Traveling to Nigeria: Tips to Make Your Trip Memorable

Have you ever been to Nigeria? Really and truly being to Nigeria? Forget all the tales of woe that the news shows you; there is more to the country than meets the eye.

Nigeria is a largely untapped resource of the world; in any way you want to look at it. It is a gold mine of human, natural and even artificial resources. It has a large deposit of sights and sounds you cannot even begin to imagine.

If you have plans of visiting the country, now or later, here are some tips to make it memorable.

Look Up Places that Have History

Most people who visit Nigeria for the first time on vacation usually end up in cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. These are some of the big cities and have so much comfort to offer.

But how are they different from what you are used to seeing, back home? Except for the multitude of black people, more than you probably are used to, everything else is the same.

Since it is a vacation or a tourist visit, you should try places with lots of history and monuments. Lagos has some of these but you can only see so much. Ogun, Enugu, Osun, Calabar and Ondo are some of the states which are rich in history.

In Enugu, for example, there is a place called Ezeagu. There, you will see an ancient cave where gigantic foot prints and earthenware are still visible for all to see. They seem to prove that giants once lived there many years ago. Nobody has any other explanation for that till today.

Eat Local Meals

Don’t be picky and choosy about what you will eat. What is the point of visiting a new place if you have no culinary story to tell? Make it a point to taste one or two local dishes, except you have a very queasy stomach.

If you have allergies or you react easily to things, it is best you ask questions before you become adventurous. You don’t want to have a breakout of rashes or pimples in the middle of nowhere. You may have scars before you go home and may end up having to look for the best pimple scar remover at home.

How will you get the best of these local dishes? Visit the local places around you. Ask questions or look them up online. Don’t stick to what you already know and can have any time, even back home. It is important you explore if your trip is going to be memorable.

Wear Local Attires

Whether you are a fashionista or not, the point is that Nigeria has some of the most amazing clothing materials and designs you can find the world over. Just go online and you will see styles that will get your jaw dropping.

Your usual satin, silk and chiffon cannot make those styles. You have to buy the local wax material called Ankara because they alone can do those styles.

Then, when you mix them with the laces here, they become something else. You can take them back home to show you actually enjoyed your visit.

Mix with the Locals

It is the high point of any visit to be able to tell the story of that land. And nobody, not even the library, will tell it like the locals. They own the land so they know where everything started from.

If you can, find the old people in that town or village, listen to them and have some understanding of the place. You will leave with a sense of fulfilment.

Also, it is good to learn one or two lines of their local dialect, if you can. That will endear you to them more than anything else.

If you are worried about staying safe in Nigeria, you can employ the following tips. These tips are also mostly applicable to any other place, as long as you want to stay safe.

Carry Out an Extensive Research

It is a great time to be alive, when the internet is just a click away. You can find out anything you want to know. As long as you know what to type, the result is there.

So whichever part of Nigeria you desire or intend to visit, look it up online. Know the layout, the languages, the food, what the people are known for, places you can stay and so on. Leave nothing out; no detail is too small or inconsequential.

Make Sure Someone Knows Where You Are

At every point during your trip, be sure to keep someone or some people informed of your whereabouts. If you are in a group, never wander off alone. It is safer to stay with a group than to go in ones or twos.

You may even want to cancel out turning on your location in your social media accounts. This will keep people in the dark. Only the really close ones and those who really need to know will be updated frequently.

Blend In

Try as much as possible to blend into the environment. Even if the locals know you are a visitor, let them not get the impression you can be scammed. It is true that the locals always know the new guy in town but if you make yourself very conspicuous, they will take advantage of it.

Carry yourself as if you know what you are doing, even if you don’t. dress nicely but not outlandishly or in a way that would draw undue attention. Keep things simple and easy for yourself; after all, it is a vacation, not a job.

Carry as Little Cash as Possible

Remain as cashless as you possibly can so you don’t get mugged. Thing is, locals know when there is someone new in town. And the bandits there will try to play banditry. Don’t make it easy for them.

If you have to carry cash, however, find the nearest point to change your money into the local currency. Wear clothing that will enable you hide money in different places and out of plain sight. And always keep yourself where people will see you. Help will come more easily that way.

Have a Direct Line for Emergencies

In the event of an emergency, it is good to locate the closest hospital and have line with which to reach them. Anything can happen at any time so it is necessary to have this handy, on speed dial if you can.

Find someone who knows their way around to keep handy for driving you around. You can call a cab but it would better if you knew who you were dealing with. This is especially true if you are in a strange land.

Be one of those who can say they have had a real feel of Nigeria, with evidence to prove it. Live with the memory of one of the best countries on the planet.