Kuwait guide
Kuwait
A Gulf city: seafront evenings, the old markets and a boat to Failaka Island.
Why Kuwait?
Seafront evenings
Evenings on the seafront below the Kuwait Towers.
Covered markets
Shop for spices, cloth and gold in the covered markets.
Failaka Island
A boat trip to Failaka, an island settled since antiquity.
Before you go
Currency
Kuwaiti Dinar
Language
Arabic
Time difference
GMT+3
Getting around
Car
Driving
On the right
Best time to visit Kuwait
November to March
Places in Kuwait
The seafront
ViewpointThe Kuwait Towers
LandmarkFailaka Island
LandmarkThe old markets
Market
Compare flight tickets to Kuwait
Trip plans for Kuwait
Day 1
- The old centre
- The old marketsCovered markets behind the seafront, where the city buys spices, cloth and gold.
- The Kuwait TowersThree 1977 towers on a headland into the bay; the building the country is recognised by.
- Seafront in the eveningThe bay shore along the whole city, where everyone goes once the heat drops.
Local tips
Getting around Kuwait
Car
The city is spread out and built for driving; there is no metro and the distances are longer than a map suggests.
Recommended
Ride-hailing
The usual alternative to driving, with the fare settled in the app.
Taxi
Plentiful, and worth agreeing the fare on before setting off.
eSIM plans in Kuwait
About Kuwait
Kuwait is one city on one bay, and the country behind it is flat desert to the borders. The old centre and the towers are on the water; the suburbs run inland; and there is very little that is not one or the other.
The summer here is the most extreme of anywhere in these guides, and it organises the whole year. The city lives outdoors from November and indoors from May.
Photo credits
Photographs on this page, with their licences.
- Photo by khalid mardini on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Jan Dommerholt on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by shahed mufleh on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Ahmad Mohammed on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Shashi Ghosh on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Masrur Rahman on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source