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New to Bahrain & have a couple questions

Last activity 10 February 2013 by brightonguy

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scarletmoon1234

Hello :)
I hope everyone's doing well.
I just moved from Saudi to Bahrain to study and have a few questions. First off, I'm an avid runner and have always loved running outside but since moving to Saudi haven't been able to do so. I currently study in the Royal university for women in Riffa and was wondering if it was alright to go running in that area, or if there are any parks nearby that I can walk to. Unfortunately, I dont have a car to drive to a different area to run and I have a pretty low budget, so taxi's everyday are definitely not an option. So is it a) safe and b) allowed (since Im a woman and all).
Also, are there any cheap modes of transportation from Riffa to city center? Taxi's seem to be over the top expensive :/ Ive seen public transportation buses around but haven't found anything online about the routes (or about the whole system in general).

I don't want to spend my time locked away in my dorm room since there's so much more to do in Bahrain than in Saudi and I just want to enjoy my time here.

Thank you everyone for your help!

adkhan

hey scarletmoon,

Welcome to Bahrain. Not sure about many parks in Bahrain but yes i have come across the one new near Oasis Center. However, i am sure that it is quite safe to jog in your area too. Riffa is safe and demonstration-free area :) so nothing to worry about even if you wanna walk on the road.

Secondly, public transportation is not comfortable and easy to catch service in Bahrain. If you want to go City Center, First you have to locate a bus stand near your place (that could be miles away depending where you staying). Secondly, there is no bus directly goes to City centr so, you have to go to manama bus stand and either you have to change a bus or walk from there. I don't see it a good option for going to city center.

Since the taxi's are quite expensive and city center is a little far from your place, the best option i suggest you to get an unregistered pvt taxi. there are many guys all around providing transportation services on a much lower rate than the registered legal Taxi's. They might cost you 2-3 BD to City centre from your place.

I have used many of them when i was new in Bahrain.
Hope the info will help you

Take care and njoy Bahrain :)

brightonguy

When it comes to safety of women want to run in Bahrain, I can assure you it's safe to do it so no worries about that.

scarletmoon1234

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help :)
I just wanted to avoid any possibility of offending the locals so thank you for letting me know, I cant wait to run outside!
as for the public transport, I dont mind walking and I know where the nearest stop is so is there any way I can get information on the bus routes and schedules?

brightonguy

I don't think there is a map you can download. I have been searching for it for a long time but am unable to find one. I hope someone has a map they can share with us.

Nawafo

HI

Welcome to Bahrain

First of all, I think its safe for women to run in Bahrain in general.  I would not advice you to use private taxi services, first that its illegal, secondly, its not very safe, cause you really don't know who you are dealing with.  I think you need to find a ruining mate with a car, this will sort of solve your problem.

Here you can find bus routes in Bahrain

I am not sure that its up to date, but its the offical map

Click here

you can select the English version on the top left corner

enjoy your time

:)

brightonguy

Thanks Nawafo. I didn't know if such map existed in Bahrain. I am assuming it is up-to-date as it is on the government website. But again, that map shows it only covers the major roads in Bahrain. While this is not a problem in 'winter', in summer it is not possible to walk more than 5 minutes if you wanted to go to somewhere where the bus stop is far away.

Thanks again.

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