@Omo alata:

Take them to the country side, and make them see more natural stuffs. Especially the villages around. They'll love it. This is because I think they'll be bored seeing what they are used to abroad.
Show them wetin they never see! Drive them around the ghetto areas like Mushin, A.J etc and tell them stories of how things got that bad. Show them people suffering and tell them why they must not neglect or abuse the privilege they have.
Take them around beaches. You can as well fly them to other parts of the country like Obudu ranch and spend some few days there, using the opportunity to tour Ancient and modern Calabar. Visit museums and tell them stories about structures. You can also take them to Abeokuta to see the "Olumo" rocks

Completely agreed with this poster.

The experience will let them appreciate the type of priviledged living you are toiling to give them. They will begin to understand that those good things of life they takes for granted courtesy of you are what most children don't have and therefore will thank you for the opportunity of been their parent.

You can get somebody to take you around when you are in town because Lagos of today is different from what it used to be o!!!!

I found this for you. You will find some interesting stuff on the page:

http://www.nigerianembassy-chile.org/nigeria/xtourism.shtml

Enjoy your stay - I hope to take my kids to Nigeria next year - will be helpful if you can share your experience upon return!

Eleko Beach is a private beach and i think it will be suitable for you than those Kuramo and Lekki beach.
Galleria
New African Shrine
So many nice places around now,  check    www.wheretogoinlagos.com    www.makeitnigeria.com

i hope those site will be helpful.

I'll suggest you take them to the village so they can get a feel of it. They can go for a swim in ur village stream for a change. In case you are undecided, bring them to the Niger-Delta. I'll receive u in Uyo where most of the ACTION is taking place now

You can visit Badagry to see slave trade relics and 1st story building in Nigeria.  You can make it a day trip or you may pass the night at Iwopin Whispering Palms, in fact you could take boat ride from Tarzan Boat club from VI to IWP, do the Badagry the following day and return to Lagos on same boat ride. the scene on the way is awesome

Abeokuta is not far from Lagos either, you could visit the Olumo rock.

National museum Onikan is another place, to see that car in which Murtala Mohammed was shot, among other things. City Mall is next door with some attractions.

As much as i respect the opinions on this thread, i have my worries.
Why bring children from overseas and take them to Silverbird and Shoprite?
Take them to the village to have a feel of rural live.
something different but refreshing from what they are used to.
Especially if they are pre-teens, kids are very adaptable.
all they just need is space to play in and their age mates.
If you are stuck in lagos for any reason, you can take them to badagry for obvious reasons and maybe the national museum, if it is still active.
No need for all that Silver bird and Shop rite trips.they will only end up comparing them to what they are used to overseas and of course they will fall short in the comparism.

Thank you everybody. Appreciate all your suggestions

My mum and sisters live in Lagos so they'll be taking us around. I just wanted to have some ideas as because they live there, they may not know any touristy places

We'll also be visiting Ghana (their dad's place) and I secretely want them to enjoy Naija more

take them to ABUJA!!! don't let them anywhere near LAGOS!!

hermosa:

take them to ABUJA!!! don't let them anywhere near LAGOS!!

It'll defeat the purpose of our visit - To visit their extended family who all live in Lagos. Thanks anyway

@OP,
Hope you're not looking for the Six Flags type of entertainment
We don't have that kind of thing here, at least not on that scale.
Lagos, and Nigeria in general, is a lot of fun. No concrete jungles and stuff, but still a lot of fun. Here is a very basic itinerary that doesn't involve your moving more than 2 hours away from the city center.

1. Take them to the beach (I recommend La Campagne Tropicana) for chilling out in a rustic but tasteful setting.
2. Visit Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry for some bit of history, and take a walk through Lagos Island so they experience the old city.
3. Go to VI (The Ozumba Mbadiwe jetties, and catch a boat to Tarkwa Bay. Lovely place. You can even cruise through our waterways and get a different perspective to Lagos.
4. Then check out Olumo Rock in Abeokuta (about half an hour from Lagos), as well as the seven waterfalls in Erin-Ijesha (2 hours from Lagos), for some natural beauty.
5. You can even still hang out at the malls. Silverbird Galleria is a good place for kids, they always have something going on every weekend.

By the time you do all those ones, you would have caught some reasonable fun.

AjanleKoko:


3. Go to VI (The Ozumba Mbadiwe jetties, and catch a boat to Tarkwa Bay. Lovely place. You can even cruise through our waterways and get a different perspective to Lagos.

This sounds like fun. Thanks.

Here are a few places that I would recommend, hope they enjoy Lagos.

The Palms Mall
City Mall
Funtopia Lekki
New Yorkers
The Galleria
Ikoyi Club (Pony ride, Ikoyi Club Suya and Chapman highly recommended)
Eleko beach
Tarkwa Bay
Unilag staff club
National arts theatre.
National stadium
Visit an army barracks (Ikeja Cantonment or Ann's barracks)

The reason why kids from abroad should visit places like the galleria and shoprite is that their perception of Africa are of slums and deep poverty.  So let them also see that there are Malls and shopping complexes in Lagos too.

I will print out this thread when going as lots of nice suggestions. Thanks guys (& gals)

Omo Alata:

We'll also be visiting Ghana (their dad's place) and I secretely want them to enjoy Naija more  

Naija has a whole lot more to offer than Ghana. Trust me.

AjanleKoko:

Naija has a whole lot more to offer than Ghana. Trust me.

Nice one. Clash of the titans

searchcorp:

Sir,

Thanks. I'm female though

Remii said:

You can visit Badagry to see slave trade relics and 1st story building in Nigeria.

What ''first storey building in Nigeria''?

Don't be ridiculous. That's a spurious claim by the British colonialists that doesn't stand up to any real scrutiny. We know for certain that storey buildings existed in northern Nigeria several centuries before the British reached our shores in 18 whatever, and very likely in major southern cities like Benin, which they destroyed by mortar before looting all its treasure.

Take them to the new GET ARENA Close to the Palms shopping mall
Am sure they'll enjoy the GO-carts And other activities.

Go-carts??

Nice hope i'm not too old to go on those!!!

With all these suggestions, our days are gonna be packed. I'm loving it

Bawses:

Take them to the new GET ARENA Close to the Palms shopping mall
Am sure they'll enjoy the GO-carts And other activities.

go-karts? for kids

Dis Guy:

Go-carts??

Nice hope i'm not too old to go on those!!!

they are actually for adults
naija's replica of formula 1 racing, complete with a racing course and the three wheels 'car' (with a visible jerrycan of petrol close to the pedals)

me thinks that 'latest craze in lekki' is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.

@omo alata
if i remember correctly, there is a play area for kids.
however, its a nice place to 'hang with boys'.

@Omo Alata

It will be interesting to hear how both Accra and Lagos fare as tourist destinations. Would you be kind enough to give us an update after the trip?

AngieFan:

@Omo Alata

It will be interesting to hear how both Accra and Lagos fare as tourist destinations. Would you be kind enough to give us an update after the trip?

I sure will. My husband doesn't know I'm in competition with him

Guys

I know this may or may not be of interest but were presently running a website that is about places and events in Lagos, it is totally free to list for businesses that have social inclination (Im not talking beer palors before you Nairalanders kill me!)

Check it out when you can; www.lagevents.com.

Catering, event halls, fun fairs etc are all welcome. Small businesses that contribute to things that happen all round us. Remember it is all free to list, all I need is an explanation of what you do a brief description, pictures and contact details.

Email all this to jide@st1tch.com with your contact details.

Thx Guys

How unfair of Omo Alata, not to gist us with feedback others might be planning something similar!!

What/where did you enjoy, what/where did you discover, What/where to Avoid

funkybaby:

go-karts? for kids

they are actually for adults
naija's replica of formula 1 racing, complete with a racing course and the three wheels 'car' (with a visible jerrycan of petrol close to the pedals)

me thinks that 'latest craze in lekki' is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.

@omo alata
if i remember correctly, there is a play area for kids.
however, its a nice place to 'hang with boys'.

Cant wait!!

Dis Guy:

How unfair of Omo Alata, not to gist us with feedback others might be planning something similar!!

What/where did you enjoy, what/where did you discover, What/where to Avoid

To be honest, all my plans were thrown out of the water!!! Lagos became more of a family affair in that most of what we did was visit family members who hadn't seen me in years and never seen my kids!!! I'd tell the children that we were going to visit aunty so-and-so and that we'd only spend 15mins; we'd end up spending 4 hours there by which time it would be too late to visit anywhere else. The kids were livid and bored but it had to be done Another aunty had relocated to Abeokuta. It took all day to get there and back

We did manage to take them to the barbeach though but we all came away with black tar all over our feet and area boys demanding cash here and there (Nigeria we hail thee)


At Ghana we took them to visit their dad's family but it was just at one place for all of them so we got that out of the way quickly then we went to the Zoo, museums - palace and army, Labadi Beach (much cleaner & more entertainment, sorry ) and many more entertaining places.

So, the kids said they enjoyed Ghana more than Nigeria