The five overcharges every first-timer hits on the Lagos–Cotonou crossing — and exactly what you should pay instead.
The scam at Seme isn't random — it's a chain of handoffs: bike man → stamping “helper” → money changer → taxi → hotel, each passing you to the next. Know the numbers and the chain breaks.
What you pay vs. what the scam sounds like.
In the exact order it happens to you.
Do these while you still have Nigerian signal.
Keeps this page honest for the next traveler — 30 seconds.
For first-timers who want to be walked across.
A calm, step-by-step plan from Lagos to your Cotonou hotel — plus a lifeline if anything goes wrong.
Booking ahead skips the taxi-to-hotel scam entirely.
Locals who agree to the listed fair prices.
Live rates and border conditions, posted weekly.
A price only goes live once three separate travelers report the same figure in a week, a vetted local contact confirms it, or someone sends a receipt. Anything we're unsure of is marked Verifying and left off until it clears.
Something you paid didn't match? Tell us