Iraq is one of those places where things can change at any time, so if you’re following this (or any) post in reverse (to Iraq), you should check on the security situation before you consider going. And, if you’re going to Iraq then you can read my guide about traveling in this amazing country.

With that in mind, if you ever wondered how to cross the Safwan border from Iraq to Kuwait by road, then read on.

Before you go

Visas

We got the Kuwait e-Visas online ahead of time. You don’t have to do this but I’d recommend it since it makes the border crossing process much faster. It’s also cheaper: the e-Visa is about 15 USD, and buying a VOA is almost double. We got the e-Visa in about a day.

Money

You can use your bank and credit cards at ATMs and everywhere else, in Kuwait. Just tap. However, it doesn’t hurt to bring a few Kuwaiti dinars with you when you’re crossing the border. There’s a mandatory bus you have to pay for to ride around no man’s land and all that. We changed the last of our Iraqi dinar to Kuwaiti in a little shop on the border.

The route – Basra to the Safwan border

There are a couple of ways to reach the Safwan border crossing from Basra:

• take a taxi (Careem) to Basra garage. There, pick up a share taxi or a mini bus to Aczubayer, that’s a quick trip. From there, take another taxi to the Safwan border. I’m not sure what this costs but I’d guess not much. It’ll take one and a half to two hours depending on how smoothly your rides line up.

Or, especially if you are two or more, just do what we did:

• take a taxi (Careem) all the way straight to the border for around 20k dinar. That took about an hour and zero fuss.

Crossing the border

We got out at the border and said goodbye to the Careem driver who was super nice and wished us welcome back to Iraq another time. We were seriously sorry to go at this point.

Exiting Iraq

We walked right up to the first office building where the Iraqis took a quick look at our passports and ran our bags through the x-ray. From there, another short walk to Iraqi Immigration where they took our passports and stamped us out.

As you exit Immigration and continue your stroll, you see a couple of shops. We stopped there to change the last of our Iraqi dinar to Kuwaiti dinar in the little supermarket.

Then you walk to the big covered parking lot and wait for the bus.

Entering Kuwait

When the bus finally appeared, we rode it (not by choice) to Kuwaiti Immigration, which cost 1 KD, took about five minutes, and was generally annoying because we had to wait for it forever. As far as I know, walking across is just not allowed.

Inside Kuwaiti Immigration we took our e-Visa printouts and passports to the desks on the right side of the room and did all the visa checking and biometric stuff there. This was pretty quick. As I said before, the e-Visa isn’t mandatory but it’s definitely a time-saver. If you haven’t got it, I’m not sure what the process is but someone in that office will direct you.

After the photos and fingerprinting, we took our passports to the main counters and got stamped. Keep your visa printout handy because everyone will demand to see it until you clear this border zone.

We got back onto the bus and drove for literally two seconds, during which there was another passport and visa check.

Off the bus again, it was time to drag our luggage off with us and run it all through the x-ray we’d parked next to. Women have to go separately to other side of the lot and into an office, taking their bags with them. In there, female officers check purses and makeup bags and you get a little note to hand to the guard back at the bus again.

Reunited at the bus next to the x-rays, we got back onboard for some more visa checking and a two minute drive through the gate.

Into the city

Outside the gate, we got off the bus in another carpark and the taxi drivers pounced. From what we heard, you can expect to pay 40 to 50 USD for the trip. We painfully negotiated 45 USD and still the driver tried for more when we reached the hotel. You can pay the taxi in KD if you have it or in USD. The trip is 90 kms and took an hour and half or so. We had ours drive us straight to the Best Western in Salmiya.

Yalla! Door to door in four and a half hours. Welcome to Kuwait.

Read More

For more about traveling in Iraq and things to see and do while you’re at it, check out this guide about traveling in this amazing country: Iraq travel guide and itinerary.

And, if you’re planning some travels in the Middle East on the way, take a look at these posts from other countries in the area.

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