How do I get around Lagos?

Bolt is your default. Download it before clearing immigration at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, because the taxi touts in the arrivals hall will quote 30,000-50,000 NGN for a ride to Victoria Island that Bolt prices at 8,000-12,000 NGN (roughly 6-9 USD at 1,330 NGN to the dollar). Uber operates here too, but Bolt tends to have more drivers and shorter wait times, sometimes under 3 minutes on the Island. Pay cash or card through the app. Mind you, surge pricing during Friday evening rush from Ikeja toward Lekki can triple the fare, and the same 15-km trip that takes 20 minutes at 6 AM might take 2 hours by 5 PM. Lagosians call gridlock "go-slow," and they are not exaggerating. The Eko Bridge crossing, a 2.5-km span over Lagos Lagoon, can sit at a standstill for 45 minutes in that Friday traffic.

The Blue Line rail opened for commercial service in late 2023 and runs air-conditioned trains on elevated track above the highway. A single trip costs 500 NGN, about 0.38 USD. That air conditioning is the real draw. September temperatures might read 26°C but feel closer to 30°C at platform level. The Red Line along the Agbado-Oyingbo corridor is still under construction. The BRT runs dedicated lanes from Ikorodu to CMS, with fares between 300 and 700 NGN depending on distance. BRT buses accept Cowry cards, a tap-to-pay smartcard you load at any BRT terminal for a 500 NGN minimum. Both systems are standing-room-only during peak hours, roughly 7-9 AM and 4-7 PM, and they shut down around 9-10 PM. Plan evening returns by ride-hailing app.

LAGFERRY runs motorboat routes across the lagoon, connecting Five Cowries Terminal on Ikoyi to Ebute Ero and other mainland jetties. Fares range from 500 to 1,500 NGN per trip. The boats skip road traffic entirely, and on a clear morning the 25-minute crossing gives you salt air and a flat view of the city skyline that no highway approach matches. Danfo, the yellow commercial minibuses, are cheap at 100-300 NGN but loud, hot, and unpredictable. Conductors shout destinations from open doors while the bus is still rolling. First-time visitors should skip them. Keke napep, the green-and-yellow three-wheeled rickshaws, handle last-mile trips in residential neighborhoods like Surulere and Yaba for 200-500 NGN. They fill the gap when Bolt is surging or you need to cover 2-3 km on roads too narrow for standard cars.

Walking in Lagos is a last resort, not a strategy. Sidewalks are missing or occupied by vendors across most of the mainland. Victoria Island and parts of Ikoyi have paved walkways along Ahmadu Bello Way and Bourdillon Road, but midday heat often reaches 31-33°C with humidity above 85%, limiting comfortable walking to early morning or after sunset. The smell of suya grilling from roadside stands and the constant hum of diesel generators become the background to any walk through Yaba's commercial strips. For a first visit, pick accommodation on Victoria Island or Lekki Phase 1 to keep restaurants and nightlife within a 10-minute Bolt radius. The Third Mainland Bridge stretches 11.8 km between the Island and the mainland. At rush hour that single crossing becomes the bottleneck that defines your entire schedule. Leave 2 hours of buffer for any mainland-to-island journey after 3 PM.