Kuwait
Traveling in Kuwait
Entry requirements |
Organizing your trip |
Visiting |
Living conditions |
Eating |
Paying |
Speaking |
Useful resources
Organizing your trip
Means of transport recommended in town
- Recommendation
-
Driving in Kuwait is hazardous. Although Kuwait has an extensive and modern system of well-lit roads, excessive speeding on both primary and secondary roads, leads to frequent and often fatal accidents.
The government-owned Kuwait Public Transportation Company operates bus services throughout the Kuwait City metropolitan area on 50 different routes, which are widely used by the low-income expatriate labor force. Taxis are available at major hotels and pick up passengers at other locations upon telephonic request. Taxis have meters, but fares are more commonly negotiated.
For further information, visit the website Transport Kuwait.
- Maps of urban networks
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Maporama
Mapblast
UT Library on line
Kuwait City Roads Map
Transportation from Airport to City Centre:
 Airport |
 Distance |
 Taxi |
 Bus |
 Train |
 Car rental |
| Kuwait (KWI) |
22 km / 14 miles |
KWD 5 / 20-30 min |
KWD 0.250 / 30 min |
|
Available |
Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country
- Recommendation
-
Kuwait has an extensive, modern and well-maintained network of highways. There is no railway system in the country so most of the people travel in car.
There are seven airports in the country, flying can be a good solution to travel in the country.
For further information, please visit the website of the Ministry of Communications.
Traveling by yourself
- Recommendation
-
The urban and road networks are in excellent condition, however it is important to be very careful with the road traffic, and in general the excessive speed which cause serious accidents. Supply in gas is permanently provided. Off-roads hikes in the desert are potentially dangerous because of the presence of mines and are therefore formally disadvised .
For further information, visit the website of the US government on travel recommendations.
- Road maps
-
Kuwait Maps
- Find an itinerary
-
Maporama
Visiting
Different forms of tourism
- Historical
-
Koweit city is modern (the biggest towers are Kuwait Towers). You can visit:
-The National Museum: located in the Arabian Gulf Street, the museum is composed of four buildings plus one planetarium. Looted and burned during the Iraqi invasion, the museum lost its magnificence and particularly the richness of its collection, which was one of the most representative of the Arabic world, but still, it is still worth visiting.
-Sadu House: built around 1840, this house is not only a permanent exhibition of the traditional bedouin weaving, but also a way of preserving this ancient know-how. The building in itself is worth the glance since it is a perfect example of the pre-oil producing era type of construction.
-Tareq Rajab museum: the museum houses a great collection of ceramic and metal objects, manuscripts, textiles, traditional costumes as well as the oldest collection of silver jewels publicly exhibited in the Arabic and Islamic world.
- Ramparts and city gates: the ramparts were built in 1922 by the Sheik Salim al-Mubarak in order to keep the nomad tribes outside the city. Although severely damaged in the 1950's, parts of the ramparts and doors remain strewed through the city, notably around First Ring Road.
For further information, visit the website Visit Kuwait.
- Cultural
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- Mosques
- The Tareq Rajab Museum
- Sadu House
- Liberation Monuments
- National Museum For complete information on cultural tourism visit the website Visit-kuwait.com
- Nature
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No nature tourism in Kuwait.
- Religious
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The mosques and cathedrals are some famous places of sightseeing at Kuwait. The decoration of these mosques and churches display a blend of traditional and contemporary architecture. The famous religious sites are Grand Mosque in Kuwait, Our Lady of Arabia Church in Kuwait and Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait.
For further information, visit the website Visit Kuwait.
- Thermal
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No thermal tourism in the country.
- Beach
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Most of such sports could be enjoyed away from the beaches along the coast. There are many sea clubs in Kuwait. They offer a variety of facilities such as outdoor and indoor swimming pools, tennis courts, beaches, bowling, gymnasiums and karate.
For complete information visit the website Visit-kuwait.com
- Winter sports
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No winter sports.
- Outdoor activities
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Diving, fishing and all outdoor activities are available in Kuwait.
For complete information visit the website Visit-kuwait.com
- Shopping
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Kuwait offers much for the shopper, with its fashionable malls and downtown Souks or the Friday market, which is comparable to a flea market. All the international brands are available in the country.
For further information, please visit the website Kuwait malls.
Living conditions
Health and safety
- Health precautions
-
No compulsory vaccination. But government of Kuwait has strict regulations regarding certain diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. Medical examinations are required for all residency applications and any applicants who are found positive for these restricted diseases will be asked to leave the country immediately and will be permanently barred from re-entry.
Bottled water is available and is advised for the first few weeks of the stay. Local meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables are generally considered safe to eat.
Hepatitis B is endemic in the region.
Medical insurance is essential.
- For further information on sanitary conditions
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Travel advice on US Department of State website
- For further information on safety conditions
-
U.S. Department of State Information about Kuwait.
Worldworx. Travel Safety Guidelines.
Emergency numbers
| Emergencies |
777 |
| Civil Security |
5393460 |
| Port Authority |
4812622 |
| Fire Department |
2432111 |
| Kuwait City Police |
2434064 |
Time difference and climate
- Time and time difference
-
It is %T:%M %A in Kuwaït City (GMT+3 )
- Summer time period
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Summer months are between June and October. The temperatures can get over 100°F (40°C).
Map of the time zone
- Type of climate
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Kuwait enjoys a variable continental climate. Summer months are between June and October and the rainy season (if you can call it that) runs from December to February, when humidity can also be high. In summer temperatures can get over 100°F (40°C), but they drop below 70°F (21°C) in winter.
The most pleasant months to travel to Kuwait are in winter, between November and April, when days are warm and sunny, although at night temperatures plummet and can be close to freezing.
- For further information
-
Visit Asia Rooms website for further information
Average annual temperatures and rainfall
Eating
- Food specialties
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There is a huge array of restaurants in Kuwait. Almost every cuisine is available in high-end restaurants. There are few restaurants that serve traditional Kuwaiti food.
The national specialities are Hummus, Falafel, Meat or fish marag (meat is first fried or boiled and then combined with other ingredients such as spices where they are steamed together in a large pot) and Aish (Arabic flat bread).
For further information, consult the website Kuwait allo Expat.
- Drinks
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Alcohol is illegal in Kuwait: it may not be imported, manufactured or served.
- Dietary restrictions
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Pork meat and alcohol are illegal.
Paying
- Domestic currency
-
Kuwaiti Dinar
- ISO Code
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KWD
- To obtain domestic currency
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ATMs are available everywhere. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller’s cheques in US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.
- Possible means of payment
-
ATM are available everywhere. American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted. Traveller's Cheques are widely accepted.
Speaking
- Official language
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Arabic.
- Other languages spoken
-
English is considered as the second language.
- Business language
-
English
- Getting some knowledge
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Visit the website Shariah Program.
- Free translation tools
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Arjeeb - Free English-Arabic-English traduction of texts and web pages
Ectaco - Free Arabic-English-Arabic dictionary
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Last updates: November 2009