Kuwait Transportation

We arrived in Kuwait with 5 hrs to spend before jumping on our flight to the Doha, so instead of sitting around and doing nothing we decided to hire a car service and look around Kuwait.

We found this company next to the minister of communication on the arrivals level ....KGL passenger service...

We paid 15 KWD for 4 hrs of car service, we were assigned a driver with the minimal amount of English language, but that was OK ... we were given a nice car with Air Conditioning, the driver took us where we wanted and waited for us....

Instead of trying to deal with a taxi driver, and a dirty broken down car, at least this was a clean and safe company and car.

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Taxis from the airport - and from my Crowne Plaza hotel which is 5 minutes from the airport - are cheap - ask the price of course to lessen the risk of being ripped off - but fuel in Kuwait is so cheap only about £4-£5 to fill a tank - that transport is still one of the cheaper advantages of being in Kuwait.

£6/3 dinar is all it costs to go about 20-25 minutes (most drivers drive rather fast) into the city.
Normally hotels provide transport - which the Crowne Plaza do to return to the airport at any time which suits but for the city they have set times for the shuttle bus so I had to go by my own taxi which the concierge happily booked which was a lovely big leather seated monster but happy with that price and the chatty driver.

The next day to see more of Kuwait I was able to have a taxi from a reputable company (Asia TAxi with driver Mohiuddin Noor Car no 98, ph number 7976637) arranged by my hotel staff for a 2 hour drive into the countryside for 2 hours - probably a bit expensive on Kuwaiti terms but for me a good deal - 10 dinar/£20. The reception staff reckoned it was a good deal and I enjoyed the opportunity.

Im told that taxis around the city are fine to use - but to use ones that are sitting in obvious ranks. or carry phone numbers to get one from a company by phone.

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I flew over to Kuwait in economy class but as an escort for a patient - the food and service was fairly good - menu had a good choice of both western and arabic dishes - but on the flight back I was VERY happily put up to Business class!

This was great!
Service still fairly good but with the extras - a gift, drinks and snacks while waiting for lift off, much more leg room - and what I would have missed out on if Id not been bumped up viz a good window seat to keep an eye on the view and any shots as the flight goes over Iran (which on the way over to Kuwait was just on nightfall) and Hungary which had a possibility of interest.

I was told by the Kuwaiti family that I was with that normally Economy return tickets are only £250 and therefore make a popular centre for flights off to other countries in the Middle east and on further such as India, Thailand and the Phillipines (and these nationalities make up most of the service industry workforce in Kuwait - my flight over was 50% if not higher of Filipino looking people!)

A word of note - I got there 2 hours before the flight as Id been told that and I thought Id better (as I often ignore it and make big flights an hour and a half and smaller ones an hour!) - and even then apparently there were no window seats left so the plane was already full or getting pretty close to full! I particularly noted that the seating in economy class is quite cramped really and was full on the flight over to Kuwait - thankfully I had two seats booked for me as part of the patients requirements and my unencumbrance!

The airport taxis, which are white with green striping and usually old Chevrolet Caprices, now operate on a fixed fair basis from the airport. The prices should be displayed inside the vehicle and are in the form of a table listing the various suburbs, districts and towns and the corresponding fairs. Most of the drivers do not speak a great deal of English if any, but will be delighted if you try and utter a few words or Arabic! The drivers aren't usually too helpful at putting your luggage into the trunk or getting it out again so expect to do it yourself.

Getting to and from Kuwait has always been a challenge with Kuwait Airways. Notoriously unreliable, shoddy service and high prices. The introduction of the first private airline in Kuwait Jazeera Airways should make it easier and cheaper to get to and from Kuwait from cities around the region. They are a new airline that only started flying in October 2005, but they have new planes and already fly to Dubai, Bahrain, Damascus, Beirut, Amman and are planning to fly to Egypt and Syria

there are buses .. do not try it, it's for low wages workers
do not try the ORANGE taxi, it is like bus, stops for anyone.
Taxis are operated by private companies, good and new cars rates are KD one for any trip in Kuwait but there are exceptions in the following cases
1- if you call a taxi to come to you at the Hotel, you will pay KD 2
2- during rush hours (7AM till 8 AM) and (1PM till 3PM) KD 1.5
3- late at night, after 11 PM KD 1.5
make sure that the driver gets the name of your distination correctly otherwise he might take you to another place just because he did not get what you have told him.

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Kuwait is quite simple to Navigate. It has six ring roads running East West from 1st ring in the middle of the city which starts at the water towers all the way out to 6th ring where the airport it. Roads running North South are all double digit and have a name. 25th Street is on the east and more commonly known as Arabian Gulf Street. The 50 is the main road from the airport to the city. The 30 or Fahaheel Expressway is the main road from the city through the residential areas of Shaab and Salmiya. Orange taxis pick up people along the way so unless you are happy to share the back seat with six builders just finished 12 hours sweating in the sun before getting in the taxi these are best avoided. Many private taxis are driven by people who have just arrived in kuwait and you will have a better idea of where to go than them. Avoid Arabian Gulf Street at the weekends when everyone comes out to pose and cruise or at least sit in a massive traffic jam. Both Citybus (red and white) and KPTC (blue and white) offer reliable bus services around the city.

Taxis are relatively easy to find in Kuwait City, though not as omnipresent as in other Middle Eastern cities. They usually charge a fixed 2 KD price for movements within the inner city. This grows up to 5-6 KD for journeys that involve crossing the whole city. An average airport trip is 5 KD.
Beware of rip-offs (see my other tip in the tourist trap section).