Everyone has seen the movie girls trip right? It’s arguably the most talked about movie in all female circles right now. The movie is about a group of long-term friends (the flossy possy) who traveled to New Orleans on a girls trip. I mean after watching the movie, you’ll find yourself calling up your girls and start planning a get away! Not sure why IMDb rates it 7/10 but the movie was a  sure 9 for me. I’m a Dina, very spontaneous (sans the foul mouth) with a bit of Sasha, fiercely loyal to my friends!

Every woman (married, married with kids or single) NEEDS a girls trip! We all need that place where we can be vulnerable, let our guard down, not judged and have a wickedly good time. You don’t have to plan an out of country trip to have fun with your girls. A local getaway every now and then to relax with the people you are most comfortable with is necessary to rejuvenate the mind. So don’t wait till you can afford a trip to NEW ORLEANS to get away with your girls, plan a getaway in your city. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get up to.
 

Two weeks ago, I met up with a fellow travel enthusiast, Maggie, who I had featured here. It was love at first sight. She was everything she portrayed online and more. Maggie and I have been internet chums and one fine day we decided to take our “chuminess”  to another level. It was time to meet in person. It started out with a comment I left on one of her photos and a couple of direct messages later, we were planning spending an entire day together touring the city of Lagos.

I must give Maggie all the planning credit, in my mind we were just going to have dinner + a couple of drinks and call it a day. She had other plans. Her itinerary was a fully fun-packed 8 hour day with activities ranging from beach bumming, trying out Indian cuisine, visiting an art gallery and getting a full body massage.

Our girls (day) trip was born.

Spending the entire day with someone you’ve never met in person could be a hit or miss but this was a huge HIT. Check out our itinerary for the day and I hope this encourages you to explore and spend time with your girls.
 

ATICAN BEACH
 

LOCATION: ABRAHAM ADESANYA ESTATE ROAD, OKUN-AJAH TOWN, LEKKI-AJAH, LAGOS.

Planning this trip was a tad bit easier because we did not need to deal with  Lagos Island-Mainland issues. We both live in the Lekki area in Lagos. I leaped for joy when I found out her house was only 8 minutes away. Start time for our girls adventure was 8.30am but the weather had other plans. I went to get Maggie in the pouring rain at about 9.45am and we agreed to still head to the beach.

Nothing was going to stop our beach bumming. It was on the list and we were determined to do it! We arrived Atican beach at about 10.30am and could not get out of the car. The pouring rain. Not sure we were thinking straight when we insisted on going to the beach.

30 minutes later, the heavy rain turned to trickles and we got out of the car to explore. Atican is a pretty decent and uncrowded beach. Now I’m not too sure if the rain stopped people from coming or we got there off-peak. They had accommodation for people interested in sleep overs, movable play structures for children, beach volleyball and beach huts. They also had nice graffiti on their walls which we became the backdrop for almost all our photos!

COMMENT: IT WAS EASY TO PICK THE BEACH AS OUR FIRST LOCATION BECAUSE WE BOTH LOVE THE BEACH! WE SEARCHED AROUND FOR BEACHES THAT WERE NOT TOO FAR OUT AND ATICAN CAME TO MIND. ATICAN IS GREAT IF YOU ARE NOT KEEN ON DRIVING FAR OUT OR TAKING THE BOAT TO GET TO THE BEACH. IT TOOK US 30 MINUTES TO GET THERE FROM THE LEKKI PHASE 1 AREA (TRAFFIC FREE). ATICAN ALLOWS YOU BRING IN YOUR FOOD AND DRINKS AND THERE IS AN ENTRY FEE OF N1,000. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR OWN ENTERTAINMENT TOO AS THE ONLY THING YOU’LL GET TO DO IS RIDE A HORSEY. REALLY?? BEACHES IN LAGOS NEED TO DO BETTER WITH WATER SPORTS AT THEIR BEACHES!
 

ORIKI LAGOS

LOCATION: 7B OJU OLOBUN STREET, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS.

We booked a 2.00pm appointment with Oriki Lagos, a spa, and we set out from Atican by noon. A bit early but we were not taking any chances. We could not afford to miss our appointment because it took a lot of convincing on Maggie’s side to get us booked. We got there at 1.30pm and thankfully did not have to wait. I have a bias towards foreign masseuse’s. I had an ugly experience at a popular hotel in Lagos where my husband and I booked what turned out to be the shittiest massage ever. We complained throughout the process and vowed not to let Nigerians touch us anymore, lol! It was that bad.

When we got to Oriki and I saw the masseuse was Nigerian, I told Maggie I was not too keen. “Nigerian’s don’t know how to give massages and they are not very patient”, I said. We decided to give it a shot, fingers crossed, and it turned out excellent. My test for a really good massage is when I zone out and I sure did during this one. 

COMMENTS: ORIKI LIVES UP TO ALL THE HYPE. APART FROM THE GREAT MASSAGES WE GOT, THE AMBIANCE REALLY JUST SETS YOU IN THE MOOD. ONCE YOU WALK IN, YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO LEAVE. THE SMELL, THE FURNITURE, THE DECOR…ALL VERY WELCOMING! IT’S THE BEST LOOKING SPA I’VE VISITED IN LAGOS. IT’S SUCH A CHILL PLACE TO HANG OUT WITH YOUR GIRLS AND THEY HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES FROM MANI, PEDI, AND MASSAGES, TO FACIALS, WAXING AND FULL BODY POLISHING. THEY ALSO OFFER MEN SERVICES BUT THAT IS NOT WHY WE ARE HERE. BE SURE TO CALL THEM AND BOOK AN APPOINTMENT BEFORE YOU GO. I’M NOT SURE THEY ACCOMMODATE WALK IN’S. THE MASSAGES SET US BACK N14,000(EACH) AND IT WAS WORTH EVERY KOBO.[bctt tweet="Hey girls, thinking of a girls trip? Check out this cool itinerary! "]

SPICE ROUTE

Location: 36 Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 

Food!

Food is very vital when planning a girls trip and its best to pick a restaurant everyone likes.  Our choices were South, Nok, Art Cafe, Backyard and Spice Route. I’m not sure why we settled for Spice Route but we did with no regrets. Spice route serves traditional Indian cuisine and if you are not too keen on trying out new food, spice route is not for you. We loved everything on the menu except their cocktails. My Mojito was filled with SUGAR while Maggies Chapman was pretty basic (you really cannot screw up a chapman).

Spice Route has interesting decor pieces and the most intriguing were the little Buddha’s in various positions. We kept trying to depict what each statute meant and concluded they symbolized words like faith, love and hope. I’m pretty certain we were wrong, haha. They also had an intimidating Buddha statue in the middle of the restaurant, terracotta warriors and a nice table made of spices.

COMMENTS: SPICE ROUTE IS KIND OF PRICEY AND IF YOU ARE ON A BUDGET, MAKE SURE YOU CATCH THEIR BUFFET WHICH IS WAY CHEAPER. IT COST N5,000 PER HEAD IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. YOU SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER SHARING SAUCES. WE ORDERED DIFFERENT SAUCES AND HAD SO MUCH LEFT OVER TO TAKE HOME. I ATE MY LEFT OVER TWICE!

RED DOOR GALLERY

LOCATION: 51 BISHOP OLUWOLE STREET, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS

This was the second time I was visiting an art gallery since my art gallery tour here. Maggie is big on museums, art galleries and zoos. We had to incorporate an art gallery somewhere on the itinerary. She suggested red door and it worked perfectly for me since I had not visited before. It was NICE! I loved the space so much. My best pieces were from Peju Alatise and Dennis Osadebe. Maggie was like a little kid in Willy Wonkers chocolate factory, eager to tell me what each of the pieces meant to her. It was fun to see her very excited. 

COMMENTS: IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO INCORPORATE THINGS YOUR GIRLIES MIGHT LIKE AND YOU FEEL INDIFFERENT ABOUT. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT LEARN. I LEARNT A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM MAGGIE DURING OUR SHORT VISIT TO RED DOOR AND HAD NO REGRETS GOING THERE. I ALMOST COOPED MYSELF A PAINTING TILL I SAW THE PRICE. WELP! 

HARD ROCK CAFE

LOCATION: 3 & 4, ONIRU ESTATE, VICTORIA ISLAND, NEAR LANDMARK CENTER, LAGOS

We decided to grab drinks to round-up our awesome girls day trip. Hard Rock Cafe was just perfect for this. We wanted a place we could kick back, relax and listen to good music. The plan was to get a spot by the water front but was fully occupied when we got there. We ended up staying inside, grabbing one drink each + chicken wings and called it a night. 

It was the perfect way to spend my Saturday and I enjoyed every bit of it. Here are a few tips to make your girls trip a tad bit easier:

• Ensure everyone is on the same page. You really don’t want a party popper ruining your girls trip. Make sure everyone invited wants to come and is happy to be there.
   
• Be open to multiple suggestions then narrow it down to what’s practical giving your location
• If you live in Lagos, exploring both the mainland and the island might be tedious. Stick to one location and look for good spots in those places. There are a few hidden gems everywhere in Lagos!
• Try to incorporate everyone’s preference in your final plan. We all like different things. If a few of the girls like museums, try visiting one and if they like zoos/animals, you should put that in the itinerary.
   
• Set a budget and ensure everyone is committed to that amount!
• Try to keep the numbers small. A group of 4 girls will be easier to manage than a group of 10 (just saying)

Have you planned a girls trip before? What locations will you suggest for a girls trip in your city? Please share other tips you have for the perfect girls trip.