Gulf International Shipping is a shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: we pick up household furniture, vehicles, boxed belongings and commercial cargo in any Saudi city and hand them over at the receiver’s door in Bahrain, by road across the King Fahd Causeway, the only land link between the two countries. Loads from Dammam and Khobar arrive the same day or within 24 hours, Riyadh loads within 24–48 hours, Jeddah, Makkah, Taif and Madinah loads within 3–5 working days, and Tabuk loads in roughly 4–6 days. On cost, Gulf International Shipping’s lowest rate is SAR 92 for a small carton, then SAR 735 for a bedroom travelling on a shared truck, SAR 780 for a sedan on a multi-car carrier, and SAR 2,300 for a whole truck to yourself.
Bahrain is an island, and the road into it has a single door. That simple fact shapes the whole plan: every truck leaving Riyadh, Jeddah or Tabuk ends up in Khobar, rolls 25 kilometres over the sea, stops at the customs island halfway across, and comes down at Al Jasra, west of Manama. So this guide follows the journey of the shipment itself: from your city to the Eastern Province, through the causeway formalities, past Bahraini VAT and customs, and on to delivery in the four governorates.
Quick facts
- Crossing: one road in, the King Fahd Causeway, leaving Khobar’s Al Aziziyah district and landing at Al Jasra after roughly 25 km over the sea
- Distance: nearest is Dammam at roughly 70 to 90 km, then Riyadh at 450 to 500 km; Jeddah sits at 1,350 to 1,400 km and Tabuk, the farthest, at 1,650 to 1,700 km
- Road transit: Eastern Province loads arrive on loading day or the next, Riyadh in one to two days, the Hejaz cities and Madinah in 3 to 5 working days, Tabuk in about 4 to 6
- Air freight: Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Taif to Bahrain International Airport, starting at SAR 13.8 a kilo and taking one to two days door to door
- Prices: SAR 92 for a small carton, SAR 9.2 a kilo for shared cargo, SAR 735 for a bedroom, SAR 780 for a sedan and SAR 2,300 for a full apartment, all as starting rates
- Tax and duty: Bahrain adds 10% VAT on top of 5% duty for anything new made outside the Gulf, while people moving there to live can bring used household goods in free if they meet the conditions
- Delivery areas: the whole kingdom, from the towers of Seef and Juffair to the Amwaj islands, Hamad Town in the north and Durrat Al Bahrain in the south
Route: your city → Eastern Province → King Fahd Causeway → your door in Bahrain · 1 to 6 days · 0568829975
How does a shipment get from any Saudi city to Bahrain?
Picture the map as a funnel: wide across the west and north of the Kingdom, narrow at Khobar. A load from Jeddah, Makkah or Taif heads east to Riyadh and then takes the Riyadh–Dammam expressway into the Eastern Province. A Madinah load usually comes through Qassim and then via Riyadh or straight to Dammam. Tabuk, our farthest pickup point from Bahrain, normally runs down through Hail and Qassim. Whatever the origin, the roads meet at Khobar, where the causeway approach begins in the Al Aziziyah district.
That is what makes Bahrain different from Kuwait, the UAE or Qatar. There is no choice of crossings, no alternative desert road, and no carrier can honestly say its truck will “use a closer border post”. If a company mentions the Salwa crossing on the Bahrain route, it is mixing it up with the Qatar border, and that alone tells you its transit estimate is unreliable.
The causeway is a chain of bridges and embankments over shallow water, with one man-made island in the middle split into two halves: the western half for Saudi formalities and the eastern half for Bahraini ones. Known as Passport Island or the customs island, it covers about 660,000 square metres. A truck clears Saudi customs on the western side, moves a few hundred metres to Bahraini customs on the eastern side, then completes the causeway onto Bahraini soil at Al Jasra. From there the nearest districts are Hamad Town, Budaiya and Saar, with Manama only minutes further east.
Gulf International Shipping turns that funnel into an advantage. We gather shipments from many cities at a warehouse between Dammam and Khobar, sort them by delivery governorate in Bahrain, and dispatch them on regular trucks. Your small consignment from Jeddah therefore does not wait a week for a full Bahrain-bound truck to fill up in Jeddah itself.
How long does shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain take?
Transit time has three parts: the drive from your city to Khobar, the crossing and inspection on the causeway, and distribution inside Bahrain. The first is fairly fixed because it is driving distance, and the third is short because Bahrain is small. The middle part is the one that moves, depending on the season, the type of cargo and the Fasah slot. The table shows what we actually work to for each city; distances are approximate because they vary with the route and pickup point.
Notice that Riyadh is about 400 km farther than Dammam, yet only about a day slower. The reason is that a small Riyadh shipment usually waits for a shared load to fill, while an Eastern Province shipment can leave the same day. If your Riyadh shipment is urgent, the answer is a dedicated truck or dyna for you alone, or air freight for light items.
On the causeway itself, waits tend to grow at weekends, holidays and in peak seasons, when passenger traffic fills the bridge. Trucks have lanes separate from private cars, but the Fasah slot decides when a truck enters customs. According to Gulf press reports at the time it was introduced, the slot system cut the average wait for Bahrain-bound trucks from over 12 hours to under an hour. That is why we book the slot before the truck sets off, not when it arrives.
Each loading city has a guide of its own, with its districts and route:
- From the capital: shipping company from Riyadh to Bahrain
- From the east coast, nearest the causeway: land freight from Dammam to Bahrain
- From the Red Sea port city: shipping company from Jeddah to Bahrain
- From the holy city: shipping from Makkah to Bahrain
- From the Prophet’s city: shipping from Madinah to Bahrain
- From the Hejaz highlands: shipping from Taif to Bahrain
- From the far north-west: shipping from Tabuk to Bahrain
Approximate shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain
We gathered what carriers advertise for the Bahrain run out of Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, and pitched our starting point beneath it. Read each cell as two prices: the lower is where Gulf International Shipping starts, the higher is where the same item tends to land in the market once the load grows or gets awkward to handle.
Note: road freight from the Eastern Province arrives the same day or within 24 hours, from Riyadh within 24–48 hours, from the western cities within 3–5 working days and from Tabuk in about 4–6 days; air freight takes 24–48 hours door to door, depending on flights and clearance.
Starting price for each item
Many of our customers are not moving a whole house: an employee sends two suitcases and a box of books, a family sends a bedroom and an AC unit, a trader sends two pallets. So we list a starting price for each item on its own, and every figure covers the road journey to the address in Bahrain.
These prices include the causeway toll, which the authority charges by vehicle type and weight; we build it into our quote from the start. They do not include Bahraini VAT or customs duty when due, which are paid to Bahrain Customs rather than to us, as explained in the next section. Every origin city is compared side by side on our page of shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
Is there VAT and customs duty on shipments to Bahrain?
Yes. Bahrain charges 10% VAT on imports, something many people overlook if they are used to shipping to Kuwait or Qatar, where there is no such tax. The VAT is calculated on the value of the goods including freight and insurance plus the customs duty, not on the goods alone. Customs duty itself is 5% on most goods from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The working rule Gulf International Shipping explains to every customer has three parts:
- Products made in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the Gulf: no customs duty, as long as a GCC origin certificate travels with them; VAT then depends on what the goods are and how they are imported.
- New furniture and appliances made outside the GCC: 5% duty, then 10% VAT on the value after duty.
- Second-hand household contents of someone settling in Bahrain: no duty, provided they land before six months have passed since you arrived to live there and you hold a valid residence permit and CPR (identity card).
This example shows why we advise anyone moving house to list used furniture separately from new purchases on the inventory. A new television still in its box is treated as an imported product even when it travels among used household goods. The exemption and its paperwork are covered in detail in our guide to Bahrain used household goods customs.
Do not trust “zero duty” with no conditions
Some pages claim furniture going to Bahrain is “fully exempt”, or that the exemption applies to furniture used for more than six months. In reality the six months are counted from the date you arrive in Bahrain to live, not from the age of the furniture; the exemption needs residence and a CPR card, and personal shipments are inspected.
What happens to your truck on the King Fahd Causeway?
The official truck procedure is published by the King Fahd Causeway Authority, and it contains a detail most carriers leave out: the truck books a Fasah slot for Saudi customs and a second Fasah slot for Bahraini customs, then reports to the customs clearance office on each side. In other words, the crossing involves two back-to-back stations on the same island, and each needs its data ready.
- 1Saudi Fasah slot
We book the arrival slot through the Fasah platform before the truck leaves, and it must arrive at roughly the booked time, as ZATCA requires carriers to book in advance. - 2Driver and vehicle papers
Passport, a certified authorisation from the truck owner, valid registration, valid driving licence and any other document the authorities require. - 3Truck insurance for Bahrain
The haulier buys Bahrain cover as the truck leaves Saudi Arabia, either in the JESR app or from an insurance counter on the causeway. - 4Exit from Saudi customs
On the western half of the island, with the export declaration for the cargo. - 5Bahraini Fasah slot and clearance
On the eastern half, Bahraini customs review the cargo, may inspect it, and collect any duty and VAT due. - 6Into Bahrain
The truck completes the causeway to Al Jasra and continues to the distribution warehouse or straight to your address.
Causeway trucks also have weight limits that depend on the number of axles: a two-axle truck may carry 21 tonnes gross, for instance, and a four-axle truck 43 tonnes. Anything above that is billed to the haulier, at SAR 300 for each axle carrying too much and the same again for every tonne, or part of one, over the permitted total, and a truck beyond the maximum can be refused. So we weigh and spread the load before departure and never cram a truck to save a trip; a fine or a turnaround on the causeway costs you a whole day.
Every crossing step, the oversize length and height charges and the peak periods are explained in our guide to King Fahd Causeway truck shipping to Bahrain.
Delivery across Bahrain’s four governorates
Trucks come off the causeway at Al Jasra in the Northern Governorate, so Hamad Town, Saar and Budaiya are the closest delivery points, followed minutes later by Manama, Seef and Juffair, then Muharraq and Hidd to the north-east, and Riffa, Awali and Zallaq to the south. The difference between these areas is a few hours, not days, but it decides the order of the delivery run when a truck carries loads for several customers.
We also deliver to Salman Industrial City in Hidd for commercial loads, and to Reef Island. For a tower delivery we need the building name, flat number and the phone number of the guard or management office, because some towers in Seef and Juffair only allow loading at set hours.
Moving furniture from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain
Household moves to Bahrain are among our most frequent jobs, especially for employees relocating to work in Manama, Bahraini families returning home, and Saudi families setting up a second home there. Work starts at your home in the Kingdom: the crew takes apart beds, wardrobes and IKEA kitchens, numbers the parts and bags the screws with labels, and wraps every piece in bubble film and corrugated board. Glass, marble and antiques go into wooden crates, and split AC units have their refrigerant recovered before removal.
Bahrain is humid for most of the year, and the cargo sits over the sea before arriving in a coastal climate. We therefore give wood and fabric an extra sealed layer, put moisture absorbers in cartons of clothes, linen and electronics, and never leave mattresses exposed. In Bahrain the crew reassembles the furniture, fits the kitchen, connects the appliances and takes everything up to high floors by lift, or by external hoist when the lift is too small.
We photograph the furniture before loading and write the inventory carton by carton, because Bahraini customs require it for the exemption and inspect personal shipments, and because it helps you check everything on arrival. The complete relocation plan is set out in furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain
Gulf International Shipping moves cars to Bahrain in three ways: a multi-car carrier, from SAR 780 for a sedan; a private hydraulic flatbed for a single car, from SAR 1,100; or an enclosed transporter for luxury and sports cars, from SAR 1,840. SUVs and 4x4s start at SAR 1,190.
Before price, there is a more important question: will the car stay in Bahrain or come back? If it stays and is registered there, it has to leave the Kingdom for good: outstanding fines are paid, any finance lien is lifted, the traffic department issues the export certificate and export plates, and an export declaration is lodged. On the Bahraini side, registering a car that came from Saudi Arabia calls for one of three papers (final export certificate, customs certificate or detailed report), plus a year of insurance and a pass at technical inspection. If the car will return, it crosses on temporary entry with valid registration, a periodic inspection and insurance for Bahrain.
- Vehicle age: Bahrain allows imports of cars no older than 10 years; the five-year limit still quoted on some pages is an old rule.
- Charges: 5% duty on the car’s value, then 10% VAT on the value after duty, unless duty already paid inside the GCC is proven with first-entry certificates.
- Specification: left-hand drive and GCC specification are normally required; we check your car before shipping.
- Preparation: a quarter tank of fuel, no personal belongings inside, and photos from every side before loading.
We carry electric cars too, following the manufacturer’s battery instructions. Carrier types and paperwork are compared at length in car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
Shipping cartons, parcels and personal items to Bahrain
You do not need a whole house to use the truck. Gulf International Shipping accepts a single carton or a single suitcase and adds it to the shared load heading for Bahrain. A small carton up to 10 kg starts at SAR 92, a carton or bag up to 20 kg at SAR 138, a large suitcase up to 35 kg at SAR 230, and a parcel up to 50 kg at SAR 276.
Students and employees send their clothes and books with us, families send gifts, personal perfume and dates for occasions, and online shops send orders to their Bahraini customers. Our advice: write the receiver’s name and Bahraini phone number on every carton, attach a short list of contents, and keep loose lithium batteries and flammable liquids out. Weights and packing tips are in cartons and parcels shipping to Bahrain.
Commercial goods: full truckload (FTL) or part load (LTL)
Bahrain’s market leans heavily on goods trucked over the causeway from the Kingdom: food and dates, spare parts, building materials, restaurant supplies and Saudi factory products. We give traders three options: shared part loads (LTL) from SAR 780 or SAR 9.2 per kg, freight by the tonne from SAR 1,650, and a full truckload (FTL) from SAR 2,300.
Part loads go through the consolidation warehouse: your pallet arrives from your city, is weighed, photographed and sorted by delivery governorate in Bahrain, then loaded with other customers’ pallets on one truck. That cuts the cost sharply but adds a day or two while the load fills. A full truck goes straight from your warehouse to the causeway.
Commercial goods need different paperwork from furniture: a commercial invoice and packing list, a commercial registration, and a GCC certificate of origin so Saudi products cross without customs duty. Food, medicines and chemicals need specific approvals from the Bahraini authorities; medicines, for example, may only be imported by a licensed importer, and meat and poultry need health and halal certificates. Traders will find more in goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain
Air freight to Bahrain International Airport is available according to flight schedules, and at Gulf International Shipping it starts at SAR 13.8 per kg. Flying time is roughly an hour and a quarter out of Riyadh and two hours ten out of Jeddah; flights from Madinah and Taif to Bahrain are also listed, while Tabuk usually connects via another airport. Door to door, an air shipment takes 24–48 hours depending on the flight and clearance.
When is air worth the extra cost? When the shipment is light and urgent: original documents, a spare part that a business depends on, samples, personal medicines, or a gift for a fixed date. From Dammam and Khobar a plane makes no sense, because a truck reaches Manama within hours; it is the fastest option for urgent loads from the Eastern Province. From distant cities you can combine the two: furniture by road, and the things you need on day one by air.
Air freight is not suitable for large furniture or cars, and airlines only accept batteries and flammable liquids under their own conditions. Weights, flights and rates are covered in air freight from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
Sea freight to Bahrain: when does it fit?
Container ships do link Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port with Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port, a service that suits large commercial containers and industrial volumes. It rarely suits household furniture, a single car or cartons, because a truck covers the same distance over the causeway in hours without extra port, unloading and reloading charges. So we offer sea freight on request for commercial containers only, and recommend road for everything else.
Documents required for shipping to Bahrain
What you need depends on what you are sending, and it is the papers that set your pace through the customs island. Our usual checklist:
If the receiver has not yet received residence, tell us before shipping so we can arrange an alternative that customs accept, such as an employer letter, rather than leaving the cargo waiting on the island.
Prohibited and restricted items for Bahrain
The main items Bahrain bans from import are: narcotics of every kind including cannabis oil, used and retreaded tyres, cultured pearls, remote-controlled model aircraft, toy guns that fire projectiles, publications, images and sculptures contrary to religion or public morals, asbestos, ivory and rhino horn, and live pigs.
Some items are restricted and need a permit or may be held for review: weapons, including ornamental swords and daggers, wireless communication equipment and satellite receivers, medicines, and meat and poultry. In household shipments we refuse loose lithium batteries, gas cylinders, aerosols and flammable liquids, and perfume in commercial quantities. If you are not sure about an item, ask us before packing; one prohibited piece can hold up the whole load on the causeway.
How to ship from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain with us
- 1Message us
WhatsApp 0568829975 with where you are loading, where in Bahrain it is going, and a few photos or a list. - 2Agree price and date
We match the load to shared, dedicated or air transport and reply with a price and the first available loading day. - 3Line up the papers
You receive a checklist written for your kind of shipment, and we go through it together ahead of loading. - 4Pack and load
Our crew comes to your home or warehouse, wraps and labels each piece, photographs the lot and loads the truck. - 5Slots and crossing
Both Fasah slots are booked and the cargo data filed before the truck rolls onto the causeway. - 6Bahraini clearance
We stay with the load through inspection on the island and let you know if any duty or VAT falls due. - 7Hand-over
The truck reaches your door, the crew unloads and reassembles, and you sign after checking the inventory.
How is the cost of shipping to Bahrain calculated?
The final price is not a single number but the result of several factors. The biggest are volume and weight, then the method (shared or dedicated truck), then the loading city, then home services such as dismantling, packing and assembly. Some factors people forget: which floor you live on and whether there is a lift, whether the Bahraini address is a gated compound or a tower with fixed loading hours, the season, and the truck’s weight on the causeway, since a load exceeding the permitted axle weight attracts extra charges.
Example: a Riyadh family has a bedroom, a majlis, twenty cartons, a fridge and a washing machine, and is not in a hurry. A shared load suits them best: the bedroom from SAR 735, cartons from SAR 138 each, and appliances from SAR 320 each. If they want everything on one day with no waiting, a dedicated dyna for a 3-bedroom apartment starts at SAR 2,300. The choice comes down to the number of pieces and the distance, which is why we ask for photos before quoting.
What is the cheapest way to ship to Bahrain?
- Shared load: you pay only for your shipment’s space and wait a day or two longer.
- Cut volume before weight: bulky cheap furniture can cost more to ship than to buy new in Bahrain.
- Ship from the Eastern Province if you can: if someone can drop your items in Dammam or Khobar, price and time both fall.
- Avoid peak times: weekends and holidays lengthen causeway waits.
- Use the exemption: used furniture of new residents is exempt if it arrives within six months of your arrival with complete papers.
- Separate new from used: so VAT is not charged on items that should not attract it.
Common mistakes that cost Bahrain shippers money
- Assuming Bahrain has no VAT like Kuwait and Qatar, then being surprised by 10% on new appliances.
- Delaying the furniture shipment more than six months after moving, and losing the exemption.
- Shipping a car older than 10 years, or a right-hand-drive car, without checking it can be registered.
- Packing lithium batteries, aerosols or flammable liquids inside furniture cartons.
- Trusting a carrier that mentions Salwa or any crossing other than the King Fahd Causeway, or promises transit times that leave no room for causeway formalities.
- Not telling the tower or compound management in Bahrain about the delivery time, leaving the truck waiting at the gate.
Storage, tracking and insurance
If your Bahrain home is not ready yet, we store your furniture at our warehouse between Dammam and Khobar, the last stop before the causeway, and send it once you set a delivery date. You follow the shipment with us on WhatsApp at every stage: loading, arrival in the Eastern Province, exit from Saudi customs, entry into Bahrain, and delivery. We offer cargo insurance by declared value on request, and photograph the condition before loading and on delivery.
Shipping from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia
We also run the opposite direction: the furniture of an employee finishing a posting in Manama and returning to Riyadh or Jeddah, a car bought in Bahrain to be registered in the Kingdom, or Bahraini goods for a Saudi customer. The causeway procedure is the same in reverse, Bahraini customs first and then Saudi, and each side has its own import rules. Send the details on WhatsApp and we will arrange it.
Why Gulf International Shipping?
We know the causeway
We book Fasah on both sides and weigh the load before departure, so trucks are not turned back at the island.
Published prices
Starting prices for every item are public and below what others publish on the same route.
Correct tax advice
We tell you when 5% and 10% apply and when you are exempt, before you ship.
Door to door
One crew from your Saudi front door to your Bahraini living room, compounds and high-rise towers included.
Eastern Province hub
Your small load from Jeddah or Tabuk joins a regular truck to Bahrain.
Direct contact
One number for calls and WhatsApp, 0568829975, with updates at every stage.
Work out the cost of your Bahrain shipment
Photograph what you want to send, tell us your city and your area in Bahrain, and we will come back with the cost and the first truck available.
Bahrain guides our customers read next
- King Fahd Causeway truck shipping to Bahrain: slots, weights and truck papers
- Bahrain used household goods customs: the exemption and the six-month window
- Furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: packing, assembly and towers
- Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: carriers, export and registration
- Shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: every city in tables
- Goods shipping from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: for traders and factories
- Cartons and parcels shipping to Bahrain: small consignments
- Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain: urgent and light items
- Customs clearance service, land freight service and all destinations from Saudi Arabia
