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)
Will it be better to do my exchange of naira in Ghana or I do it right in Nigeria before I travel
I believe the rates at the borders are fair. I haven’t heard of anyone changing Naira to Cedis in Nigeria before travelling. I don’t think the BDC guys do that. It’s usually a dollar, pounds and Euro exchange they specialize in.
Thanks Amarachi for the detailed review.
I am planning to attend a wedding in Ghana, I am in the middle of selecting which bus service to travel with. From your review I will prefer the STC intercity buses. I want to know if there are other comfortable bus service to consider. Thank you.
Hi Olajide, thanks for your comment. I don’t think STC operates from Lagos if this is where you are travelling from. I have tried ABC and attempted to use Cross Country in the past. Cross Country was an epic fail and ABC was slightly better. The bus services in Nigeria are very inconsistent. Sometimes, they’re good, other times, terrible. Basically, I can’t recommend any. You just have to weigh the pros and cons of each one and decide
Hi Amarachi,thanks alot for this breakdown.
So my question is this,do you get a stamp on your passport at every border?
Hello Hilda, yes you do. In and out of each country. Be sure to confirm that your passport has been stamped before leaving each country. If you go through the Seme border without getting a stamp, you would have issues with the authorities at the Hillacondji and Aflao borders. Of course, there’s a way to settle all disputes – African style but it’s just best to avoid anything to make your trip any more stressful that it would already be.
Also remember that if you go with a bus company, they would handle this on your behalf. (Apart from Hillacondji where you have to physically cross the border on foot, you stay in the bus while they get your passport stamped)
Just reviewing this for a friend’s upcoming trip and it’s such a detailed and helpful post — thank you so much!
Thank you, LK. Happy you found the post helpful 🙂 I’m sure with friends like you, every trip would be stress free and wonderful
So how long will it take to get an international passport
I don’t know what the official time is. I’ve seen people get theirs in 2days or less while some take months to get. I guess the best answer would come from the immigration office where you intend to apply from.
Hey there, that’s well explanatory. I’m actually a student and plan to study in the Ashesi University in Ghana and I don’t have a passport so how then do I do it as I am a minor
Hi Zelda, well, first, I would advise that you get a passport and your parents/guardian consent to travel. If you plan to live/study in Ghana, it makes sense to have your valid documents. I have zero knowledge about school or admission processes there, so I’m afraid I can’t address that.
Well thanks for the help rendered and as per say the yellow card is it a must to have if travelling to Ghana
Yes, you need your passport and yellow card to travel. Some people go without it but like I said in this post: https://www.travelwithapen.com/2018/03/22/faq-everything-you-need-to-know-about-taking-a-nigeria-ghana-road-trip/
It’s not worth the stress…
Lovely and Apt.thinking of going in december .spend 2 days in togo befor going to Accra.I hope i enjoy my trip
Very lovely breakdown. It’ll come in handy when my friends and I eventually finalize plans for our own trip. Thank you for sharing!
God bless you sis Amara
Thank you so much my sister for this wonderful and explicit guide to journey around this countries, hopping to go around soon, but can you throw little light on gospel work over there?
Thanks for your comment, Emmanuel. Not conversant with gospel work/practices in countries I visit. I reckon they’ll be similar to what you have here in NG.
Interesting insights you have provided. I am planning to make a similar trip, but I’ll be going as far as the most western point – Dakar, Senegal, and Cape Verde.
I needed some idea of the costs at least as far as Accra, which your post has provided. It’s great to see someone who shares that restless travelling spirit. I think I’m even more encouraged to share my experiences on an East African tour I did recently – Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. May share that soon.
Hi Paul, glad to know this was beneficial to you. Your trip to Dakar, Cape Verde sounds exciting. Looking forward to reading about it. x
I love traveling n I wish I could do it with you because I don’t know how to go about it. Would love to have a travel partner