05 September 2010 05:44 GMT
AirAsia Indonesia starts flights to Singapore
London City goes 'silent' this month
Easyjet to open more routes from Geneva
Keep flying wise! Sign up for our free e-newsletter The Transiter, which delivers the latest airport travel tips, news and feedback straight to your inbox every month
3-5 hour stopovers
Leaving the airport
For those with between three hours and five hours in transit at Kuwait airport, it is just about possible to leave the airport and return again in time for your onward connection.
Obviously this depends on whether you qualify for a visa on arrival in Kuwait – read our Visas section for a list of nationalities which this applies to.
Our ideas are as follows:
- The lowest risk option is to go to the Airport Mall, which is on the landside of the airport. In other words, it’s in the same building as the airport itself but you’ll need to get a visa and go through passport control and customs in order to reach the mall. You’ll find a range of shops and restaurants, including a Pizza Express and a Starbucks, and although the mall isn’t huge, it certainly has more to offer than staying inside the terminal. You’ll also be able to nip outside for a breath of fresh air – which between April and September will also be very hot air indeed.
- There’s not a huge choice of things to do within a really short taxi ride of the airport. One option is to visit the Kuwait Zoo, which lies between the airport and city centre and should be reachable in about 10-15 minutes taxi ride. However, the zoo is not especially appealing, and on hot days it makes no sense to be walking around in the heat.
- If the weather’s right (roughly February-April or September-November) you could hit the beach for an hour or so. Try heading from the airport to Messilah Beach, on Kuwait’s eastern seaboard, where there are numerous hotels including the Safir al-Dana resort, the Messilah Beach Hotel or the Radisson SAS.
If you have closer to five hours between your flights, then try reading our Exploring the City section for the top things to see and do in Kuwait city, including top sights, restaurant picks and shopping options.
RELATED LINKS
Shopping in Kuwait City
Arriving and departing from KWI
Inside Kuwait airport
5-7 hour stopovers in Kuwait
TRAVEL TOOLS
Book Kuwait hotels
Comments, feedback, tips or advice?
Post it using the box below.