Booking Process for IITA Ibadan || Places to go with kids in Ibadan
We are in IITA for a short holiday and the most FAQ is "How much" "What's booking like" I will share everything in this article.
IITA is an institute and they have a pretty strict policy so you can't just visit without making a reservation.
To make a Reservation you send an email to iita-reservations@cgiar.org stating the days you'd like to book for, they will tell you if it's available and what rooms they have with a copy of the current rates.
Here are the rates as at March 2022
My process: I called their reservation phone line (got on their website) asked for the available rooms and sent a mail but I didn't get a response to the mail so I called about 2 days to the day and found out they did not see my mail but responded to me immediately after the call.
Apparently, they are very on top of their reservation emails and they will respond to you.
Just note that they are booked and busy so don't do last minute.
Agodi Gardens in Ibadan || Review
Formerly called Agodi Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Agodi Gardens was created in 1967. The garden was destroyed by the Ogunpa flood disaster in 1980 as most of the animals were swept away by the raging water. The garden was renovated in 2012 by the Oyo State Government and the new Agodi Gardens was reopened in 2014. [Wikipedia]
First impression:
Gatefee:
It is N500 for adults and children.
First Impression when we entered:
We were really amazed at the greenery, animals roaming (donkey, horse, peacock), trees. It was just so nice to behold. The trees have information about them in case you’d like to learn more.
They had a nonfunctional amusement ride that would only work if the children pretended. There is a trampoline somewhere around and you could ride the horse for N500.
There is a food court where they sell things like rice, chicken and chips, soya, etc.
There is also a pool and to access the pool, you have to pay differently which is also N500/person
What we loved:
We loved the scenery, we loved that there was a huge space for the kids to play and we swam. The pool was shallow enough for the children to play in and have confident fun in the water.
What we didn’t like:
The staff had an “I don’t care” attitude from the paypoint to the lifeguard at the pool.
The pool was so dirty, it wasn’t cleaned even after requesting that he used his net to pick up the obvious dirt because of the children.
If the place was bit more maintained, especially the pool & Cleaning the toilets.
Other things to note:
Cuddly loves:
Rating it 3.5 cuddly loves.Will I go back, if I had the chance? Yes!
Have you been to Agodi gardens before? What are your thoughts?
Places to go with kids in Ibadan || Recap of our Ibadan field trip
When I heard about the train from Lagos to Ibadan, I knew exactly what our next adventure was going to be. I quickly went to Google to start my research to find all the information I needed, how much I was to budget and all.
Here was the list of potential things to do we came up with;
- Agodi Gardens
- UI Zoo
- Topfat Gallery
- Bowers Towers
- IITA
- Odu’a Museum
Our focus was to do things that we couldn't find to do in Lagos ordinarily, things peculiar to Ibadan and outdoors, which is what guided my choice.
We planned to spend 5 days in Ibadan Tuesday - Sunday but then we realized when we got to Ibadan that there was no train ride on Sunday which meant we had just 3 days to explore so we cut our list down to (Click to read reviews of these places) [This has changed since the train station was launched]
- Agodi Gardens
- UI Zoo
- IITA
Our train ride was awesome. We had an amazing/smooth trip from Lagos to Ibadan - Click to read about it here - and we stayed with my cousin for the days we were around in Akobo.
Our Budget:
I had a budget of 40,000 for the trip but didn’t end up spending up to that; here is a breakdown.
Trip to Ibadan: 7,500 (Took the business class)
Cab from Train ride to Town: 4,000
Cab to and from Agodi - 2,200
Entrance fees of both places - 3,000 (Read review to see breakdown)
Food/Snacks: 3,400 - I was a bit excessive
Trip from Ibadan: 3,750 (Economy class)
Total: 23,850
Things that reduced my cost a bit;
- My cousin drove us to the zoo so we saved on the cost of taxi.
- I took the trip with my sister so we split the bills on taxi
- Stayed with my cousin, so we didn’t pay hotel bills.
What didn’t go as planned:
We stayed home on our last full day because we found out that you can’t just waltz into IITA, you have to be lodged there to see their facility and we were not sure the children would be able to appreciate the museum that was the alternative so we stayed home, chilled and took a walk around the neighborhood.
What I would do differently:
- Arrange pick up from the train place in Ibadan (Moniya), it might have been cheaper than the taxis there.
- Find out more details on the places to visit before making concrete plans