Traveling to Lagos Advice

Appendix

Navigating Lagos

Although traffic is notoriously bad, getting around town is relatively easy with Bolt, Uber, and Indrive. Your main challenge as a visitor will be paying for things.

Transport

If you’ll be staying in Lagos during your trip, just take Uber, Bolt, or Indrive everywhere. As of 2024, Indrive is our favorite. Because of the bidding system, it has the fastest pickup times. You’ll agree on a price through the app and then pay by cash or bank transfer at the end of the ride.

I definitely don’t recommend renting a car or trying to drive yourself. Lagos traffic is notoriously terrible and the drivers can be extremely aggressive.

The car quality on all the apps is poor, but by international standards prices are extremely affordable. Driver margins are very low and I suggest tipping. It’s not common, but very much appreciated.

Money

Exchange Rates

The official USD to Naira exchange rate quoted on Google is generally not very reliable. Nigeria’s exchange rate system was reformed in June 2023, but there is often still a gap between “official” rates and the parallel market rate. Check out this twitter feed or a WhatsApp bot like KoboFx to get a sense for the current market rates.

Paying for Things

Nigeria’s digital payments system is instant and modern, but it’s disconnected from global card networks, so don’t expect to use your international credit or debit cards here. International cards can sometimes be used at high-end restaurants or hotels, but they require a separate POS device which most don't have.

And, while cash is widely accepted, it’s painful to use because the largest denomination is the N1,000 note (less than $1). On top of this, there are often periods of cash scarcity, making physical cash difficult to acquire.

The ultimate setup as a visitor is to find a friend who can lend you their local debit card and local bank account, but in lieu of that, you can manage with international remittance apps and the occasional cash transaction.

The two international remittance apps I recommend are Sendwave and Tap Tap Send. Try to set them up prior to arriving. These apps support users from many countries but not all so check before you arrive. Both allow you to send Naira directly to local bank accounts with a foreign debit card. Transfers occur within a few minutes and the rates are quite good. With this setup, you’ll be able pay for just about anything locally. Just ask anyone you’re trying to pay which bank they use and their account number.

It can still be useful to carry a bit of physical cash just in case an instant bank transfer is delayed or you want to buy something small. If your visit is short, you can withdraw cash from most ATMs using your international debit card. You’ll only be able to withdraw a maximum of 10k Naira per transaction but you can do this repeatedly.

The alternative setup is to come with new $100 dollar bills (the ones with the hologram) to exchange into Naira. Don’t come with smaller denominations. They’re either not accepted or exchanged at a worse rate. You can exchange physical dollars for naira at the airport or at a Bureau de Change in town. The rate posted at the airport kiosks often isn’t great, but you can improve this with a little negotiation.

Internet Connectivity

As a visitor, the easiest way to have mobile data in Nigeria is to make sure your home country’s cell phone carrier allows you to roam here. This is because the government prohibits new SIM registrations without an NIN (national identification number) which you can't get unless you're a resident here.

Theoretically, you can also register a visitor SIM at the airport in the arrivals hall outside the baggage claim. Practically, they’re often out of visitor SIM cards. If you want to go this route, MTN is the best network, followed by Airtel.

If you have any issues with the above, you can also try to download an international eSIM like Airalo, just make sure roaming is turned on for all sim cards and be forewarned that data rates with international eSIMs are 20x - 30x the cost of local plans.