Eating out: with its delicious local fare, penchant for seafood and huge range of international cuisine from Balinese to Japanese, Manama is a great place to eat out. You can usually drink an alcoholic beverage over dinner too.

Shopping: coming here to pick up jewellery and other items is certainly worthwhile given the huge range and quality available. Manama Souk is the best place to head for clothes, gold, souvenirs, carpets and much more; while the new malls are also worth a look. Bahrain International Airport takes pride in its duty-free stores, so have a browse before boarding the plane home.

Golf: a short drive south of Manama, the new Riffa Golf Club offers a PGA standard 18-hole course in the middle of the desert – so there are plenty of sand traps to avoid here. The course is floodlit at night so players need not head for the clubhouse once it gets dark.