What to spend your dinar on
A white kandura
16 BHD
1.5 litre bottle of water
0.30 BHD
Taxi from airport to central Manama
4 BHD
Admission to the Bahrain National Museum
0.50 BHD
Cost of a fast food meal
1.93 BHD
50 years in circulation
Replacing the pan-regional Gulf Rupee, the Bahraini Dinar was introduced in 1965. Amazingly, paper notes weren’t printed until 1979. A recent issue in Bahrain has been inflation; at the moment, it stands at just over 3%. Most shops and restaurants accept the Saudi riyal as well as the dinar, thanks to how closely the two countries’ economies are linked.
Frequently used banknotes
Notes used in Bahrain are ½. 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 dinar, while coins come in 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 fils. A ½ dinar note is also available.
If visiting a souq (a traditional market) in Bahrain, it’s worth haggling, as it’s possible to bag a bargain that you might not find in a designer store for example.
Tipping here is pretty common in restaurants and taxis. 10% is the usual amount you can stick to, and in bars 0.4 BHD is a standard amount.
Buying Bahrain dinar online is easy
Free next-day home delivery on orders over 500 BHD