Nigeria: Getting there & around

Lagos International airport (Murtala Mohammed) is 22km (13mi) from Lagos. Taxis to the city are also available. International carriers fly in and out of Lagos but due to regular fuel shortages, scheduled flights may sometimes be cancelled. The departure tax for international flights is US$35.00 .

There may be passenger speedboats from Oron, south of Calabar, to Idenao, a small place 50km (31mi) northwest of Limbe (Cameroon), but these are often suspended due to clashes on the Bakassi Peninsula. Check the security situation before making any plans, and avoid the temptation to take one of the frequent cargo boats - these are almost all smugglers' vessels. Share taxis can take you by road to Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Most border crossings involve dash handed over to customs officials in a pleasant manner.

Air travel within Nigeria can be chaotic, mainly because scheduled flights can get cancelled at short notice, leaving the next flight over-booked. The good news is that internal flights are incredibly cheap. Domestic flights leave from the domestic terminal of Murtala Mohammed airport.

Travelling by bus is a safe and comfortable way to travel and lines connect all the main cities. Bus offices tend to cluster in the same area of the city. Bush taxis are the fastest and most comfortable way to get around but they're also the most dangerous. Nigerian drivers have little respect for speed limits and accidents are often fatal. There are trains running in Nigeria but they're not very comfortable and, as if to compensate for the bush taxis, travel at a snail's pace.