Work travel is back for me and it brought me to Kuwait City! I have never planned to travel to Kuwait on my own and I have heard that it can be pretty tough to get here as a tourist (from Nigeria). So, I am especially grateful for this opportunity to visit for the first time.
This trip is probably the fastest I have ever taken and to cut the long story short, one morning, after being on standby mode for some days, I received a call from work to book my flight immediately. That evening, I got on a Qatar Airways flight to Kuwait City via Doha.
Getting a Visa for your Travel to Kuwait
My visa process was handled by the companyโs administrator in Kuwait, so I canโt go into details about how to get a visa there. However, in the process of putting this article, I found that residents and citizens of certain countries can either visit visa-free or apply for a tourist e-visa here.
Those countries, unfortunately, and at the time of this writing, do not include Nigeria or Kenya. So I believe the only way to get a visa to Kuwait from either of these countries is to apply through a host in Kuwait or the consulate or embassy if one is available in your country.
Getting to Kuwait from Nairobi, Kenya
I flew with Qatar Airways to get travel to Kuwait City from Nairobi. The flight was very pleasant โ one of the best Iโve had in recent times. It was also quite short. I arrived at the Doha Airport in less than 5 hours and breezed through security to get on my almost immediate connecting flight.
The flight from Doha to Kuwait City was a short one as well, taking a little under 2 hours to arrive. I got picked up by a service that had been arranged on my behalf, so I didnโt go through any immigration lines. Then, I received the original copy of my visa and proceeded to take another covid test on arrival.
Travelling to Kuwait During Covid โ Prerequisites
Before my arrival in Kuwait, I had to send my vaccination certificate to be authenticated by the Ministry of Health. In addition, I was mandated to download the Schlonik and Immune apps. These applications are used to monitor and assess covid-19 vaccinations and quarantine measures.
At the time of my arrival, booster shots of the Covid vaccine were not required for entry, however, as with many other countries, I had to take a PCR test before leaving Nairobi.
I returned to Kuwait in 2023 and there were no requests for a vaccination card or PCR tests.
Is it Safe to Travel to Kuwait?
From my brief stay here and discussions with a few of my colleagues who are residents, I can say that Kuwait is a very safe country to visit. I have had no reasons for concern so far. So much so that one time I needed to get a document urgently from a studio 20-mins away from my hotel, I felt safe and comfortable walking alone at night to pick it up.
Visiting Kuwait & Things to Doโฆ
I am spending 1.5 months in Kuwait and Iโm here during the winter season. A few mornings have had temperatures as low as 6ยฐC; on average, the weather is around 14ยฐC. Most of my time so far has been spent at work. With my days starting at 4:30 am each morning and the commute to work being about an hour long each way, I spend my weekends indoors, catching up on sleep!
When I did manage to drag myself outside, I visited a few places like the Kuwait Towers, and Egalia Beach and took several evening walks around the Fintas area and in the malls โ Kuwait has a lot of them!
Thinking about the things to do in Kuwait City, I initially thought that there werenโt that many activities to do there. But on closer look, I think there are quite a few, however, mobility and access are the main deterrents.
In the city, youโll find activities such as sky diving, boating, kayaking, fishing, quad bike riding, camel racing and so on. Kuwait also has a few outdoor spaces to enjoy picnics and days out with the family, especially now that the weather is favourable.
I am guessing the rest of my stay will also be spent mostly indoors and I am fine with that. But if I do get to explore more places, I will be sure to put up an article to get into the details.
Until then, I wish you a fantastic 2022! I hope we all have an amazing year!
What would you like to know about Kuwait? Do you have plans to visit this country or have you already been? Let me know in the comment section below!
