Visiting Ibadan:7 Interesting places I explored

• IITA: click here to read my review of lodging and exploring IITA.

• Ilaji resorts click here to read my review of lodging and exploring Ilaji resorts.

• U.I zoo: Located at University of Ibadan. Entrance fee costs 500 naira and an extra 200 naira fee if you want to see the museum. It houses various animals which include: Giraffe,lion,horse,baboon,birds,monkeys,hyena,crocodile,birds,ostrich etc. A staff of theirs told us more about some of the animals.

• Bowers Tower: Located at Oke Are Road, Ibadan. Bowers Tower is known as the highest point in Ibadan. From the top of bowers tower, you can see a lot of places in Ibadan from a distance such as; cocoa house, University College, Ibadan (UCH), Polytechnic Ibadan, University of Ibadan. It is fondly called Oke Layipo. It costs 200 naira to visit. The staircase to the top of the tower is narrow, It is an interesting climb, I enjoyed it. It started raining while we were at Bowers tower but we still tried to take the pictures we could, though the background views from the top could not come out as desired because of the rain.

• Tamberma: Tamberma is one of the most popular, if not the most popular restaurant in Ibadan. It is located at: Rev’d Oyebode Cres, Iyaganku, Ibadan. They have a diverse menu ranging from Chinese menu to Indian menu to Pizza  menu to Nigerian menu to Continental menu to Grill house menu. I had their pizza and it was delicious.

• 5 continents: Five continents is a restaurant located at Jericho, Ibadan behind Golden Tulip hotel. I had their rice with shrimps and calamari and their chicken wings.

• Ventura Mall: Located at  Oyo Road, Ibadan. It has a Cinema by Filmhouse
  *2 Lane Bowling
  *Arcade Games
  *Retail& Food Courts

I had Ice cream and cake at tea box breakfast club in Ventura mall.

For videos and more pictures of our experience, click here

To read Ibadan 2019 edition, click here

To read other blog posts in the 2022 edition, click here and here

Have you been to any of these places before? If yes, what was your experience? If no, will you love to visit? Time to hear from you.

Review of staying at International Institute of tropical Agriculture:9 Interesting facts

IITA (International Institute of tropical Agriculture) is located at: Old Oyo Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. 

The  room rates as at August 2022 are below:

We stayed at the residential blocks.

 

 

Check-in is 3 pm (early check-in is subject to availability of the room before this time), check out – 12noon.

To book, send an email to: IITAInternationalhouse@cgiar.org .

• They prefer email reservations .
• They will respond with the cost of the different types of accommodation.
• Reply with the type of rooms you want to reserve, the number of days you would be reserving it for, the number and names of people who will be staying in each room.
• Once your reservation has been confirmed, you will be sent a confirmation letter, a welcome letter as well as their rules and regulations. The confirmation letter should be shown at the reception when you arrive.
• After receiving confirmation, you will need to make payments and email your proof of payment as well as inform them of your arrival date.

They might not respond immediately so, you will need to follow up with a call (08039784167, 07008004482) to get a fast response.

Amenities at IITA include:

• 24/7 electricity
• Complimentary WiFi
• Satellite Television
• Fitness center
• Ample parking
• Security for the safety of both their guests.
• Restaurants/Bar
•  Swimming pool
• Golf course etc

 

Other Attractions:
Forest Walk, Fishing, Golf Course, Lakeside view, Birds watching etc. We wanted to do the forest tour, we were told it costs N3,000; however, the guide was not available at the time we wanted to do the tour.

IITA is very serene, peaceful, calm, beautiful, lovely, clean, well maintained etc.

The complimentary breakfast was very very yummy and filling.

I also had suya and malt the previous evening from their restaurant which I enjoyed; they had an interesting menu, however;since I had eaten, I could not do to much exploration of their meals.

To read about my 2019 experience in Ibadan, click here

The other blog post I have written in 2022 edition:Review of Staying at Ilaji Resorts: 10 Interesting facts

I will be writing one more blog post in 2022 Edition which will talk about the places visited during the trip: restaurants, tourist attractions etc.

Have you been to IITA before? If yes, what was your experience like? If no, will you love to visit? Lets talk in the comments section.

Review of Staying at Ilaji Resorts: 10 Interesting facts

We arrived Ibadan on a beautiful Saturday morning, we took the Lagos- Ibadan train.

It was my second time using the train in Nigeria, the first time was to Abeokuta in July 2021. I had a good experience with the train. I really enjoyed the ride. We purchased the business class ticket going to Ibadan for N4,000 and the economy ticket coming from Ibadan back to Lagos for N2,600 to experience both. The differences are the same differences stated in the Abeokuta blog post.

Ilaji Hotels and Resorts Center is located at, Oloyo Village, Off Ona-Ara Local Government Secretariat, Akanran, Local, Government Area, 112106, Ibadan.

It was an almost 2 hours drive from the train station to Ilaji resorts. We learnt that its usually not supposed to be more than 40 minutes to an hour but due to some constructions ongoing on the normal route, an alternative route has to be passed to get to Ilaji resorts plus some small traffic here and there.

Below are the  rates at Ilaji resorts as at August 2022:

We stayed in the silver room. You can check out videos of the silver room here and pictures and reservation contacts, other information here .

The rooms are furnished with: bed(s), air conditioner, television, working area, chairs, water heater, shower, toilet, zinc etc.

Ilaji resort houses lodging facilities, a mini zoo, restaurant and bars, swimming pools, local monuments, children arena, a stadium, worship centers, event hall, an outdoor art gallery,sitting area, worship centers  etc.

Ilaji resorts is very beautiful, serene, peaceful, calm and more.

A major recommendation I have that needs improvement is when it comes to food they have different restaurants, outdoor grilling spot, a mini mart etc. however, in most of these restaurants, the menu options were very limited and they also did not look nice. In one of the cafeteria’s, we had to eat cold white amala. It costs N1,500 for the amala,ewedu, 1 meat, 1 fish and a bottle of water.In the restaurant, inside the hotel; a plate of jollof rice and goat meat for N3,800 was not worth it, the meat given was mostly bone and when I complained nothing was done to change it.

I have written about Ibadan before,  click here to read.

I will be writing two more blog posts in this series:

A review of staying at IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)

Interesting Places I visited in Ibadan in 2022.

Some places I wanted to visit but did not get to visit due to time constraints include: Cocoa house, Mapo hall, Mini Mapo hall,Eleyele lake,national museum of unity, Jericho mall, Paris Bakery,Palms mall, Amala sky and Tunde Odunlade Art gallery.

I will talk about the tourist attractions we were able to visit, restaurants etc. In another blog post.

Have you been to Ilaji resorts before? If yes, what was your experience like? If no, will you love to visit? Time to hear from you.

16+ Places to visit in Abuja: 2022 Edition

 

Retro Africa: A beautiful art gallery in the heart of Asokoro, Abuja; free to visit, ambience is great, very cosy, nice, on point lightning, super clean, air conditioners very effective etc.

 

 

National childrens park and zoo: Located in Asokoro as well houses a zoo with signposts on the animals giving more information about them, play area with swings and some other rides,lake area, great spots for pinic etc. Entry fee 500 naira

 

Art Tech District: Located in Wuse 2 Abuja, has various restaurants such as: (Lagos-Bistro Abuja, Sketch Abuja, Amazonia),discovery museum: which is the first digital museum in Nigeria, escape room, private movie viewing etc.

I visited Lagos-Bistro Abuja: (love the free puff puff that comes while waiting for you order, I had spicy chicken wings; yum yum yum)

and Discovery museum: where there where various rooms both on the ground floor and first floor and includes: currency room which showcases the different Nigerian currencies,watched  a video of an  IDP camp through virtuality(it was so touching), music room which we could played music from various Nigerian musicians, Information on past leaders on different screens, ATD studio, culture and tourism room, 360 room, watched some other documentaries about Nigeria, saw some digital art and other kinds of art work etc

 

Junkyard grills:Located at Wuse 2 bought their spaghetti bolognaise and it was okay.

 

Papaprimz pizza: located at Wuse 2.I  had their Philly steak pizza. It was nice

 

Dome: It was my first time trying bowling, I played it at the Dome, located at Central Business District Area

 

Ecunmecial centre was under renovation when I got there,so they were not allowing tours at that time.

Amazon Kayak: When we got to the venue google map directed to be the destination and saw some signposts, we were still unable to easily locate exactly where the amazon kayak and bubble ball was.

Nosta café: Located at Wuse 2, I had their bubble gum ice cream and loved it.

 

Jabi lake and mall:  Located at Jabi. There are various shops, stores, brands etc in the Jabi mall. Bought ice cream from one of the ice cream spots in the mall but cant remember the name; forgot to take note.

 

Wakanda Paintball: Located at Wuse, joined existing teams that were paint-balling, it costs 3000 for renting the different gears and the paint-balls. I enjoyed it, except the times I was shot at, lol.

The Vue: Located in  Novare mall at Wuse. I decided to experiment and did not end up liking the main meal I ordered, I enjoyed the starters;  (chicken dumplings); the Nan bread was okay.

Dropped my sis  at Central park ,Garki and proceeded to, (drum rolls, guess where I went to next?)

Dunes: Located at Maitama, your girl went to Dunes to sight see because with the prices there, I am currently not their target market. There are several shops here selling: clothes, shoes, fabrics etc. I only bought face wipes and a cinnamon pastry from their shopping mall (price altogether was 1000 something, cant remember exact).

 

Shehu Musa Yar’Adua museum: located in Shehu Musa Yar’Adua center at Central Business District; the museum has;register/book to record thoughts about our former president, things we hope for Nigeria, pictures,screen etc talking about Shehu Musa Yar’Adua , Nigerian colonialism, Nigerian flag etc. etc.

 

BMT garden: Located at Wuse, paid 1000 to visit the zoo and saw different animals including: lions, baboons, monkeys, crocodile,chicken etc.

 

I also walked around the lounge and pool area.

 

Charcoal grill Abuja: located in chocolate mall, Wuse 2. This was my favourite meal of the trip. It was really really good and the ambience was awesome as well. I had baked sweet potatoes, very fresh veggies, lamb and lamb sauce; was so yummy, sumptuous, delicious, yum!. As I am typing about it, I wish I could have it right it front of me again. I was given free popcorn to munch on while I was waiting for my meal.

Magicland: located at Kukwaba Hills, Constitution Ave, Wuye. They have various outdoor rides like pirate ship,roller coaster, water splash, horse ride, car ride and more. Indoor game arcades like table hockey, basketball, car race, catch a doll and more. I did a couple of outdoor and Indoor games/rides.

I have written about Abuja before, click here to read

I have written two other posts for this 2022 edition;

Accommodation Review (click here) to read.

Flight Review  (click here) to read

For a virtual tour, including videos and more pictures of my trip view by Instagram highlights, posts and reels etc by clicking here

Which of these places have you visited and what was your experience like?

 

 

Accommodation Review: Interesting facts about Command Guest House

 

Command Guest house; Bronx hotel is located at Asokoro, Abuja.

   

 

There are different accommodation types, per person sharing is allowed; however complimentary breakfast is 1 per room and extra breakfast can be bought for 3000 naira.

 

The bed is comfy; in the room I stayed there were: 2 chairs, a table,  1 mirror in the room another in the bathroom, wardrobes, a painting, pillows,bed sheets, pillow cases, center rug, fridge, complimentary water, glass cup, television, Intercom, water heater,toilet,shower,sink,bath gel,towel, tissue etc.

I enjoyed the daily breakfast at the restaurant and tried different things on different days but always had sandwiches because I loved it. Other things I ate include: yam, plantain sauce, egg sauce, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes,spaghetti, macaroni, salad etc.

 

 

   

   

On the first day, I had lunch at command guest house restaurant as well: I had: fried rice, salad and goat meat.

I initially asked for goat meat and was given chicken, when I complained, it was changed.

The lounge was also a good chilling spot and I had a bottle of chilled malt here.

 

Bush bar was yet another great chilling spot; I had chilled malt here as well and suya, I realized I should have asked for two sticks instead of 1 when I saw that the cabbage and onions was more than the meat.

I also strolled to the swimming pool area as well as the squash game area.

It was a great experience, I enjoyed my time there.

I have written one previous post in this 2022 Abuja series,  click here to read, It is a flight review post.

I will be writing one more post in this series which will be a post with the details of places visited during my trip to Abuja in 2022. click here to read

To read about my previous visits to Abuja, click here

For a virtual tour, including more pictures and videos, view by Instagram page by clicking here

Have you stayed at Command Guest house before? If yes, how was your experience? If, no, will you love to?

 

Flight Review: Flying with Green Africa from Lagos to Abuja and back to Lagos

On my recent trip to Abuja, I flew with Green Africa to and fro. I took a morning flight from Lagos to Abuja and an evening flight from Abuja back to Lagos five days after.

It was a good good trip. I had looked forward to it and I really enjoyed my time in the Nations capital AKA FCT AKA The Buj.

 

I have written about Abuja before, click here to read

I will be writing two other posts for this 2022 edition;

Accommodation Review click here to read

Interesting Places to visit in Abuja; 2022 edition. click here to read.

I arrived the airport early enough to be able to catch my flight. I had checked in online and gotten my boarding pass and seat number so I only needed to check in luggage at the airport which I did and got a tag for it; boarding passes were confirmed at different points and other checks were done; hand luggage, shoes etc was also scanned through the detector.

Green Africa’s shuttle buses drove us after the checks to close to where the aircraft was both going to Abuja and coming back from Abuja.

There was enough leg room to stretch.

I boarded and listened to the safety instructions,read the safety instructions pamphlet and listened to soft music that was played in the aircraft.

Soon, it was time for taxiing, take off afterwards and it was a smooth flight to and fro. I really enjoyed the flight especially the views I got to see, what a wonder! This beautiful earth God has created, I sat by the window which enabled me enjoy great views better.

I made use of the lavatory while going from Lagos to Abuja and it was clean.

We were served a bottle of Lasena water both going to Abuja and coming back to Lagos.

The check in procedure for coming back to Lagos was similar to that of going to Abuja, the major difference was that we were given printed boarding passes and there are larger waiting areas in Abuja than in Lagos.

To book a flight with Green Africa, and search through their various routes, fares, timings, payment options etc. visit Green Africa’s website by clicking here  

 

 

A very big thank you to the brand communications manager and the team for the free return G flex flight tickets for the trip.

I was given a free return G flex flight ticket while I and fam paid for the other expenses: accommodation, feeding, transportation, tourist attraction fees etc.

For a virtual tour, including videos and more pictures of my trip view by Instagram highlights, posts and reels etc by clicking here

 

17th May 2022 will make it 2 years since I became a travel blogger and I am super duper grateful for the journey.

     

I am thankful for being able to overcome Imposter syndrome and take the bold step. So many lessons I have learnt on this journey, some I have shared already, click here to read. It has been an awesome ride filled with diverse challenges and also gotten amazing opportunities that have gotten me excited, elated etc.

     

I am thankful to God for strength, resources, Inspiration and much more. I am thankful for all the awesome people that  have supported my journey in one way or another, I am thankful for over 5000 views and counting and in advance for exponential growth, bigger opportunities, breakthroughs and much more.

It has been an amazing ride and I am looking forward to even better days ahead. I am thankful for the opportunities both organically and through pitching. As I think back and reflect, some of the things that have happened so far in the journey are coming back to my mind.

I am thankful for the collaborations.

     

 

I am thankful for all the articles(posts), pages, social media contents on: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, all those that subscribed and read my newsletters, giveaways I have done a couple of times, giveaways I have won from other brands, competitions I have won, even competitions  I did not win and much more.

I am thankful for safety, security, divine protection and guidance, provision through all the times I have stepped out to visit one place or the other and much more.

     

I am thankful for good times because like ASA said they are GOLD.

I am thankful for all the travel bloggers that have given me: tips, hacks, tricks, advice, guidance and much more.

I am thankful for my family, friends, well wishers and all supporters in general for reading, sharing, liking, commenting and much more

I look to the future and I am thankful in advance for greater days all around in travel blogging and all round in every area of my life.

     

p.s: some of the pictures shared are pictures from my purple-themed birthday shoot(representing the brand colour,smiles), it was my birthday:9th April. click here to view more.

What are some of my blog posts that you have read and love and why you love them? How should we celebrate the second anniversary? Lets chat in the comments section.

 

This is a guest post by Oguntayo Favour Morenike.

How will you love to win an expense paid trip to Morocco? Exciting right?

Have you also thought of  doing some of your visa applications yourself without having to pay agency fees? Then you are in the right place!

Learn from some Tourism/travel Industry professionals in an online course for a small token. You will learn tips, tricks, hacks, know what and what not to write in your next visa applications, get the opportunity to ask the facilitators questions and much more.

You also stand a chance to win an expense paid trip to Morocco !

Disclaimer:

• This is a partnership with some amazing Industry professionals.
• I earn a commission if you purchase the course at no extra cost to you, thanks for your support.
• If I am the highest selling partner, I get to travel to Morocco with one person that purchased from me.

In addition, do share this blog post with your network (family, friends etc). If any one you referred, purchases through you, I will be given you 40 percent of the earnings on the sale of the person that bought through you. If it is multiple people, 40 percent from each person that brought  through you.

You are elated right? Go ahead and purchase and share with as many people as possible so we can learn about visa applications, I can become the highest selling partner and I can get to take one person that bought from me with me on an expense paid trip to Morocco.

click here  to sign up today.

If you purchase and/ or anyone you refer purchases, Kindly send an email to me at: faithoooguntayo@gmail.com to let me know, with proof of purchasing the course i.e a screenshot of the email you received after purchasing the course.

Lets win together in 2022 and beyond. Cheers!

Have you been to Morroco before? If yes please share your experience and if yes will love to re-visit. If no will you love to visit Morocco? Also can you relate with the struggles of some visa applications? Will you love to learn from Industry professionals who have recorded high success rate of visa applications over the years? Let us have a conversation in the comments section.

p.s: newsletter family got the information first, subscribe via the bottom of any of the pages on my website or via a beautiful pop up to receive: promos, discounts, freebies, updates, premium jist and more.

Do not forget to sign up today.

I had an Interesting Instagram live session with @iamverafrank , for the replay:click here

The questions she answered includes:

• What Ignited your love/passion for travel and tourism?
• Where there things you did or steps you took that helped you connect with a spouse that loves to explore like you?
• How viable do you think it is monetizing your travel passion and combining/balancing it with other career paths?
• How important do you think collaborating/partnering with other travel enthusiasts is?
• What are tools that have helped you create valuable, aesthetically pleasing, interesting contents both on Instagram and on YouTube?
• What advice will you give someone that will love to become a travel  vlogger or create travel contents generally?
• What has helped you grow your audience?
• Any other tips, advice, suggestions, recommendations?

She also answered some questions from the audience and I did a couple of giveaways.

Thank you so much Vee. I totally enjoyed the session and the audience did as well.

Vera has an amazing YouTube channel. She has created contents from tourist attractions in different states in Nigeria which include: Lagos, Oyo, Kwara,Osun,Abuja, Akwa Ibom etc. Some of the places in this states she has created content from include: Lekki conservation center, Bogobiri house, Almat farms, UniIlorin Dam, Nike guest house, Bowers tower, University of Ibadan zoo, Magic land and more. You should check out her YouTube channel and Instagram page, you will love the contents.

Her contents on bogobiri as well as Amarachi of travelwithapen 25+ fun places to visit in Lagos as well as Erico Trips commenting on my Nike art gallery blog post that I should visit Nimbus next gallery next all inspired me to visit.

Some places I visited in Lagos in pictures:

 

 

 

Bogobiri house and Nimbus Art Gallery:

 

Ndubisi Kanu Park:

 

Where you at the Instagram live or have you watched the replay? Did you love the nuggets shared and which did you love the most?

Have you been to any of the places above, If yes how was your experience? If, no will you love to visit? Let us jist in the comments section