Accra trip report

[kiley]

Accra ( pronounced Aquaarr) Trip Report

We originally planned this trip to be Israel and Jordan but the events on October 7th last year put a stop to that.
So, armed with a close to expiry Barclays voucher, some Avios and our travel policy of travelling to countries neither P2 or I have previously visited, we booked a one-way WTP from Gatwick to Accra for 25000 Avios and £140 PP. Given it’s a daytime flight and circa 6hrs we felt premium would be a safe choice.

Our return was a standard reward booking back to Heathrow in club suite for 52000 Avios and £497.50 PP. Details of the flights are outside the scope of this report, but in summary it was the usual expected low-level service onboard.
On a British Airways positive note P2 had just received her Amex Tier points which tipped her into the echelons of BA Silver giving access to the very pleasant Gatwick South BA lounge

Day 1:
We Arrived on time the previous evening and used a local taxi from the airport to La villa boutique, which isn’t far from the city. We were introduced to the roads and the demolition derby driving style very quickly. More on driving in Ghana later. La villa boutique hotel was located in the Osu region which was a great choice as its pretty much right next to Oxford Street. Lots of restaurants and bars and plenty of vibe in this area.

Inside the hotel was very pleasant and I would recommend this place for location and comfort, my only complaint was that the breakfast at $18 is a blatant robbery given how much food and drinks cost in Ghana. Outside the hotel it feels very under developed. We walked to Accra Beach which I would not recommend spending anymore time there than necessary. Just go to look; that’s it, and avoid the Nigerian beach bars unless you are in the market for buying drinks for locals. The beach has so much potential if the rubbish was cleared and some infrastructure was available.

The afternoon was utilised on a city tour “organised” by the hotel. This turned out to be a taxi around local areas of interest. Some interesting (Kwame Nkrumah national park and museum), Some a bit odd (Vulture village James town) and some a little moving (Osu Slave Castle). Details of all these are available via google/trip advisor and reflect my views.

Day 2-5:
We booked a private tour of the Volta Region prior to arriving in region. This was by far the highlight of our trip. The Volta region is one of Ghana’s sixteen administrative regions. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. It’s a stunning part of the world. Our tour was organised by kwame-tours.com. we had a private car and two tour guides with us at all times.

The only downside was that getting to Volta from Accura is by road. The roads in Ghana vary from pancake smooth to nothing short of the Bajra road circa 1990! If you plan to drive yourself, it’s doable but a 4×4 would be a advisable.
Our first evening was spent at hotel Abraerica Hospitalities located on Mt Akwapem. The rooms were basic and the food was good. The view for breakfast was stunning. We were told this was one of the highest hotels in Ghana. Definitely worth the time spent in the car.

Enroute to the hotel we stopped at Shia Hills Nature reserve for a private tour, Bridge View hotel for lunch then MT Gemi. All of which were very good if you are into reserves and climbing Mountains. Its worth noting that Mt Gemi is 2400ft above sea level but the car park is circa 2000ft, so not too much walking to get some stunning views of the volta region. All these visits felt very intimate as we were the only visitors.

The second day started with a visit to Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary And Cultural Village. Again, we were the only visitors, but were informed it does get busy at weekends. If feeding rare Mona Monkeys with bananas isn’t your thing then I would swerve this stop as that’s pretty much it.

From there we visited Wli Falls and Mt Afadjato, both of which involve some hiking but both are well worth the walking involved. Mt Afadjato is 2900ft above sea level and Ghana’s highest mountain. The hike involves walking about 1800ft of elevation so take plenty of water as it gets hot even under the forest canopy.

Wli falls claims another Ghanaian accolade! This one for being the highest water fall in West Africa. Again, we were there on our own. What more can I say, it’s a water fall, google it. Interestingly, Its right on the border with Togo. We didn’t cross into Togo, but asked our guides to drive us to the boarder for possible photo opportunities. Needless to say I didn’t take any pictures. The boarder to Togo consists of an unmanned farmer’s gate across the transition of asphalt to mud road surface.

We checked into Wli Waterfalls Inn for the evening which was noting short of a concrete block building with a tin roof and an alfresco bar / eating area. The room air con worked (until the generator was switch off) so that was a small plus. But for less than £10 per night with an evening meal and breakfast the only complaints were from our Tour guides for being too cold as the temperature drops to below 25 degrees in this region!

The final day of the tour was a journey back to Accura and a visit to Aburi Botanical gardens. The Garden occupies an area of 64.8 hectares and after another private tour we were ready to depart. If looking at non-native trees from the colonial era is your vibe then this will be interesting, otherwise swerve and you won’t miss much.

The conclusion to the tour was a visit to a traditional Ghanian market. AKA tourist tat shops. Our guides very quickly realised we are not a retail couple, so this “attraction” was a quick visit.

Overall I would recommend kwame-tours.com Volta regions trips. Very professional and no issues. It really was a “private” tour, within some interesting highlights that pushed us outside of our comfort zones.

To reduce the travelling we decided to spend one evening in Accura at La villa boutique before we transferred to Cape Coast the next day.

Day6-7:
Cape coast is very different to Accura. It’s a 3 hr drive from Accra and day trips are available but we decided to spend an evening at Afiki beach from Hotel Cape Coast to relax and decompress after the busy days we had in Volta.

In Cape Coast, we booked a private transfer to Cape Coast Castle. This was our third slave castle we visited. At this point of the trip I’d had enough of slave trade history. It’s pretty grim on all scores, but if your in Ghana you have to visit at least one of these places.

The Afiki beach front hotel wont be joining the IHG group anytime soon but was pleasant. We were the only guest in the hotel so the staff really looked after us and served our dinner on the beach. There isn’t much to do in Cape coast, so if sitting doing nothing in the safety of a hotel complex suites you this would be great. For me 2 days was enough to unwind.

Our evening flight back to blighty meant that we had all day and no rush back from Cape Coast to Accra. Note: the roads from Accura to Cape coast continue the theme of Virgin Red 4×4 experience days. But we arrived back ready for departure with no issues.

During the return flight I opted for the speedy service dinner (starter and dessert) and asked the crew not to shake me for breakfast. This gave me maximum opportunity for sleep and turned out to the good option after I received the poor dinner report from P2.

The flight arrived at T3 so straight into the American Airlines arrivals lounge for eggs benedict, coffee and a shower before we transferred back the midlands via the Elizabethan line and London Euston.

Overall Ghana is definitely worth visiting with the correct mental preparation required for sub-Saharan countries. It’s not for the faint hearted, but defo worth the use of an award voucher. And once in region your money seems to go a lot further in this location. Meals for 2 with a few beers in a good restaurant is around £20-£30. Fruits can be purchased on the roadside for pence., Taxi are cheap and UBER is in use.

Visas are required if you are a uk passport holder. The application process was a faff, but once all documents and passports are submitted our visa came through in 7 days.

Getting hold of Ghanaian currency pre departure isn’t as straight forward as nipping to Tesco and grabbing some dollars. We struggled to get any before we left, but took sterling and dollars and changed our money at the booth by the luggage collection carousel in Accra. In the towns there are plenty of ATMs and most places take cards/US dollars.

As for safety, it’s no different to central or south America; be sensible and aware, you will be fine.

[HampshireHog]

Mmm interesting and I’ve been to a fair few off the beaten track places, fair to say your not going back anytime soon and you don’t expect it to be an On The Beach destination for a while?

[memesweeper]

Thanks for the update — not top of my Africa list but nonetheless still on it after your report!

[PeteM]

Interesting, thank you – a destination that almost always has Avios premium cabin availability too.

Sadly the crazy new anti-gay laws have dented my desire to visit 🙁

[Rob]

Thanks Kiley, very interesting.

[qc]

Interesting trip report but not for me!

[sherlockholmes]

I lived in Ghana from 2019 – 2023, so interesting to hear/read this review. If anyone else in planning a trip happy to share details, there is a lot to “avoid” from the guide book and lots of hidden gems. Sounds like you had a good time though 🙂

One thing you missed in your trip is the Accra night life (not for everyone, and not for me) but my wife loved it and would regularly return at 4am with a group of other girls. It was safe enough for this to not be an issue.

Don’t get me started on the roads…. !!