Job Discussion Forums

[Thomasmc89]

Hi all,
I just came back from this trip and thought I should share my experiences for future teachers.

1. If booking on the SAPTCO website beware that the availability of your desired bus can disappear a few days prior to the date of travel, even if all the seats haven't been taken apparently (the bus I got was deserted - with only 4 passengers on the entire coach)

2. The bus leaves Dammam at 16:00 every day with the stated arrival time of 22:11. My bus ended up arriving about 23:20 due to complications at the border. Plan accordingly.

3. There is no WiFi on the bus.

4. A visa can be obtained at the Kuwaiti border very easily. Have your eVisa email printout with you. Do this online a few days prior to the trip. It only takes a few hours to get. The Tourist Entry Visa at the border costs 3 KWD and lasts for 3 months.

5. The employee behind the desk can't handle money directly so you must buy coupons to the value of 3 dinars from a machine in the border control office. The bus driver helped me. After all this you get an A4-sized Tourist Entry Visa. Note: you MUST bring this back with you when you are leaving the country.

6. FYI the bag check at the border can be pretty thorough.

7. The bus terminates in a neighbourhood of Kuwait called Andalous at a bus depot that is right next to a large roundabout called the United Nations Roundabout. The location can be found on Google maps by typing in the name 'Axis Solutions Company'. A taxi from here to the city centre costs between 2 - 2.5 dinars. Haggle. (Careem is expensive and Uber is not yet available)

[currentaffairs]

Some good info..

Not sure why you need to pay anything, though. I go through Kuwait a lot and you get a transit visa for free on the border. I think it is valid for one month at least. I have stayed for one week in Kuwait and never had to pay anything for the visa when coming from Saudi. If you arrive at the airport you do need to pay something to enter the country.

The bus station in Kuwait is quite a nightmare because it is in a very deserted part of town. You did very well to find a taxi for 2.5 dinars. Were there taxis outside the bus station? When I arrived it was the middle of the night with no taxis or people around.

Yes, keep all your documentation with you. No need for a Kuwaiti eVisa but have your Saudi visa info to hand.

[Thomasmc89]

Interesting. I would have preferred to have gotten a transit visa, especially if it was free!

Of the 5 people (4 passengers, 1 driver) on the bus, I was the only English speaker and couldn't really communicate in Arabic so I just kind of had to go along with what they told me to do at the border office. The driver (Egyptian) messed up the selection on the coupon machine while he was trying to help me and wasted 1 of my KWD on some useless sticker for some other thing. So my visa ended up costing me a total of 4 dinar. He did make up for it a little bit after the border by letting me ring my friend (a couchsurfing host) off his Kuwaiti phone, only after changing the SIM card with one hand while he distractedly drove the bus with the other.

I cannot remember if there were taxis outside the bus station at the time I arrived, but you could always just walk a few minutes and hail one at that big UN roundabout. My couchsurfing guy was waiting to pick me up in his car. Thank God I was able to call him from the drivers mobile to tell him I would be late though, otherwise he would have been waiting for me for over an hour.

[scot47]

Visas at border may not be for all nationalities. What is the chance of getting one if you have an Indian or Guatemalan passport ?

[MixtecaMike]

[scot47]

Real men travel by bus. Especially in The Middle East !