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:
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! 🙂