Kuwait Travel Guide

The city is pretty small. Watch Out: If you are allergic to dust, reconsider your decision of travelling to Kuwait. Since Kuwait is plump with oil, tourism is not a big thing for the Kuwaitis. So there're less buildings and therefore lots of sand, compared to more developed GCC countries like UAE, Bahrain. There are frequent sandstorms here that could almost throw you off the road and render near zero visibility. You haven't seen it if you haven't seen...: One has to see the Kuwait towers and the Independence Towers, which opens out on Kuwait's Independence Day. It is only on this day that people are allowed up the tower. It has a revolving restaurant that moves up and down. You may need to book at least a month in advance. The Blue Kuwait towers are a magnificient sight at night. One glance at them will take your breath away. I would strongly recommend that one travels all the way to Kuwait only to see this marvel in its glory. Grub: If you're non-veg, Food is simply not a problem. Vegetarian options are farily limited. There are a few Indian restaurants, you can start at a place called the Mughal Palace and work your way from there. Must Pack: Shades and loose summer clothing. People here: The population has the highest percentage of locals that I have seen in any GCC country so far. After that you have a lot of Egyptians and Indians. Speak to me? Most people talk in Arabic. This is again due to the high presence of an Arab population. Egyptians are exceptionally good in English, so you can bank on that. Money: Kuwait is so far the only GCC country to depeg from the dollar. So dollars will work fine. You can change at the airport, but I would recommend changing at a exchange center. There a number of exchange centers run by Indians near one of the Lulu Center in the heart of the city. You can get good rates there.

Use taxis* for transportation. They are cheap. Do not use the bus, usually they are very dirty and take much too long to reach from point A to point B. There is no train transportation available. As a more expensive option you can rent cars. There is a huge range to rent from. N-Joy ;)   * [NOT THE RED ONES - the red taxis will pick up more passengers on the way, use the normal white taxis :)]

Compared to many other areas of the Middle East, Kuwait is less demanding of female travelers to conform to their expected customs and norms. It may be wise to pack a least a few long-sleeved shirts and less pairs of shorts, even in the hottest days of summer -- don't show more skin than necessary when walking the streets of Kuwait.