Bahrain Stopover - How Long with 3 & 5 y.o.?

Bahrain Stopover - How Long?

Hi,

We have the option of a stopover in Bahrain in Sep/Oct next year. We are 2 (mostly) grown-ups plus 3 & 5y.o. girls. Sandy & I have travelled a fair bit in the middle east, just never on this side of the Persian Gulf. How long should we schedule our stopover for? I love doing old souks and wandering around old cities. We have about 30 useful words of arabic between us.

Anyway any suggestions for itinerarys, places to stay (kid friendly would be nice :o) would really be appreciated.

Thanks

Michael :o)

i lived in saudi for 1 1/2 years and made it to bahrain twice.i can't say much about where to go,stay etc but generally speaking the arabs are very child friendly. they themselves are into the big family thing so no worries. my LP guide says a little about bahrain and the souks etc but not much. i'd think 2 nights would be plenty. spend the morning in the souk. and the afternoon at the beach at one of the beach resorts or by the hotel pool. the age of your kids isn't at the point where they'd really get something out of the experience so you're kinda stuck. even taking them for a camel ride is a bit risky as it's a long ways to the ground if you're 3 years old and sitting on the back of a camel. tough call. have you cross posted on the middle east thread for ideas? have a good trip. we're off to australia in 6 weeks. 17 hours with a 4 and 1 1/2 year old. we can't wait...