Rivers State · Nigeria
Port Harcourt travel guide
Port Harcourt is a city in Rivers State, Nigeria, home to about 3,325,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- PHG9 km · Port Harcourt City Airport / Port Harcourt Air Force Base
- Currency
- NGNnaira
- Time zone
- Africa/Lagos
- Language
- English
About
About Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt (Nigerian Pidgin: Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa, is a port city, capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fourth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano and Ibadan It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the oil rich Niger Delta region.
Port Harcourt generally known as the 'PH City' is one of the beautiful places to visit in Nigeria. Port Harcourt was formed in 1912. In 2016, Port Harcourt was home to about 1.2 million people. Port Harcourt features a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen: Am) with lengthy and heavy rainy seasons and very short dry seasons. Only the months of December to February truly qualifies as dry season months in the city. Harmattan, which climatically influences many cities in West Africa, is less pronounced in Port Harcourt.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Port Harcourt
See
- Borokiri Market
- Port Harcourt Zoo
- Port Harcourt Pleasure Park
Do
- Carniriv Festival'
- Bole festival
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 359 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Port Harcourt: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Port Harcourt City Airport / Port Harcourt Air Force Base (PHG), about 9.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; Port Harcourt International Airport (PHC, 29 km) and Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW, 77 km) are also within reach.
PHG · Port Harcourt City Airport / Port Harcourt Air Force Base
PHC · Port Harcourt International Airport
QOW · Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Port Harcourt
Eat
Rice, egusi soup with eba or fufu, pounded yam, papper soup, ogbono soup. Suya is a kind of spicy meat kebab. Available at the side of any road cooked over charcoal. Wash it down with a Coke, called locally a mineral, or a bottle of the local Guinness or Maltina.
Drink
There is great night life here. Try Cheers Bar in GRA every Sunday! Place is absolutely packed with guys and girls being treated to awesome music by Nick and Smart. Food is great, service is friendly and the beers are cold! Also on weekends Wine Bar, Bunga Villa (as the locals call it) and Aristo House are great!.
Stay safe
Port Harcourt is the centre of oil business in Nigeria. Some people have a strong feeling that the oil is "stolen" from them by local government in cooperation with foreign companies. There are frequent riots, worker strikes and regular reports of kidnapping. Some bars and clubs, nevertheless, seem relatively safe even during the night.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Port Harcourt: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Port Harcourt?
Port Harcourt has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 359 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Port Harcourt?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Port Harcourt City Airport / Port Harcourt Air Force Base (PHG), about 9.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; Port Harcourt International Airport (PHC, 29 km) and Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW, 77 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Port Harcourt?
naira (NGN).
Nearby
Destinations near Port Harcourt
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.