For the next instalment of this series, I’ll be giving a breakdown of our Obudu Calabar trip and will be talking about how much it cost us to embark on it. This was a semi-budget trip, so we didn’t necessarily cut down costs to the barest minimum everywhere but I’ll be showing you how you can.
This breakdown is based solely on our experience and is only intended for the purpose of 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.
What's Covered in this Post
Transportation
Based on recommendation from friends, we travelled from Lagos to Obudu through Enugu. For this leg of the journey, we used GIGM and it cost us N6,200 each.
From Enugu, we got a bus to Obudu for N2,200 each and then a motorcycle to our hotel in Obudu for N100 each. In Obudu, we hired a car to get us to the ranch and back for N10,000. The same car took us to Ikom and Calabar for N30,000.
NB: There are public buses that go to the foot of the mountain resort or motorcycles that go up the ranch. These definitely cost less than hiring a private vehicle. Also, getting to Ikom with a regular bus costs about N1,500 and another N1,500 will get you to Calabar.
We returned to Lagos from Calabar with ABC shuttle service. This cost us N7,200 per person.
(I have written a more concise overview further down this post)
Obudu Calabar Road Trip: Accommodation, Feeding & Entertainment
We stayed at Utopia hotel in Enugu for 1 night. This cost us N9,500. In Obudu town, we stayed at Vantage hotel for 2 nights for N30,000. In hindsight, I realize this could have been negotiated a little. Anyway, for this particular hotel, we got a room for N7,500/night but decided to move to a different room.
In Calabar, we stayed at Nessville hotel for 2 nights at N32,000 and with my aunt for the last night at N0 (duh!)
NB: There are hotels within the town that cost way less than all the ones we used. You can get a fairly decent hotel for anything between N5,000 and N7,000.
For feeding, we mostly ate in the hotels – which isn’t the best thing to do if you’re trying to save costs. But we spent N19,000 on food altogether for 6 days.
For tours, in Obudu, we spent N300 each to go on the nature trail and canopy walkway, and N500 each to get to the waterfalls. A tour of the waterfalls at Agbokim cost us N1,000 each.
Here’s an overview of everything we spent…Again, this breakdown is based solely on our experience and is only intended for the purpose of trip planning and to present a fair idea of how much to budget. Your actual trip costs may vary from this.
All prices stated here are either approximate values or exact values at the time of this writing.
Obudu Calabar Road Trip Costs Breakdown
I hope you find this breakdown very useful. Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think! And don’t forget to share and subscribe or follow me on my social media pages. I am on Instagram: @amarachiekekwe and on Twitter: @amarachiekekweh 🙂
Other articles in this series:
Thank you for this insightful guide. I find it valuable. I intend visiting obudu ranch this Christmas from port Harcourt. I know most of the prices here must have gone up but this would serve as a good guide to follow. Thank you once again.
Thanks for your comment, Engr. Mathew. Happy to read that you found the post helpful. I hope you have a great trip to Obudu!
Yes, this has been helpful. Can you now prepare a draft estimate for a group of 15 people going to Obudu for a week retreat. For convenience, you can have two for low and high expenditures with the added varieties. The trip can be between mid July to late September, 2021. We would want to stay together most of the time. Thank you
Sure, I can do that as a paid service. If you’re interested in this service, please let me know and I will send you all the necessary details needed via email. I will be happy to help plan the trip for your group.
Let me have your service details please
Can I make a two days trip to the ranch with just 50k..ie me alone
Hi Viv, it depends on several factors. Where are you travelling from and what are your preferences? If you would be staying in a fairly decent hotel in town for the 2 nights, travelling from Lagos, I think you’ll need a slightly higher budget. 50k does not give a lot of buffer if you are not roughing it out.
Good evening amarachi, what will it cost me from lagos to obudu cattle ranch both the tourism, hotel, transport by road and feeding, how much should I budget… would love to go there with my gf on 26 December
Hi Sylvester, I don’t have the updated costs. The costs indicated in this post can serve as a guide although, it’s important to note that prices are vastly different during the holidays. You can try contacting a tour operator who has a trip around this time. Check out Wantours or VisitNigeriaNow on Instagram.
Thank you for this info. I’m planning a trip sometimes this year. Thank you for sharing another info about the staff being on strike because for me, riding on the cable car means a complete holiday trip 😊
You’re welcome. Also, there’s probably a chance that they wouldn’t be when you visit, so be sure to check.
Hello Amarachi, thank you for the very detailed breakdown. I intend to gift a trip to this destination to my sister and her hubby for their honeymoon come April 2019. Can you please advice?
Hi Vivian, thanks for your comment. You can reach out to Unravelling Nigeria to help create a packaged tour for you/them. That way, all the costs for logistics and the experience can be properly managed. They don’t have to worry about anything other than showing up.
This is so insightful. Want my parents to go there. My gift for their 35th wedding anniversary
Hi Sarah, congratulations to your parents! I’m sure they’ll love it, especially if they can get there without stress. I’ll advice that you book with a tour company if you’re not able to organize every step of the journey yourself.
Hi Amara,
Love your post, it was insightful. I am planning a trip down with my team and since it’s a group we are concerned about over spending.
First, Transportation – to Obudu; how long do you reckon it would take to get to Obudu from Lagos directly, I guess it’s really long since you had to break your trip into two.
– back to lagos; can I get a straight bus back to lagos from Obudu, this would be good for team bonding rather than flying back from Calabar.
Secondly, I know it’s a mountain resort and all, but what are the (functional) sights to see over there?.
Thirdly, Are other hotel options close to the ranch that are cheaper or offer similar rates as the one you mentioned.
Sorry for the many questions, thanks in advance. 😊
Hi Zeek, going directly from Lagos to Obudu would be quite the journey, especially if you travel with public transportation. I don’t think there’s a direct bus to Obudu from Lagos, but you can get one to Ogoja, and then to Obudu. The ranch is still about an hour away from the town. Either way you choose to travel, if you go by road, the journey will be long and you probably would still have to break the trip.
I don’t think there’s a direct bus from Obudu to Lagos. You have to go through Ogoja, Enugu or Calabar.
As for sites to see on the resort, you have the waterfalls and the hills to marvel at. If the cable car and pools are functional, then you have that too. I don’t have too much details about hotels but I can say that most are located within the town and accommodation on the ranch would cost more.
Thanks for this Amara this was very insightful. I have a question though.
I’m planning a trip to calabar with my girlfriend and I’d like to know if there are beautiful accommodation facilities at the resort because reading over your article I couldn’t really get info on that.
Thanks a million.
There’s the mountain resort accommodation up on the ranch. I didn’t stay there, so I can’t advice for or against it. However, you can contact Unravelling Nigeria (unravellingnigeria.com or send them a DM on IG). They stayed on a different ranch accommodation and had a marvelous time.
Hello Amarachi, Are there hotels around the ranch that are cheaper?
Hi Opeyemi, do you mean hotels cheaper than the one we stayed in? Accommodation on the ranch costs more and off the ranch, the closest hotels are hours away. Costs for these are included in the post.
Amarachi I’m so happy abt the post thanks so much, I’m planing on going with my two sister I’m in warri would 150k be enough for the trip?
You’re welcome. I can’t say whether that would be enough or not off the top of my head. That would require some analysis based on your travel preference.
hello, wanna know if u made it to Obudu..and price update from u…am so so interested in visiting there..THANKS
Nice write up Amara. I have some questions as I’m planning on going to Obudu. How much does it cost an individual to enter the cable car in Obudu? And how much also does it cost to enter the ranch?
Hello Anthony, I don’t remember what it cost to use the cable car. When I visited, it was not functional, so I didn’t bother to find out. However, you may contact Unravelling Nigeria (unravellingnigeria.com), they recently went and rode in the cars.
There is no entrance fee to get into the ranch, to the best of my knowledge. You only pay to use the facilities and to go to the canopy walkway or see the waterfalls. If you don’t go with a guide, you can hire one on the ranch and that would come at a cost too. I believe this cost is negotiable.
Thanks Amara
Article is very helpful 🙂 Well done!!
nice write up, please how long was the trip from enugu to obudu, I’m trying to decide the fastest route to get to obudu.
It took about 5-6 hours if I remember correctly. I think it’s faster than going through Calabar.
Thanks very much. You have really demystified my fear on how to plan for a trip to Obudu. Thanks very much.
Amarachi, you have no idea what this write up means to me… thanks a bunch!!! I’ve been planning to have a vacation there with my GF (I intend to propose to her :D)… my only issue is that I would prefer to book a hotel at the ranch. Are there hotels at the ranch? everyone seems to have booked outside the ranch… if there are, is it advisable?…. and the issue of light, everyone also complains of light. is there really a light issue there?…. thanks again, you’ve helped immensely with my planning. I await your answer.
Whoa! I hope she doesn’t read this blog… well, until after the proposal! Congratulations in advance 🙂
I didn’t stay on the ranch, so my knowledge about the workings, light situation etc is quite limited. However, you can contact Unravelling Nigeria (unravellingnigeria.com or send them a DM on IG). They stayed on the ranch and had a marvelous time.
Thanks very much Amarachi for this information. God bless you. You have made a lot of people’s day without knowing with this contribution. Now, I am encouraged to take my team to the mountain resort. I hope we will not be disappointed, especially with all these workers’ strike on. Best of luck in your future endeavours.
Thanks for your kind words, Lucy. I hope you have a wonderful trip when you go…
Hi Amarachi.
Please what transport service did you use from Enugu to Obudu?
Hey Nina, we used ‘Onitsha South’. I wrote about our experience in the first series of this post and also the review of the services.
Wow Amara this is really helpful. I love to travel too. OK what about Ikom. I want to visit Obudu but how do I get there from Lagos? Your direction was from Lagos to ENUGU to Obudu/Ikom. Didn’t get that part. And yes I really want to save cost so don’t mind the smaller hotels. Won’t mind if you suggest some 5-6k ones. Also thinking of visit Tinapa resort, are the locations close by or is it something I can’t do within 5 days. Won’t mind we communicate via email
Hi Viv, glad you found the post helpful. Re directions: yes, we went from Lagos to Enugu first. Then from Enugu to Obudu. And from Obudu to Ikom and Calabar. Unfortunately, I can’t name any hotels as I am not very conversant with the area. A friend gave me the name of one during our visit but I honestly can’t remember.
Tinapa is in Calabar, which is quite a distance from Obudu and Ikom. If you travel by road to all these places (especially without a private car), 5 days would be seriously pushing it – that’s if it can be done. If you fly down to Enugu, you can probably do it.
Thanks so much for this work…..it’s really going to help me in my plans too
Hello Amarachi,
I am planning something big in Ikot Ekpenne, Akwa Ibom State and I want my guests to visit Obudu Cattle Ranch. I need all the guidance, need to know, what to do while in the area. Any heads up will be really good.
Thanks,
Philip
Hello Philip, thanks for your message. If you’re planning for a large group, I think it’ll be best to use the services of a travel tour company. I say this because logistics for a large group is very different from managing a solo trip, for example.
As for what to do in Obudu, I have a post that addresses this. (Link is up within this post). If the ranch is fully functional, then there’s the cable car, a swimming area, hiking activities and just marveling at nature.
I hope this helps
Hi,
God bless you for this breakdown, I am planning a trip to Obudu with my brothers and wife from Lagos, please can you help with good hotels close to the ranch.
Hi Daniel, we stayed at Vintage hotel, a few hours away from the ranch. It’s probably one of the best hotels to stay in around the area but don’t take my word for it – and also, check out my review of the place. You can do search on Jumia travel to see other options..
I searched, I saw and I can now plan. Thanks so very much Amara for the in-depth breakdown/analysis. I intend driving down, hope not to miss my way from owerri cos I ve not gone that route before. Wish I can get a route guide and also know distance/hours drive from Owerri. Thanks so very much for the professional breakdown.
This is really helpful and interesting.. +1 to my destination adventures!
very insightful…
thanks for sharing!!
Really helpful post. Thanks for this. Now all I need is a person to join me
Thanks for stopping by Joan. Glad you found the post helpful and I hope you get someone to join you. Perhaps you can join a group tour going there as well? Splitting the costs between travellers is highly recommended especially if you’re on a budget.
Finally, I can plan a trip to obudu this Christmas. I have to share this with my sisters. Thank you for this breakdown.
Glad you found it helpful 🙂
This is enlightening. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by
Been looking forward to this.
Cross River and Akwa Ibom states are soooo on my travel wish list.
This was extremely helpful, Amarachi. Thank you!
That’s great to hear! Glad you found it helpful. Akwa Ibom is also on on my travel list. I hope we both get to visit soon.
Very detailed as always. Don’t know about others but I always anticipate this budget cost. Now all I have to say is money/time fall on me. Obudu on the list. Thanks Amarachi for the breakdown😍😍your pictures from this trip are really worthy of postcard
Haha, thanks Ada and money & time has already fallen on you, just go! You know, there are also group tours to these places? They’ll cost less (in terms of money and stress)
Excellent cost analysis and breakdown. I visited Obudu solo in 2015 and surprisingly things were more expensive then compared to now. And it’s of course cheaper to travel as a pair. Did you do the cable car ride?
The single supplement is sometimes a killer. More people on the trip would have certainly driven the cost down. and nope, we didn’t ride the cable cars. The staff were on strike, so most of the facilities were unavailable to us.
I can’t wait to share this
Thank you! 🙂