Everything you need for the week
Abuja was drawn on paper before it was built, wide roads, big sky, granite outcrops left standing where the plan met the rock. It is an easy city to arrive into and an easy one to move around. Everything you need for the week is here.
Arriving
Nnamdi Azikiwe International (ABV) sits 40 km west of the centre, a clean 40-minute run in on the Airport Expressway.
Direct from London
British Airways fly Heathrow to Abuja in about 6 h 20 m, most days of the week.
Best arrival window
Land in daylight if you can, and arrange the car before you land rather than looking for one at arrivals.
Visa
Most passports need one before travel. Apply through the Nigeria Immigration Service and start early: this is the part that most often goes wrong.
Yellow fever
A vaccination certificate is required to enter Nigeria. Have it at least ten days before you fly and carry the card with your passport.
Where to stay
Three we know and trust, at three different prices. All within twenty minutes of the ceremony. Say you are with our wedding when you book.
₦₦₦ the dearest of the three · ₦ the best value · exact rates confirmed nearer the timeGetting around
Abuja is a driving city. The grid is generous and well signed, and traffic is mild by Nigerian standards.
Bolt and Uber
Both work well and are inexpensive, and both beat flagging a car in the street. Bolt has the better coverage.
A car and a driver
The civilised option. Roughly £40–55 a day through your hotel, and worth it if you are three or four people.
Between hotels
Ten to twenty minutes across Maitama, Asokoro and the Central Business District.
Walking
Pleasant inside Millennium Park and around Jabi Lake. Less so along the expressways.
Moving about sensibly
Arranged cars rather than street taxis, and no road travel between cities after dark. Your hotel will say plainly if somewhere is a bad idea that day.
Things to do
If you are here for a few days either side, this is what we would do.
Zuma Rock
A 725 m monolith an hour north-west, on the Kaduna road. Daylight only, with a driver your hotel arranged, and take their word on the day.
Millennium Park
Maitama. The largest park in the city and the best hour of shade you will find.
Jabi Lake
Boats, a boardwalk, and somewhere to sit at the end of the day.
National Mosque & National Christian Centre
Facing one another across the Independence Way. Worth seeing together, which is the point of them.
Arts & Crafts Village
Wuse. Adire cloth, leather, beadwork, brass. Bargain gently.
Gurara Falls
Ninety minutes out, best after the rains. A whole day, and the same rule as Zuma.
Eating
Abuja eats late and eats well. Three we would send you to, and a fourth that is not a restaurant at all: suya, roadside, after dark, charcoal and thin beef and yaji spice. Ask your driver where he goes.