Jarada Island

Jarada is not really an island but a sandbar that surfaces off Bahrain's coast when the tide drops, a strip of white sand in the middle of shallow turquoise water with nothing on it at all, and it goes back under as the water rises. Boats run out to it for a few hours at low tide. There is no shade, no facilities and nothing to do beyond standing on it and swimming off it.

What you actually see

• The disappearing sand - a bar that surfaces at low tide and submerges again.
• The shallow water - turquoise sea on every side of the strip.
• The emptiness - nothing built and nothing growing on it.
• The tidal timing - a visit governed entirely by the water level.

When to go

November to April is the comfortable season. The bar only exists at low tide and the window is a few hours. Winds cancel the crossing.

Honest expectations

The bar only exists at low tide and trips must be timed to it. There is no shade whatsoever and no facilities. Boat charter is the only way there and it is not cheap.

Nearby

Manama is southwest, and Muharraq is south.