Over Easter, my sister and I embarked on a Nigeria Ghana road trip from Lagos to Accra via Grand Popo and Lome. We spent 2 days in Grand Popo, Benin, half a day in Lome, Togo and a total of 6 days in Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana. This cost breakdown is based solely on our experience and is only intended for trip planning and to present a fair idea of how much to budget.
All prices stated here are either approximate values or exact values at the time of this writing. If you have recently embarked on this trip, leave me a comment here and I’ll update the pricing on this post.
Nigeria Ghana Road Trip: Stop 1 – Benin Republic
I have previously written a breakdown for Benin when I visited Fidjrosse and Ouidah for N20,000 only. You can find that here. This time, my sister and I stayed in Grand Popo and here’s a breakdown of our trip.
Transportation
Getting from Lekki to Seme: We took a bus to CMS for N200, to Mile 2 for N400 and Badagry for N800 (See the detailed route here). A shared taxi from Badagry took us to the Seme border for N300.
Getting to Grand Popo from Seme: We grabbed a bike from the border into the town for N400 and a shared taxi into Cotonou for 1,000cefa each. Then another taxi from Cotonou to Grand Popo for 2,500cefa each.
Crossing the Seme Border
Crossing the border should be free but unfortunately, it isn’t. What this means is that you can and should haggle your way through immigration if you must get your passport stamped. Or be prepared to wait for hours if you refuse to pay. Crossing the border for the first time attracts a different fee from an ‘old crosser’. You need a valid passport and yellow card to cross these borders. Here’s what to expect.
On the Nigerian side:
There are about 4 stops/shacks. The first isn’t a stop but they ask for money anyway. You can get away without paying anything there. The second is the ‘Port Health’ stop. If you’re crossing for the first time (with your valid yellow card certificate), they’d ask for N1,500. We paid N1,000 for my sister. I didn’t have to pay.
The next stop is where you ‘register your passport’ (LOL, even writing this is ridiculous!). Anyway, first-timers pay N500. I don’t think you can haggle your way out of paying this. After that is the ‘immigration office’. They asked for a total of N1,000 in the two rooms. We paid N500. And that was all for the Nigerian side.
On the Beninese Side:
There are three stops. First is the main immigration office. PS: Don’t pay money to the guys outside the shack if you want to get your passport stamped. The price for first-timers is N2,000 and the old-timers are N500. Next is the Port Health stop. The price for first-timers is N1,000. (I paid N500, my first time). Old-timers go for free. Last is a bike stop where first-timers pay another N500.
Of course, you can escape all of this by taking a standard bus from Lagos. They manage all the border formalities on your behalf.
Accommodation, Feeding & Entertainment: Nigeria Ghana Road Trip
We stayed at the Auberge de Grand Popo and it cost us N40,000 for two nights (including lunch on arrival day and breakfast for 2 days). Lunch on day 2 cost us N4,000.
We didn’t get up to much in Grand Popo as we had money issues but we got an offer to tour some key places for N7,000.
(Scroll down for an overview)
Nigeria Ghana Road Trip: Stop2- Ghana
Transportation
Getting to Accra from Grand Popo: We took a motor taxi (bike) from our hotel to the Hillacondji border for N1,400. After crossing the border, we shared a taxi to a stop in Lome and a motor taxi to the Aflao border. The cost was N2,400. From the Aflao border, we hopped on an STC bus into Accra for N4,000.
Getting from Accra to Cape Coast and back: Our onward journey with STC was billed at N3,800, while our return journey with another service cost us N5,000.
Our return journey to Lagos from Accra using ABC transport service cost us N21,600 each.
Crossing the Hillacondji & Aflao Borders
On the Benin Republic side, there’s just one stop and first-timers are asked for 2,000cefa. It’s the same on the Togo side as well. For the Aflao border, I can’t say much because we crossed for free. But we were asked for 3,000cefa each on the Togo side.
(See, only a few lines. Seme border is the worst!)
Accommodation, Feeding & Entertainment
Our first three nights were spent at a guest house in Accra. We paid N6,000/night. Then we moved to Urbano hotel which cost us N35,000/night and in Cape Coast, we stayed at Almond Tree Guest House for N16,500/night. We spent our last night in a lovely apartment hotel (Earl Heights), hosted by Meyiwa & Juliana.
We spent a total of N25,000 on food and another N30,000 on tours in Accra and Cape Coast.
Total Costs for a Nigeria Ghana Road Trip
Here’s an overview of everything we spent on our Nigeria to Ghana Road Trip;
Again, this is solely based on our experience. Therefore, these prices may differ due to various reasons.
PS: Here’s a list of all the articles in the Nigeria to Ghana Road Trip series;
Road Tripping from Lagos to Grand Popo
Accra to Cape Coast (The Castles & Kakum National Park)
What are the challenges faced on the road trip to Ghana.
How was the security on the road like,
What planning system/method should be put in place for a good trip.
How should the hotel be booked.
How is the exchange of Note (currency) done ✅,
I would like to hear from you back so as to planned one for my family.
Do one need to go through an agent to plan for someone
Hello Oluwaseun, I’ll try to answer your questions
– Challenges – potentially those I have already listed in this post. i.e. Extortion at the border, bad road conditions on the Nigerian side, multiple stops from immigration and port health officials (Nigerian side), long journey if not broken down.
– Security is generally okay. Reading this article is a good first step to planning. You can also reach out to others who have made the journey recently for more tips. But generally, it is a straight forward adventure. Pick a good bus and break up your trip if possible.
– You can book hotels via Booking.com or Airbnb. You can change money at the border or directly in town. I recommend travelling with USD as well.
– Booking through an agent vs independent – this is up to you and your travel preference. There are several tour groups with trips to Ghana, so you can easily book with a trusted consultant. But if you like to travel independently, then there’s no need.
Hi, I am VERY INTERSTED IN MAKING THIS TRIP. HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU?
Hello, Mohammed, if you would like me to plan out your itinerary at a cost, please email me at [email protected]
How do I do this, I’m interested for April
Hi Nicole, you can either travel solo (using the information presented here) or join a group trip from Lagos. There are several companies organizing Easter and Eid trips to Ghana and other West African countries.
Hello Nicole, I plan on making a solo trip this month, if you are interested, we can plan something out
I plan to make this trip in April. Thank you for this.
Thank you, Rex. The route to Ghana is likely still the same, however, the costs stated here have dramatically increased due to inflation. Be sure to review them before your trip in April!
Hello amarachi
Is it safe for one go alone without the agency or any other person?
Hi Haleemah, it depends on what kind of traveller you are. I’d feel comfortable travelling alone to Ghana and I have done so without an agent. I don’t think you need one necessarily but if you find a good one, they’d definitely make the planning and travelling process simpler.
Heey Haleemah
Have you made your trip yet?
I wanna do this trip so bad but don’t wanna get extorted too bad lol im a black American
You have a valid concern. If you put on your bargaining hat, you should be fine, otherwise, it is best to travel with someone or a group who knows the terrain. Alternatively, using one of the Standard transportation buses will also be a good idea.
Hello Amarachi, are there any trustworthy agnecies that offers road trip to Ghana to visit these places.
I’ll appreciate means of communicating with them.
Hi Joshua, you can check out any of the following travel groups on Instagram: Social Prefect, TVP Adventures, thaglobetrotters, and Private_trips.ng