Turning a Kuwait layover into a highlight

Kuwait was a deliberate layover: I landed in the morning with a flight out late at night, and one day proved exactly enough. It nearly ended at the airport, though. My visa, approved months earlier, had expired before I ever used it; I had assumed the country would not issue one too far in advance. Lesson one, and it applies everywhere: check the expiry date, not just the approval. Visa on arrival saved the day in about forty-five minutes.

Lesson two: Kuwait is a car city. I started on foot around Mubarakiya, the old market, and had the lanes nearly to myself; between the buildings, parking lots run one after another, and nobody walks. I enjoyed being the only pedestrian in the capital, but plan around a car from the start.

The city's hits fit into an afternoon: the old town with Safat Square and the Liberation Tower, Sadu House, the dhow port with hundreds of wooden ships moored hull to hull, the fish market with the day's catch coming in, Souq Sharq marina and its viewpoint bridge, then a ticket up Kuwait Towers for the panorama. I was done by four, with hours to spare.

Two timing notes. The Grand Mosque closes to visitors during prayers, so check the times if it is on your list. And midwinter means jacket weather: the sea wind does its job, which makes the walking pleasant and the viewpoints cold.

The upgrade I would make next time: a local driver-guide for the day. It costs more than a rental, but in a city built around cars and parking, someone else driving turns a logistics day into a sightseeing one, and a good guide can add the desert after dark.

Which is exactly where my evening went, and that is its own story. The full two-day route, hour by hour, is in the Kuwait guide.