Earlier field measurements of sediment transport in bar troughs have indicated that onshore transport across troughs is very small and that on barred beaches, sediment mass transfer from the bar to the beach occurs mainly through bar welding. Here, we revisit the issue using novel instrumentation that is capable of recording suspended sediment transport at high resolution down to about 0.8 cm above the seabed. It was found that under accretionary fairweather conditions, a bar eroded and a beach berm accreted but the net suspended sediment transport across the trough was very small and seaward directed. The observed berm accretion could also not be ascribed to bedload transport through migration of wave ripples. It is concluded that even under favourable conditions, onshore sediment transport across bar troughs appears to be limited.