Travel Guide: Can’t afford a vacation? Here’s how to be a tourist in Lagos

With the traffic and a seemingly never-ending bustle, Lagos can be overwhelming. Hence, people who reside in the state won’t mind getting away for a few days.

If you fall into that category, and you can’t afford to take a vacation, there might be a way out.

Have you ever thought that #VacationLagos could be different from #WorkLagos?

Here is a step by step plan of a four-day vacation in Lagos.

Day 1 of #VacationLagos

Check into a hotel, preferably on the Island. A hotel offers perks like not worrying about cleaning, electricity and all those responsibilities that come with staying at home.

We recommend you check-in an evening before your tour begins, so you can have enough time to relax, enjoy the hotel’s amenities and possibly get your groove on at a club nearby.

Day 2

Your tourist mode should be fully activated at this time. Most hotels offer complimentary breakfast so your stomach should be in a happy place before heading out.

The first port of call is the Slave Trade Port in Badagry; after all, nothing says tourist like soaking up a little history.

This remarkable tourist site offers attractions like slavery artifacts, a short trip to the Point of No Return, the Well of Attenuation and the first storey building in Nigeria.

You can even get souvenirs for yourself and friends from any of the spots.

Next, you can proceed to Whispering Palms, which is not very far from the Slave Port. Here, you can have lunch, take some pictures for the gram and enjoy a speedboat trip.

There is even a dance floor and swings just in case you want to burn off some of the food. From here, you can head back to your hotel to hit the sack.

Day 3

After your morning rituals, head out to Lekki Conservation Centre. Here, you’ll get a feel of nature almost undiluted. Apart from the fun and dread (whichever category you find yourself) of seeing some animals in their natural habitat, you can also enjoy the famous canopy walk.

The canopy is a 401m bridge suspended in the air… surely not for the faint-hearted.

From here, you can head to Hi-Impact Planet. After hotel accommodation, this may be the second most expensive thing you may do but the experience would make up for it.

You could even grab dinner here before heading back to your hotel.

Day 4

Today is the last day of #VacationLagos… reality is around the corner. However, there are still places to visit.

After the usual hotel breakfast, it’s time to visit the Nike Art Gallery. It is reputed to be one of the largest in Africa.

The gallery, which has three floors, contains 25,000 artworks made by Nigerians. Here, you can get unique souvenirs like the one below.

The next port of call is Rele Gallery. Apart from seeing various artworks, you can sit through a short painting tutorial and leave with your own painting… cool, right?

End your vacation with a tour of Freedom Park; the first prison in Lagos which housed people like Obafemi Awolowo, Alfred Rewane, Lateef Jakande and Nnamdi Azikwe.

Apart from items from the prison era, the park now offers a spot where bands perform and play live music. What better way to end a vacation like free, quality performance by a live band?

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A tour of some of the places listed here was sponsored by Google Nigeria.

Photo credit: Alistair Preston and Seyi Awojulugbe