Hiring a car in Bahrain is easy as long as you have a recognised driving licence, passport & a credit card.

Most of the major car rental companies such as Hertz & Avis are based in Bahrain and offer a large selection of rental cars from box standard family cars through to sports cars & 4x4s.

However it is cheaper to hire from the local based car rental companies; just as long as you are not to bothered about the overall appearance of your car. In-fact most cars from local rental companies will bear battle scars from being driven on Bahrain roads and it is important to make a thorough check of your car, marking the dents & scratches before you set out as you do not want to end up paying for some one else's mistake.

A typical rental rate for a small car such as the Toyota Echo is 8 BD per day and if you take the car for longer periods then you will get a much reduced daily rental rate.

When renting a car in Bahrain remember that you will be liable for an excess which can be as much as $500, so always ask for fully comprehensive insurance and make sure that know what excess you are paying. It may cost you slightly more to reduce your excess but I would say that it is well worth paying the extra as just a small scratch can end up costing you your full excess if you should happen to rent a vehicle from an unscrupulous car rental company.

Booking your Bahrain Car rental could not be easier as most of the major companies now offer online booking facilities and I am sure that it will not be long before the local Car Rental companies follow and also start to offer online booking facilities.

Don't forget in the Middle East (as with most of the world) you can haggle over car hire just as easily as haggling over a watch in a market! So if you are planning on renting a car for more then a week - Haggle!