All you need to know about a trip from Nigeria to Ghana

One of the journeys most frequently asked about is the trip from Nigeria to Ghana. Here's all you need to know.

Despite our Jollof wars, Nigerians and Ghanaians are very fond of each other. In the past few years, there has been an influx of tourist Nigerians to Ghana than ever before. Ghana has great street food, great tourist markets and amazing people.

Thinking of taking a trip to Ghana? We've compiled information for what you should expect and things you would need for the trip.

Documents you need

To travel from Nigeria to Ghana by any means, you need a valid international/ECOWAS passport and a yellow card. It is very advisable to get your yellow card before travelling as it is very important and can be a means by which officials extort you. You can get the yellow card for about N1000 at the Port Health office close to the international airport. It is also advisable to have your another means of ID like a drivers license or a student/work ID, and your accommodation details.

Choosing your means of transport

A flight from Nigeria (Lagos) to Accra averages at 1 hour 10 minutes. However, if you are going by road, brace yourself for a full 17-24 hours on the move (consider your bladder). The journey from Nigeria to Ghana by road is quite a long one but it's the scenic route, so brace yourself for the adventure. There are different ways to cross, if you choose to go by road, you can either choose to go directly with a transport company or hire out a taxi that will take you. For an intense budget trip, you could consider hitchhiking.

Money moves

Hopefully, by this time, you have already created your budget for the trip. After knowing the amounts you have to spend, best bet is to have your naira in raw cash and prepare to change it for Ghanaian cedis at the Aflao border, which is the border between Togo and Ghana. Travelling with US dollars is a good idea too because even if you don't change it at the border, you can find any Bureau de Change in town and change it for cedis because dollars is widely accepted. Some hotels also accept USD but you can hardly find one that accepts Naira. It is also important to keep up with the exchange rates so you won't get cheated. Naira fluctuates crazily too. It might be scary hanging on to such huge amounts of cash but this is your best bet unless you have a dollar Mastercard , because your naira cards will not work in Ghana.

Crossing borders

If you're going by road, there are three borders you have to cross. The Lagos-Cotonou border, the Cotonou-Togo border and the Togo-Ghana border. Crossing the borders mean a lot of stress, negotiation and "settlement", especially if you are a first time traveller or you have a "virgin" passport. Most times, if you are using a transport company, they will take care of the crossing logistics for you. However, if you plan on crossing the border on your own, brace yourself for a lot of paying-offs you would have to do at all the stops.

Have a wonderful trip!