Trying to plan ahead so any know if card payments are common at hostels in Kuwait or cash is king?
Personally, I’d say cash is still king in Kuwaiti hostels. Mine in Salmiya requested cash, though the bigger hotels in Kuwait City took my Mastercard without a blink. ATMs are widely available, but don’t assume your hostel will take card just because everything else in the country is so modern. If you want to avoid stress, bring dinar with you and save your card for shopping, restaurants, and transport.
I’ve been to Kuwait twice and stayed in cheaper hostels. Both times, they wanted cash. The reception mentioned their POS machine “not working,” but I got the feeling they preferred cash regardless. Luckily there’s no shortage of ATMs in Kuwait City, with Boubyan Bank and NBK machines near every major intersection. If you’re on a backpacking budget, assume cash is the default for hostels, even though cards work almost everywhere else.
I wouldn’t say card is common in hostels around Kuwait. In my case, a guesthouse near the Grand Mosque accepted Visa, but the next place outside the city insisted on cash. It’s really inconsistent. ATMs are reliable, especially ones from NBK in big shopping centers. You can use card in most restaurants and malls, but for hostels, expect to pay in cash more often than not.
In Kuwait, most budget-friendly places or hostels will lean toward cash. I stayed at a small hostel near Salmiya, and they told me straight up to bring Kuwaiti Dinar as their machine was unreliable. The larger international hotels in Kuwait City were fine with card, but hostels are a different story. NBK and Gulf Bank ATMs are everywhere in malls, so withdrawing isn’t hard. If you’re planning ahead, carry some cash because you don’t want to get stuck with a “cash only” check-in situation.