Port Harcourt and Abuja: is it worth going?
Lagos is one of three cities now. This page is about whether leaving is worth it, and what is waiting when you land.
Quick answer
Not in your first week. A flight is ₦90,000 and the night bus is ₦25,000, which is a lot of money that early. Go when you have a reason: the Oil & Gas career sits in Port Harcourt, both new cities have universities and their own hospitals, and Abuja holds the government and the courts.
Who should go, and where
| If you want to | Go to |
|---|---|
| Work offshore or in oil | Port HarcourtThe Oil & Gas career is based at the Trans-Amadi oil base, and the refinery at Eleme runs guided tours. |
| Study | EitherPort Harcourt has the University of Port Harcourt and Rivers State University; Abuja has the University of Abuja out at Gwagwalada. |
| See how the country is run | AbujaAso Rock, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and Eagle Square are all in the same few blocks. |
| Be somewhere quieter | AbujaWide roads, roundabouts and far less traffic than the island. It reads as a planned city, because it is one. |
How you actually get there
The three cities are 440 km apart and there are three ways over. The fares, times and what each one costs you are on the transport page, so they only live in one place:
Fares and times between cities →
The bus starts at the motor park: buy the ticket there first — Jibowu in Lagos, Waterlines in Port Harcourt, Jabi Park in Abuja. Flights leave from the airports.
What is over there
Port Harcourt
32 places, and it leans industrial and green in equal measure.
- Trans-Amadi oil base — where the oil work is
- The refinery at Eleme, with a hard-hat tour and the flare at night
- Two universities, and a teaching hospital at Alakahia
- Water everywhere: Bonny Jetty, Okrika Jetty, Nembe Waterside, Onne Port
- Old GRA money: the polo club, the golf club, Hotel Presidential
- Bole and fish, and Mama Ibiba's spot in Rumuokoro
Abuja
32 places, and this one is laid out on purpose.
- Aso Rock, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, Eagle Square
- The National Mosque and the National Christian Centre, facing each other
- National Hospital Abuja, and the University of Abuja at Gwagwalada
- Jabi Lake, Millennium Park, the city gate and Zuma Rock outside town
- Wuse Market, Banex Plaza, Novare Central, Ceddi Plaza
- Lupita Rooftop, Hustle & Bustle, Kryxtal Lounge when the sun goes down
Two things that will trip you up
- Homes in the new cities show as "Coming soon" until they open for you, so you cannot simply rent in Port Harcourt on day one.
- You cannot drop by a friend's house in another city either: the game says "they live in Port Harcourt, travel there first to drop by".
- All the fares, local and intercity →
- The Oil & Gas career and the rest →
- Every place we have listed, Lagos and Port Harcourt →
- What things cost →