Backpacking Kuwait in 2027

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Planning a backpacking route through Kuwait can be tricky — you need to balance must-see places, travel times, budget, and how long to stay in each destination. Our free personalized Kuwait itinerary planner creates a route based on your travel style, trip duration, and interests, so you can spend less time researching and more time exploring.

Personal tip: I normally search on good rating for atmosphere (for meeting people) and location (for easy exploring). Cleanliness as a bonus.

No vaccinations are required for most travelers visiting Kuwait, though proof of yellow fever vaccination can be requested if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk. Make sure routine vaccines (MMR, tetanus-diphtheria, polio) are up to date, and hepatitis A and B are commonly recommended. Typhoid and rabies are worth considering only for long stays or close contact with animals; see a travel clinic 4 to 6 weeks before departure.


vaccination requirements

When I first started traveling, I often spent part of my first day in a new country hunting for a local SIM card. While this can still be slightly cheaper, it also takes time and planning.

These days, it's much simpler to install an eSIM before leaving home. Once you arrive in Kuwait, you can activate it immediately and have mobile data from the moment you land — which is especially useful for ordering transport or navigating away from busy airports.

There are many providers nowadays, and price differences are usually small. I personally go with Holafly, as it offers excellent network coverage throughout the country and strong global coverage, so you can manage multiple countries from a single app.


HolaFly eSim

Kuwait is conservative but used to foreigners, and a few habits go a long way. Dress modestly in malls, souqs and government buildings, with shoulders and knees covered for both men and women. A headscarf is only expected at mosques, and the Grand Mosque lends abayas to female visitors on its tours. Take your shoes off before entering a mosque or a private home, use your right hand to eat, pass food or hand over money, and avoid pointing the soles of your feet at anyone. Alcohol is fully banned, so don’t bring any into the country. During Ramadan, eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours can bring a fine, even for non-Muslims. Ask before photographing people, especially women and families, and never point a camera at military sites, embassies or palaces. If you’re offered Arabic coffee in a diwaniya or office, accept at least one small cup, then gently shake the empty cup side to side to show you’ve had enough. Criticizing the Emir or insulting Islam is a criminal offense, including in social media posts, and rude hand gestures in traffic have led to police complaints. Women will find separate family sections in many restaurants and women-only queues at some offices and clinics, and men should wait for a woman to offer her hand before shaking it. Kuwaiti men often hold hands or kiss cheeks as a sign of friendship, which says nothing about local attitudes to same-sex relationships, so LGBTQ+ travelers should keep dating apps and personal details strictly private.

Trying traditional food is always a great way to experience the culture. Here are some must-try dishes for Kuwait.

1. Machboos: Kuwait’s national dish. Long-grain rice cooked in a spiced broth of loomi (dried black lime), cardamom, cinnamon and baharat, topped with chicken, lamb or fish. It is the centerpiece of family Friday lunches and festive tables.
2. Mutabbaq Samak: Fried or grilled fish, traditionally zubaidi (silver pomfret), served over rice cooked in the fish stock. It reflects Kuwait’s pearl-diving and fishing heritage, and zubaidi is the fish locals prize most.
3. Murabyan: Gulf shrimp cooked into fragrant, spiced rice. Shrimp from Kuwaiti waters are a seasonal pride, and this is the classic way to eat them.
4. Harees: Wheat and meat slow-cooked and beaten into a thick, smooth porridge, finished with ghee and sugar or cinnamon. It is a staple at iftar during Ramadan and at Eid gatherings.
5. Jireesh: Crushed wheat cooked with meat or chicken, onions and spices until creamy. It is a homely dish tied to Bedouin cooking and served widely in Ramadan.
6. Gabout: Stuffed flour dumplings in a rich tomato and meat stew. It is old-school home cooking and a good test of a traditional Kuwaiti kitchen.
7. Lugaimat: Small deep-fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup or honey. They are the go-to sweet with Arabic coffee, especially in Ramadan and at weddings.

Kuwait’s tap water comes from desalination plants and meets safety standards, but most locals drink bottled or filtered water because of the taste and old building pipes. For travelers, bottled water is the recommended choice, and it is cheap at about 100 to 200 fils (US$0.30 to 0.65) for a 1.5-liter bottle. Tap water is fine for brushing teeth.

The main language in Kuwait is Arabic. Backpacking is way more rewarding if you know a bit of the local language, so I'd suggest brushing up on the basics just in case your Arabic skills have become a bit rusty.



English is widely spoken in Kuwait, and you can manage in Kuwait City, Salmiya, malls, hotels and restaurants without any Arabic. Younger Kuwaitis are usually fluent, and many service jobs are held by expats from South Asia and the Philippines who use English daily. Outside the urban strip, at desert camps and small Bedouin settlements, English drops off fast. Arabic is the language that helps most, though basic Hindi or Urdu also works with many taxi drivers and shopkeepers, and the Google Translate app with offline Arabic covers the gaps.

The local currency of Kuwait is KWD (د.ك).

ATMs are everywhere in Kuwait, in malls, petrol stations and bank branches, all linked through the local KNET network, and most accept Visa and Mastercard. Local banks usually don’t add their own withdrawal fee, but your home bank’s foreign transaction and ATM charges still apply, so withdraw larger amounts less often. Cards, including contactless payments, are accepted almost everywhere from malls to cafés and supermarkets, while cash is still useful for buses, small souq stalls and street food. US dollars are the easiest foreign currency to exchange, with euros a close second. Change money at licensed exchange houses in malls and around Souq Al-Mubarakiya, which often beat bank rates, and avoid informal street changers.

Tipping in Kuwait is appreciated but not mandatory, and many restaurants already add a service charge to the bill. Where no charge is included, leaving 10% in sit-down restaurants is standard, while rounding up taxi fares or giving 250 to 500 fils (US$0.80 to 1.60) to porters and delivery drivers is a kind gesture. Many service workers are low-paid expats, so small tips make a real difference.