My travel itinerary was 8 days long, 24 major activities, with night stays in 4 locations – Lome, Accra, Krokobite and Cape Coast.
I exchanged N600 for 1,000 CFA and N1,000 for 12 Cedis, 60 pesawas but I’ll do my cost breakdown in Naira to make it easily understandable.
Transportation via ABC Transport
Lagos to Lome – N15,300.
Accra to Lagos – N16,000
Other Transport companies like EFEX, GUO & CROSS COUNTRY charge higher.
Virgin Passport( Passport that has never been used on a road border) – N2,500
You also need a yellow card and an id card. If you don’t have a passport you will be charged an extra N5,000 and if you don’t have a yellow card you will be charged an additional N2,000.
A motor bike (okada) from the park in Lome to my hotel cost 300 CFA, about N200. Bikes charge around that rate for moving around in Lome. I first went to the Grand Marche for 200CFA, walked to other tourist attractions , and walked back to my hotel.
Hotel Accommodation in Lome
My hotel cost N13,000. I picked the location based on its free WIFI, nearness to Afloa Border and proximity to the few tourist attractions in town, including the beach which is pretty close to everywhere.
A decent hotel in Lome cost between N10,000 to N20,000.
Feeding in Lome
I bought snacks and fruits at a super mart. Soft drinks cost around 500CFA. A bunch of bananas cost 300CFA. A meal from a local restaurant cost 1,500 CFA and a meal from a proper restaurant cost 5,000 CFA.
I spent about N4,000 on food and drinks in Lome for a 24 hour stay.
Getting out of Lome
I paid 300CFA for a shared taxi to the Afloa Border, 1000 CFA to stamp my passport out of Togo and 30 cedis to stamp my passport into Ghana.
If you are returning to Nigeria from Lome you can get a vehicle back to Hilla Condji Border and another vehicle from the Benin Republic Part of the border to take you to Nigeria or you can board a vehicle from ABC’s branch office in Lome (if they arrive on time) for N15,300.
Getting to Ghana
I paid 25 cedis from Afloa Border to Accra via STC Transport. Private rides with salon cars charge at least 100 cedis per person but STC was pretty comfortable for me.
Internet
My itinerary required a lot of moving around so cellular data had to be my primary connection to the internet. Hotel WIFI’s were a bonus if any. MTN Sim card in Togo cost 2500CFA. Another 2500CFA can get you 1GB of data.
I bought an MTN Sim Card for 5 Cedis and I used 33 cedis worth of airtime for internet and calls in one week. 10 cedis got me 1g of data. In Lome I relied on the hotel WIFI. Internet cost during my trip is roughly N4,000.
Accommodation in Accra
Hotel prices in the most central area of Accra starts from N25,000 a night. Decent ones outside the central area cost N15,000 a night. I spent two nights in Accra, one night at a central area and the other night outside the central area.
Accommodation in Kokrobite
There are several beach resorts at Kokrobite, a resort village in the outskirt of Accra. Accommodation cost between N9,000 to N50,000 a night. I paid N13,000 a night at the resort I stayed.
Accommodation in Cape Coast
Decent hotels in Cape Coast cost as low as N9,000 a night. I stayed at Oasis Beach Resort and I paid about N11,500 for a single room with shared facilités. The dormitory is about N9,000 a night.
Feeding in Ghana
10 to 15 Cedis, about N1,200 can get one a decent meal in the local restaurants. Hotel restaurants and other big restaurants charge about 35 cedis for a meal. Soft drinks cost an average of 3 cedis in traffic, 2 cedis for a small bottle of water. Sachet water sells for 10 pesawas.
Entry Fees
If you are adventurous like me, you would need to keep money aside as entry charge into most tourist locations. Cape Coast castle charged 40 cedis, Kakum National Park charged 60 cedis just for going on the walkway, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park charged 10 cedis entry fee, Hans Cottage was free to enter but I paid 1 cedis to touch the crocodile and 2 cedis to go on a boat ride. Other activities e.g swimming cost 20 cedis.
Transportation About Town
Cab fare took a bulk of my money because I moved around a lot. On my second day in Accra I spent 130 cedis just for transportation. I had to buckle up after that. Ubers are better alternatives but they turned out to be time wasters. No successful trip at my 4th attempt -Drivers taking ages to show up, cancellations at the last minute and claims of not knowing my destination.
Cabs charge an average of 15 cedis. Most will call up to 50 cedis for a 10 cedis trip so hone your negotiation skills.
A trick to use is putting your destination into an uber app to get a fare estimate before negotiating with a cab.
Trotro aka danfo charge an average of 1.5 cedis. Great alternative if you know your route.
For instance I found my way from Accra to Kokrobite via a Trotro. Every local I made enquires from were eager to help with directions.
Transportation out of town eg from Accra to Cape Coast in an AC Vehicle cost 24 Cedis.
Summary for 8 days
Transportation across countries: N40,000
Transportation within town and across cities: N30,000
Hotel: N100,000
Stamps: N5,000
Feeding: N20,000
Entry Fees: N10,000
Miscellaneous (souvenirs/internet/fabrics etc included): N15,000
I believe my cost breakdown is comprehensive enough to help you plan your trip in a flexible manner. I know its expensive and there was bound to be a strain on my pocket when I returned but who cares, life is living. I would do this over and over again.
Other things to note:
I booked three of my hotels directly with the hotel managers, one via Booking.com, one via Wakanow and one via Jumia Travel. All were successful except the booking with Jumia Travel which regrettably was the ONLY BOOKING I did pay before arrival to ensure my all goes well. Guess what? It didn’t so I cancelled and Jumia Travel said No Refund.
Afloa Border has the best rates to change currency. You can change in Accra but finding a bureau de change that accepts naira in exchange for cedis is difficult. Alternatively you can keep some currency in dollars like I did. Some hotels in the city centre accept dollars against their local currency.
You can save cost by limiting your stay to one location or cutting down the number of days.
You can save cost by opting for hotels outside the central area, or settling for hostels which is a bit cheaper.
You can cut down stress by flying in and out, or flying one way.
I wish you good luck. If you need full assistance planning your trip I may have to charge or contact zainymo@yahoo.com whose plan is....
First and foremost 15k to Lome is headache inducing. Take a car from Mike 2 to SEME border for 1000 naira. Cross bike ( the ones wearing uniform or simply ask for gariba/Abubakar bike park.
Take a bike across the border, 500 Naira but if you want to stamp, 1k. Take a car to like for 5000 cfa. You pay 1300 cfa at the Hills condji border. This will take you to Aflao border That's about 7j from Lagos to Lome. Still is good, but the small cars called hurry car charge 40 cedis and not 100 cedis
There are loads of cheaper hotels in Accra ranging from 5k upwards. Next time hit me up on . I attended university and lived in Ghana for a total of 16 years. I know the road like the back of my hands.
Courtesy. Naijasinglegirl.
I exchanged N600 for 1,000 CFA and N1,000 for 12 Cedis, 60 pesawas but I’ll do my cost breakdown in Naira to make it easily understandable.
Transportation via ABC Transport
Lagos to Lome – N15,300.
Accra to Lagos – N16,000
Other Transport companies like EFEX, GUO & CROSS COUNTRY charge higher.
Virgin Passport( Passport that has never been used on a road border) – N2,500
You also need a yellow card and an id card. If you don’t have a passport you will be charged an extra N5,000 and if you don’t have a yellow card you will be charged an additional N2,000.
A motor bike (okada) from the park in Lome to my hotel cost 300 CFA, about N200. Bikes charge around that rate for moving around in Lome. I first went to the Grand Marche for 200CFA, walked to other tourist attractions , and walked back to my hotel.
Hotel Accommodation in Lome
My hotel cost N13,000. I picked the location based on its free WIFI, nearness to Afloa Border and proximity to the few tourist attractions in town, including the beach which is pretty close to everywhere.
A decent hotel in Lome cost between N10,000 to N20,000.
Feeding in Lome
I bought snacks and fruits at a super mart. Soft drinks cost around 500CFA. A bunch of bananas cost 300CFA. A meal from a local restaurant cost 1,500 CFA and a meal from a proper restaurant cost 5,000 CFA.
I spent about N4,000 on food and drinks in Lome for a 24 hour stay.
Getting out of Lome
I paid 300CFA for a shared taxi to the Afloa Border, 1000 CFA to stamp my passport out of Togo and 30 cedis to stamp my passport into Ghana.
If you are returning to Nigeria from Lome you can get a vehicle back to Hilla Condji Border and another vehicle from the Benin Republic Part of the border to take you to Nigeria or you can board a vehicle from ABC’s branch office in Lome (if they arrive on time) for N15,300.
Getting to Ghana
I paid 25 cedis from Afloa Border to Accra via STC Transport. Private rides with salon cars charge at least 100 cedis per person but STC was pretty comfortable for me.
Internet
My itinerary required a lot of moving around so cellular data had to be my primary connection to the internet. Hotel WIFI’s were a bonus if any. MTN Sim card in Togo cost 2500CFA. Another 2500CFA can get you 1GB of data.
I bought an MTN Sim Card for 5 Cedis and I used 33 cedis worth of airtime for internet and calls in one week. 10 cedis got me 1g of data. In Lome I relied on the hotel WIFI. Internet cost during my trip is roughly N4,000.
Accommodation in Accra
Hotel prices in the most central area of Accra starts from N25,000 a night. Decent ones outside the central area cost N15,000 a night. I spent two nights in Accra, one night at a central area and the other night outside the central area.
Accommodation in Kokrobite
There are several beach resorts at Kokrobite, a resort village in the outskirt of Accra. Accommodation cost between N9,000 to N50,000 a night. I paid N13,000 a night at the resort I stayed.
Accommodation in Cape Coast
Decent hotels in Cape Coast cost as low as N9,000 a night. I stayed at Oasis Beach Resort and I paid about N11,500 for a single room with shared facilités. The dormitory is about N9,000 a night.
Feeding in Ghana
10 to 15 Cedis, about N1,200 can get one a decent meal in the local restaurants. Hotel restaurants and other big restaurants charge about 35 cedis for a meal. Soft drinks cost an average of 3 cedis in traffic, 2 cedis for a small bottle of water. Sachet water sells for 10 pesawas.
Entry Fees
If you are adventurous like me, you would need to keep money aside as entry charge into most tourist locations. Cape Coast castle charged 40 cedis, Kakum National Park charged 60 cedis just for going on the walkway, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park charged 10 cedis entry fee, Hans Cottage was free to enter but I paid 1 cedis to touch the crocodile and 2 cedis to go on a boat ride. Other activities e.g swimming cost 20 cedis.
Transportation About Town
Cab fare took a bulk of my money because I moved around a lot. On my second day in Accra I spent 130 cedis just for transportation. I had to buckle up after that. Ubers are better alternatives but they turned out to be time wasters. No successful trip at my 4th attempt -Drivers taking ages to show up, cancellations at the last minute and claims of not knowing my destination.
Cabs charge an average of 15 cedis. Most will call up to 50 cedis for a 10 cedis trip so hone your negotiation skills.
A trick to use is putting your destination into an uber app to get a fare estimate before negotiating with a cab.
Trotro aka danfo charge an average of 1.5 cedis. Great alternative if you know your route.
For instance I found my way from Accra to Kokrobite via a Trotro. Every local I made enquires from were eager to help with directions.
Transportation out of town eg from Accra to Cape Coast in an AC Vehicle cost 24 Cedis.
Summary for 8 days
Transportation across countries: N40,000
Transportation within town and across cities: N30,000
Hotel: N100,000
Stamps: N5,000
Feeding: N20,000
Entry Fees: N10,000
Miscellaneous (souvenirs/internet/fabrics etc included): N15,000
I believe my cost breakdown is comprehensive enough to help you plan your trip in a flexible manner. I know its expensive and there was bound to be a strain on my pocket when I returned but who cares, life is living. I would do this over and over again.
Other things to note:
I booked three of my hotels directly with the hotel managers, one via Booking.com, one via Wakanow and one via Jumia Travel. All were successful except the booking with Jumia Travel which regrettably was the ONLY BOOKING I did pay before arrival to ensure my all goes well. Guess what? It didn’t so I cancelled and Jumia Travel said No Refund.
Afloa Border has the best rates to change currency. You can change in Accra but finding a bureau de change that accepts naira in exchange for cedis is difficult. Alternatively you can keep some currency in dollars like I did. Some hotels in the city centre accept dollars against their local currency.
You can save cost by limiting your stay to one location or cutting down the number of days.
You can save cost by opting for hotels outside the central area, or settling for hostels which is a bit cheaper.
You can cut down stress by flying in and out, or flying one way.
I wish you good luck. If you need full assistance planning your trip I may have to charge or contact zainymo@yahoo.com whose plan is....
First and foremost 15k to Lome is headache inducing. Take a car from Mike 2 to SEME border for 1000 naira. Cross bike ( the ones wearing uniform or simply ask for gariba/Abubakar bike park.
Take a bike across the border, 500 Naira but if you want to stamp, 1k. Take a car to like for 5000 cfa. You pay 1300 cfa at the Hills condji border. This will take you to Aflao border That's about 7j from Lagos to Lome. Still is good, but the small cars called hurry car charge 40 cedis and not 100 cedis
There are loads of cheaper hotels in Accra ranging from 5k upwards. Next time hit me up on . I attended university and lived in Ghana for a total of 16 years. I know the road like the back of my hands.
Courtesy. Naijasinglegirl.
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