakhir
A single large mesquite standing alone in the desert with no visible water source, which is the entire point. A short drive into the interior and best combined with something else nearby.
2 hours
Bahrain International CircuitSakhir
The Formula One circuit, which hosts a night race, and runs driving experiences and track days between events. Race weekend transforms the whole country and accommodation with it.
half a day · book ahead
Beit Al QuranManama
A museum of Quranic manuscripts spanning centuries and continents, including miniature and outsized copies, in a building designed around the collection.
2 hours
Hawar IslandsHawar
An archipelago off the southern coast with dugongs, cormorant colonies and almost nobody on it, reached by boat. Closer to the Qatari mainland than to Bahrain's, which was the subject of a long legal dispute.
a day · book ahead
Car hire
The default way to move around. The island is small, the road network is good and causeways link Manama, Muharraq and Sitra. Parking in central Manama is the main difficulty; traffic peaks are heavy for the size of the place.
moderate
Public bus
A modern air-conditioned network covers Manama, Muharraq, Riffa and Isa Town, paid with a stored-value card or contactless. Cheap and reliable but the route map is built around commuting, not sightseeing.
very low
Taxi
Metered orange-and-white taxis are available at hotels, the airport and ranks. Insist on the meter; the apps have largely removed the need to.
moderate
King Fahd Causeway
A 25 km road link to Saudi Arabia across the sea, with border posts on an artificial island in the middle. Crossing needs the correct documents and vehicle insurance, and hire cars are frequently not permitted over it — confirm before you plan on it.
toll plus fuel
Boat to Hawar
Scheduled and chartered boats run to the Hawar Islands from the southern coast. Services are weather-dependent and not daily, so treat the return as fixed rather than flexible.
moderate
Ride-hailing
Uber, Careem
Both operate across the island and are the straightforward option. Careem is the regional app and often has more cars outside central Manama. Fares are settled in the app, which removes any question about the meter.
Paying for things
Basics
| Ramadan | the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Not a holiday but the biggest single influence on a trip. Eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight are restricted and this applies to visitors; many restaurants close until sunset, hours shift, and the evenings become extremely lively. |
| Eid al-Fitr | at the end of Ramadan, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Several days of public holiday. Government offices close, malls and restaurants are packed in the evenings and hotel rates rise. |
| Eid al-Adha | in the twelfth Islamic month, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Several days of public holiday and heavy regional travel across the causeway. |
| Islamic New Year | 1 Muharram, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Public holiday; low travel impact. |
| Ashura | 9 and 10 Muharram, moving about eleven days earlier each year | Observed with particular significance in Bahrain. Public commemorations and processions take place in Manama, Muharraq and the villages, black banners go up across whole districts, and some roads close. Visitors should be respectful and cautious about photographing participants. |
| Labour Day | 1 May | Public holiday; offices closed. |
| National Day | 16 and 17 December | Two consecutive holidays with fireworks and decorations; hotels fill and the causeway is busy. |
Recurring dates — the day these fall on moves year to year.