Saved
Kuwait — hero
← All destinations Country

Kuwait

Where the Arabian Gulf meets modern ambition. Kuwait rewards curious families with gilded souks, desert horizons, and a warm-hearted culture that turns every visit into something genuinely memorable.

  • Currency د.ك Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)
  • Language Arabic
  • Best time November – April
  • Visa eVisa or visa on arrival (up to 90 days)
Why visit

Why Kuwait

Where the Arabian Gulf meets modern ambition. Kuwait rewards curious families with gilded souks, desert horizons, and a warm-hearted culture that turns every visit into something genuinely memorable.

  • Kuwait Towers & the waterfront
  • Grand Mosque & Souq Al-Mubarakiya
  • The Avenues mall
  • Failaka Island & Gulf War memory sites
Read more

Kuwait punches well above its size as a Gulf destination for experiential travellers. Beyond the gleaming Kuwait City skyline, you'll find labyrinthine souks, extraordinary Islamic architecture, and a culinary scene rooted in Bedouin tradition yet cosmopolitan in ambition — fresh hammour, slow-cooked machboos, and some of the Gulf's best seafood all waiting to be discovered.

For families, Kuwait's well-preserved desert hinterland opens up accessible soft adventures — 4x4 excursions across golden sands, falconry encounters, and Bedouin-style overnight camps that connect children to a centuries-old nomadic heritage without sacrificing comfort.

The country's compact geography and seamless infrastructure make it a genuinely effortless base, with world-class malls, waterfront corniche walks, and the fascinating Kuwait National Cultural District all within easy reach — a dupe Gulf gem that savvy travellers are quietly discovering ahead of the crowds.

A pillar, not a footnote

Eat your way through Kuwait

The single reason many travellers come back — the food culture worth reshaping a trip around, and the dishes to seek out region by region.

Kuwait

Spiced rice with the day's shrimp and fish, hot Iranian flatbread, and karak strong enough to stand a spoon in.

Kuwait's kitchen faces the water. The plate to seek out is mutabbaq samak — spiced rice layered with fried fish and caramelised onion — or murabyan, fat Gulf shrimp folded through rice heavy with loomi and baharat. Seafood is the pride here, not an afterthought.

The national anchor is machboos, that Gulf constant of spiced basmati with meat or fish, but the everyday joys are cheaper and hotter: shawarma shaved to order, falafel sandwiches at a legally-capped price, and khubz irani torn straight off the tandoor wall of an Iranian bakery, blistered and steaming. There's no alcohol at all, so the social fuel is karak chai, milky and cardamom-spiced, and cups of cardamom gahwa with dates. End on luqaimat, crisp dumplings soaked in date syrup, and you've eaten Kuwait right.

Dishes to seek out
  • Machboos (spiced rice with meat/fish)
  • Mutabbaq samak (spiced rice with fried fish)
  • Murabyan (spiced shrimp & rice)
  • Gabout (dumplings in meat stew)
  • Luqaimat (date-syrup dumplings)
  • Khubz irani (Iranian tandoor bread)
  • Karak chai (spiced milk tea)
Things to do

Nature, culture & hidden gems

Editorial content coming soon

We're hand-picking the standout places, hidden gems and can't-miss activities in Kuwait. Meanwhile, the cities above are a great starting point.

Plan your trip

Curated Kuwait itineraries

Browse all Kuwait trips →
When to go

Weather & timing in Kuwait RIGHT NOW 47° clear

Best Feb–Mar, Dec · Shoulder Jan, Apr, Nov

  1. Jan 6° / -4°
  2. Feb 8° / -2°
  3. Mar 12° / 2°
  4. Apr 18° / 8°
  5. May 24° / 14°
  6. Jun 28° / 18°
  7. Jul 30° / 20°
  8. Aug 28° / 18°
  9. Sep 24° / 14°
  10. Oct 18° / 8°
  11. Nov 12° / 2°
  12. Dec 8° / -2°

Best time to visit

November – April

Best for
  • Culture
  • Cuisine
  • Landscape
  • History
At a glance
Sunshine 7 hr/day (est.)
Rain days 8 days/mo (est.)
Wettest December · 60mm
Driest June · 10mm
Part of Gulf →
By season
Spring (Mar–May)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — Mar is among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds. Apr also works well.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 29°C with overnight lows near 19°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — Peak heat and the biggest crowds — many travellers prefer spring or autumn.

Autumn (Sep–Nov)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C.

What's best — Nov is comfortable, with thinner crowds.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 7°C with overnight lows near -3°C.

What's best — Dec and Feb are among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds. Jan also works well.

A little context

A little history

To read what you're looking at — the empires and eras that shaped Kuwait's food, art and streets.

Kuwait was founded in the early 18th century as a trading and pearling port by Bani Utub settlers, among them the Al Sabah, whose merchant families and dynasty have shaped its politics since
the vast Burgan oil field, found in 1938, turned a modest port into an oil state that funded an early cradle-to-grave welfare system
Iraq's 1990 invasion and the 1991 Gulf War liberation, with the oil wells torched, cemented Western security ties and left a deep national scar
its elected National Assembly, from 1963, is the Gulf's most powerful parliament, making public life markedly more political than its neighbours'.
Before you book

Know before you go

The practical back-matter — safety, drones and the essentials, in one place.

Safety

High risk — read FCDO advice carefully FCDO advice →

Official UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance is the definitive source — check it close to your travel dates.

Drone rules (sub-250g)

  • Kuwait
    A hard barrier in practice. The DGCA can permit a pre-arranged foreign operator, but importing a drone without prior approval is prohibited and devices are routinely seized during airport bag checks, there's no sub-250g exemption, and camera use needs separate Interior Ministry security clearance. ⚠ No night flying without DGCA permission; flights near airports, military installations and oil facilities are prohibited, as is overflight of crowds, highways and residential areas. 2026 regional security tensions have hardened enforcement. Rules checked: Jul 2026

National parks, protected sites and religious/heritage venues often have their own rules and permits — always check the specific site before you fly.

The essentials

Plug & voltage Type C/G · 240V
Daily budget Mid-range (alcohol-free)
Region Western Asia