My most recent (budget) trip took me overland to another West African country. This time, I visited Togo. After trying couchsurfing for the first time in Benin Republic, I decided I would give it another shot during this trip. (If you aren't familiar with Couchsurfing, it's a site that let's people host traveller's for free. Before you run away, there are many ways to stay safe while you surf. I shared some on my blog, so feel free to check it out)

Rather than create a public trip as I did before (when I was a JJC), I pretty much crafted a message to my would-be host in Lome. She got back to me quickly, I confirmed my travel dates a day before the trip, packed up a small bag, kicked aside my nervous feelings and prepared for an interesting journey into Lome.

Day One: Lagos to Lome

[img]https://4.bp..com/-aC2YCtYC0GI/WH1K2gS3QHI/AAAAAAAAYlI/BbmTJEgZqngxGsV-Nggd-ktjOJCDRHpIgCPcB/s1600/lome.jpg[/img]

I set out early using public transportation to Seme border. I took a bus from my home to Mile2 and then another into Badagry and later to Seme border. The entire trip cost me N800. Border crossing was a breeze this time. To my surprise, I was asked for nothing on the Nigerian side and they wasted no time in stamping my passport.

When I got to immigration on the Benin side, the lady stamped my passport immediately and then asked for N500. I was in the process of negotiating my way through this when someone walked in to get his passport stamped. I struck off a conversation with him (Chuka* – not his real name) and found out that he was driving to Ghana in a bus with a few empty seats.

He offered to drop me off in Lome – for free! (This would normally cost an equivalent of N5,000 – N7,000, travelling in a shared public taxi from Seme town or N15,000, travelling in a standard bus from Lagos). I eventually got out of immigration without making any payment, checked out the bus and was comfortable to go with it.

We arrived in Cotonou quite early but had to wait for a few hours to fix an issue with the bus. We eventually arrived in Lome at about 7pm and I tried without success to get to my host. I probably wasn’t pronouncing her address right, so all the bike guys I asked said they didn’t know where it was. Eventually, I resigned to staying in a guest house recommended by Chuka and that cost an equivalent of N4,000/night.

I later got a sim card (N1,562) to update my host about the situation. She couldn’t locate me either, so we agreed to meet the next day. That evening, the owner of the guest house assigned her brother to take me out to dinner and show me around the day after.

We had acheke and fish which cost the equivalent of N3,500 then returned to the guest house afterwards to call it a night.

[img]https://3.bp..com/-BQP5fTmi0Zs/WH5uIr8q2-I/AAAAAAAAYwI/vCkjP5NGKHEMFkAoHLJLtCVlvUu3yEzIACLcB/s1600/acheke.jpg[/img]

Day Two: Lome and an Impromptu Return to Cotonou

The next day, I woke up late and found out that I couldn’t meet my host anymore or get to Kpalime – a place I really wanted to visit – because it was quite far from Lome. I decided to just walk around the city instead. After breakfast, I set out on my own and visited a few sites around.

First, I went to the Independence square, the market and the beach to have lunch.



I walked around some more and eventually headed back to the guest house. To my surprise, Chuka was there, heading back to Lagos. I had originally intended to leave Lome early the next morning but my plans changed with the presentation of a free bus ride out of the city.

I quickly texted my host (from my first trip to Cotonou) and asked if he could host me for the night. Luckily, he was available, so I packed my bags and jumped on the bus. We arrived in Cotonou by 10pm and I got yet another free bike ride to Fidjrosse where he picked me up from.

Day Three: Ganvie, Cotonou & Lagos



The next morning, we visited Ganvie, a lake village in Benin located about 30 minutes away from Cotonou, took a boat tour around the village – that was pretty cool and then returned to Cotonou to have lunch.

After that, my host dropped me off at the park in Tokpa where I got a bus to Seme border. (Cost: N400). Border crossing went smoothly and I was back home 3 hours and 1,400 naira later.
————————————————————————————————————————–
This trip eventually cost me less than N15,000 (Thanks to Chuka and my couchsurfing host) but I budgeted higher.

http://www.travelwithapen.com/2017/01/15/journey-3-countries-n15k-budget/

Hmmmm that was adventurous weh done!

Sounds nice...

Did this several times in west Africa and yeah it is possible and nothing new

That's not true, because in 2013 there was a Russian scientist named Povandolakoviviscov kintayionshinkov
Why you skiped the name? I will not complete the story

Congrats madam.

Interesting! But it would have been better of you didn't add the #15000 budget. Some persons may just read the title and feel it's possible without reading the write-up to see all the free free things you enjoyed.
Everybody won't be lucky meeting Chuka

Carry enough garri with you on any trip

One can easily be stranded traveling with only 15k, men should not try it, it is suitable for only women because they can easily hookup and get some money and free ride.

Good adventure,
All I would love to know is,
What went down with your male host when he allowed you sleep in.

Tell us more,
Tell us about the adventure in your male host's other room!!
Because my people say,
Cat and fish can not stay together without an incidence.

And in the hood,
They say when a lady offers to pass the night in your house, she is in need of a good servicing.

Or did you leave Lagos to Lome just to eat fish?

Hope chuka no chuku chuku u

Abeg, no begin dey raise pple's hopes na. Include West Africa countries for the title.

Cotonu and lome cheap die.. carry naira enter there e go be like say u carry pounds and euros.. too much money. don't know if it's still like that now

chei

Nice one

Gangster1ms:
Cotonu and lome cheap die.. carry naira enter there e go be like say u carry pounds and euros.. too much money. don't know if it's still like that now

That was Before Buhari came to power

I know how she got things done

A new travel blogger, but as she is a lady, I am not sure it is worth the risk.

Beautiful adventure. I jumped off my couch hoping to see the incredible financial modelling skills that could manage 15k in such a trip. Anyway, not all of us would meet a "chuka" and get a free ride and All perks. And besides girls always are "favoured"

What money can't buy, what can buy it?? Who know the answer??

NwaAmaikpe:


Good adventure,
All I would love to know is,
What went down with your male host when he allowed you sleep in.

Tell us about the adventure in your male host's other room!!
Because my people say,
Cat and fish can not stay together without an incidence.

And in the hood
They say when a lady offers to pass the night in your house, she is in need of a good servicing.

GBAM!

*.

Nice post Op. Once took a tour of the West Coast and it was an amazing experience. Tho my tour ended at Ghana. I would love to try it out all the way to Cote D'Ivoire. Maybe we can plan a trip as a group or something. What dyu think?

Nice one. I went as far as Ghana but do hope to extend it to Cote D'Ivoire when next I do the West African route.

Seslie:
My most recent (budget) trip took me overland to another West African country. This time, I visited Togo. After trying couchsurfing for the first time in Benin Republic, I decided I would give it another shot during this trip. (If you aren't familiar with Couchsurfing, it's a site that let's people host traveller's for free. Before you run away, there are many ways to stay safe while you surf. I shared some on my blog, so feel free to check it out)

Rather than create a public trip as I did before (when I was a JJC), I pretty much crafted a message to my would-be host in Lome. She got back to me quickly, I confirmed my travel dates a day before the trip, packed up a small bag, kicked aside my nervous feelings and prepared for an interesting journey into Lome.

Day One: Lagos to Lome

[img]https://4.bp..com/-aC2YCtYC0GI/WH1K2gS3QHI/AAAAAAAAYlI/BbmTJEgZqngxGsV-Nggd-ktjOJCDRHpIgCPcB/s1600/lome.jpg[/img]

I set out early using public transportation to Seme border. I took a bus from my home to Mile2 and then another into Badagry and later to Seme border. The entire trip cost me N800. Border crossing was a breeze this time. To my surprise, I was asked for nothing on the Nigerian side and they wasted no time in stamping my passport.

When I got to immigration on the Benin side, the lady stamped my passport immediately and then asked for N500. I was in the process of negotiating my way through this when someone walked in to get his passport stamped. I struck off a conversation with him (Chuka* – not his real name) and found out that he was driving to Ghana in a bus with a few empty seats.

He offered to drop me off in Lome – for free! (This would normally cost an equivalent of N5,000 – N7,000, travelling in a shared public taxi from Seme town or N15,000, travelling in a standard bus from Lagos). I eventually got out of immigration without making any payment, checked out the bus and was comfortable to go with it.

We arrived in Cotonou quite early but had to wait for a few hours to fix an issue with the bus. We eventually arrived in Lome at about 7pm and I tried without success to get to my host. I probably wasn’t pronouncing her address right, so all the bike guys I asked said they didn’t know where it was. Eventually, I resigned to staying in a guest house recommended by Chuka and that cost an equivalent of N4,000/night.

I later got a sim card (N1,562) to update my host about the situation. She couldn’t locate me either, so we agreed to meet the next day. That evening, the owner of the guest house assigned her brother to take me out to dinner and show me around the day after.

We had acheke and fish which cost the equivalent of N3,500 then returned to the guest house afterwards to call it a night.

[img]https://3.bp..com/-BQP5fTmi0Zs/WH5uIr8q2-I/AAAAAAAAYwI/vCkjP5NGKHEMFkAoHLJLtCVlvUu3yEzIACLcB/s1600/acheke.jpg[/img]

Day Two: Lome and an Impromptu Return to Cotonou

The next day, I woke up late and found out that I couldn’t meet my host anymore or get to Kpalime – a place I really wanted to visit – because it was quite far from Lome. I decided to just walk around the city instead. After breakfast, I set out on my own and visited a few sites around.

First, I went to the Independence square, the market and the beach to have lunch.



I walked around some more and eventually headed back to the guest house. To my surprise, Chuka was there, heading back to Lagos. I had originally intended to leave Lome early the next morning but my plans changed with the presentation of a free bus ride out of the city.

I quickly texted my host (from my first trip to Cotonou) and asked if he could host me for the night. Luckily, he was available, so I packed my bags and jumped on the bus. We arrived in Cotonou by 10pm and I got yet another free bike ride to Fidjrosse where he picked me up from.

Day Three: Ganvie, Cotonou & Lagos



The next morning, we visited Ganvie, a lake village in Benin located about 30 minutes away from Cotonou, took a boat tour around the village – that was pretty cool and then returned to Cotonou to have lunch.

After that, my host dropped me off at the park in Tokpa where I got a bus to Seme border. (Cost: N400). Border crossing went smoothly and I was back home 3 hours and 1,400 naira later.
————————————————————————————————————————–
This trip eventually cost me less than N15,000 (Thanks to Chuka and my couchsurfing host) but I budgeted higher.

http://www.travelwithapen.com/2017/01/15/journey-3-countries-n15k-budget/

who be this fine geh wey dey travel upandan

I have never really left Nigeria for once in life and am planning to give it a try probably after Easter break. My destination would be Ghana if it's possible would like to reach Sierra Leon and Liberia too.

Please people that have been to these places how much should i budget for a 7 day trip.