What should I ship?

Hi Jessica,

You can get most things in Bahrain, and to be honest I suspect that some of the things I have been asked to bring are due to a measure of 'known entity' if you know what I mean!! 

Things my husband has asked me to bring out include
John Lewis towels - the ones he bought in Bahrain were losing so much fluff he wanted a known entity!!
John Lewis sheets - again a known entity!!!  (though you would need to know the size of the bed first!!)
A sharpening steel for knives (the one he found out there was very coarse!)
A sink plunger
A beer bottle opener - the one he bought bent!!
Nippon Ant gel (the stuff he got there didn't appear to help!)

I brought decaff tea and jasmine green tea since they are considerably more expensive out there, and not always easy to find - I also make sure that we all bring our alcohol allowance in with us each time we fly in!

Hope this helps, and I am sure that you will get more ideas from some who have been in Bahrain much longer than us!!

All the best

Sarah

I was just talking to someone about this very subject. It's true you can get everything out here, but everything seems to be very poor quality. Bring anything you love from your kitchen. Anything metal over here is as bendable as aluminum, and it rusts after two washes. Knives, flatware, tools, pots, everything. Even the brand new shower head in my apartment has rust spots, if I don't scrub them off after two or three days.
No need to worry about clothes for the boys ,but stock up on their shoes. Also on the topic of kids I have yet to find any toys that don't break after the first day or two. I love educational toys, and am having some trouble even finding materials. And if you have any youngsters needing a trolley, bring a good one if you want a good one. The only things here are made of that same cheap metal that bends and breaks and rusts.
Definitely agree about the linens too. Just stock up on quality everything. Oh and the cups plates and bottles for the boys too. The plastics here are as thin and cheap as the metals.
The furniture is really nice though. You can find some great pieces to take back with you.

To buy good quality anything here is pretty expensive.

Bedding is awful, expensive and very arabic. 
Bring your kids toys with you, again everything is double what you pay in the UK - you can peel the label off and see the UK price underneath - if it's £10 in the UK it will be 10BD here!  Oh and books - books are so expensive.  Even if you get here and decided you don't need them anymore, you can sell them for probably double what you paid for them in the UK
We didn't bring any furniture except a couple of pieces I couldn't bear to part with but I brought all our personal stuff and all the boys things.  I brought all my kitchen stuff and am glad I did.
Don't put anything remotely dodgy in your shipment or it will end up in customs for months on end.

I don't think IKEA will ever open to be honest.  But if you really want stuff from there, there is a guy who goes over to  Saudi and delivers it to you.  Join Mums In Bahrain Classifieds as you can get some lovely stuff second hand especially at this time of year when there is a turnover in expats.

Hope that helps.

Many good comments already which I have to agree with. Take as much as you can and use your allowance to the max! We were lucky as our company gave us a high top 40ft container and we filled it, seems our whole life now fits in to a container that follows us around the world.
Bring anything that is dear to you and your family, anything personal makes a big difference when setting up home wherever you go.
I love being in the kitchen , so yes bring any favourite kitchen items.
I always bring bedding back from John Lewis each summer, its my treat and the sale is always on, bedding here isn't so good and expensive.
Lakeland is here, Zara Home, Debenhams but expensive although there are a lot of sales.
I have friends that have used the Ikea delivery guy that goes to Saudi, you can find his info on Mums in Bahrain site. We bought a new sofa recently and I know I could have got it cheaper and of a higher quality back home but hey ho.
An exciting and stressful time!
Good luck,

Nicola

When we first arrived here we bought things like bottle openers, knife sharpening steels etc that bent, went rusty but you soon learn where to shop to buy things of excellent quality and not expensive.
The first hammer we bought here bent in half when I tried to pull a nail out of the wall.
We arrived with a 30kg suitcase each and now have a villa that we furnished ourselves from top to bottom. Home Store in Bahrain Mall is where we got virtually everything. Bedding is lovely and not expensive, cutlery and equipment can be expensive but it's worth it.
Good luck with the move, I've enjoyed helping people unpack their containers and see their faces light up when they are reunited with things they had forgotten about and things they have missed like crazy. Probably the best part of my job 

Thanks so much everyone for all the great advise. I will definatly use my container to the max. It's so helpful to get advise at this stage

You will pay for the full container whether it is full or half full (unless you go groupage) make the most of it 

I've found this post to be really helpful!! We have a relocation planned for September and I have two months to prepare for our container so will be going through the house like a whirring devish 😊

Coming over beginning of August for our orientation visit so 10 days to look around and chose a villa - I'm very excited and will be checking out that bedding as it's a luxury that I'm quite particular on...

Thanks ladies!  X

Hi Michelle,

Lovely to hear that you enjoyed all the info and you sound so excited, well done.

Orientation and villa hunting is exciting and 10 days is a great amount of time!

Good luck with filling your container .

Nicola 🌴

How exciting that you are able to come over for 10 days.

Just remember that the beginning of August is very very hot, so factor that into your planning. Dont try and do too much in any one day.

It will also be Eid, so Bahrain will be really really busy and lots of places may be shut such as schools, banks, government offices.

Other than that - have fun

Thanks for that info! I'm conscious that it will be a tad warm so lots of linen and cotton wearing!

Somebody mentioned about containers and customs...I'm sure our relocation company will give me the heads up but is there anything that I wouldn't be able to bring? I'm going to be stocking up on all my favourite beauty products, bedding etc but what about food items? Obviously not fresh (!) but tea, biscuits etc? I do have a packed pantry most of the time and could probably get most stuff in Bahrain but it's worth asking the question!!
I've also pretty much resigned myself to not being able to bring all my potted plants as sure they won't survive the 28 day container journey let alone the chance of weather!! And then is it allowed?    Sorry loads of questions!

Hi Michelle,

You might find the following link helpful, I've referred to it while packing my cases!!  It is the Bahraini Customs regulations etc.
http://bahrain.visahq.com/customs/

Looks like we are very close at the moment!!  I'm just outside Stamford!

Good luck with your move.

S

MummyT / S,
No way!!! I've just spent the weekend with dear friends who live in Easton on the Hill!
Love Stamford ❤️
I take it you are moving out as well?

We are actually the other side of Wisbech but closest city is peterborough!

I'll certainly check out that link
Thank you
Michelle

MichellePage wrote:

Thanks for that info! I'm conscious that it will be a tad warm so lots of linen and cotton wearing!

Somebody mentioned about containers and customs...I'm sure our relocation company will give me the heads up but is there anything that I wouldn't be able to bring? I'm going to be stocking up on all my favourite beauty products, bedding etc but what about food items? Obviously not fresh (!) but tea, biscuits etc? I do have a packed pantry most of the time and could probably get most stuff in Bahrain but it's worth asking the question!!
I've also pretty much resigned myself to not being able to bring all my potted plants as sure they won't survive the 28 day container journey let alone the chance of weather!! And then is it allowed?    Sorry loads of questions!

Hi, I work for a relocation company - I am actually the person that does the preview tours of Bahrain along with a lot of other things.

You cannot bring plants to Bahrain, they will die on the journey and aren't allowed anyway. Not sure who told you 28 days but that is the minimum time - more like 6 to 8 weeks. No food allowed except dried, sealed products like rice, pasta etc but you can buy all that here. Make-up is all well and good, but it's going to be in a very hot container for a long time and will more than likely spoil - best to pack in your suitcase. PM me if you have more questions. Customs info can be found just by googling customs law in bahrain or similar.

Thanks Josnuggles! I was thinking of all the stock in my pantry like coffee, tea, oxo cubes etc...guess they should be fine!   I'm waiting to hear from the relocation company that my hubbies company use...who knows it might be you!  Thanks for the offer. Much appreciated!

I just finished canning fresh Georgia peaches and making blackberry jam, am I allowed to bring those?

Yes that should be fine but remember how long your shipment will take and how hot it is

Awesome! Thank you!

Morning all,
Our shipping company have recommended that we do not ship any food!

MummyT provided a link in this post which was useful.  I'm bringing all my Cambridge and Exante dried sachets in my suitcase.

Michelle

A couple of other things to add to the list are:
washing powder measure (and/or washing liquid/gel measure)
Bubble bath - if you like to have a bath (I haven't found any in the supermarkets out here yet - plenty of shower gel though!)

HTH

S

MummyT wrote:

A couple of other things to add to the list are:
washing powder measure (and/or washing liquid/gel measure)
Bubble bath - if you like to have a bath (I haven't found any in the supermarkets out here yet - plenty of shower gel though!)

HTH

S

Not sure where you shop    I have bottles of bubble bath in all our bathrooms. All nice, different types of Ralgex bought right here in Bahrain at Lulu's, Alosra, Macro Mart, Jawad or anywhere else for that matter. Plus a splash of shower gel under a running tap works well for bubble bath anyway. As for measuring your powder or liquid I can do it by eye but you can buy nice little measuring jugs that do the trick.

Thanks Jo,

I'm obviously looking in the wrong places (we've usually gone to Geant or Carrefour!!).  Oh well, I'll try to keep my eyes peeled for Ralgex when I am next there!! 

I've brought over some of the little washing powder scoops that come free in the powder in the UK! 

All the best

S

We used Geant and Carrefour in the early days but quickly realised the other hypermarkets were better. Have fun Ralgex shopping 

Josnuggles wrote:

Have fun Ralgex shopping 

Please tell me you can get the pink Moisture Soak Ralgex in Bahrain. My life will be complete

On a more serious note, the customs info says you can't bring knives - does that mean I can't bring over my kitchen knives