Ghana is much closer than you think, and the flying time from the UK or Europe is just six hours.
It would be fair to say that flights to Ghana are expensive compared to fights to, say, Gambia, however, this is because Ghana is not a mass tourist destination (a real advantage, we think). In low season - Jan to Jun and September to November, you will be able to get a flight from UK/Europe between £400 and £450. However dduring peak times, prices can be as high as £650. Having said that, once you get to Ghana, food, accommodation and transport are cheaper than you would get elsewhere and you will find the total cost of the trip is quite competitive.
A number of major airlines fly to Ghana and including: British Airways (Direct from UK) Ghana International (Direct from UK) KLM (Direct from Holland) Luftshansa (Direct from Germany) Alitalia (From Italy via Lagos, Nigeria) Virgin (From UK via Lagos, Nigeria) Emirates (From all over the world via Dubai) American Airlines (From USA via UK)
You can book flights online at the various airlines’ websites or through the well known travel websites.
Any non Ghanaian travelling to Ghana will require a visa. A visa application form can be downloaded from your local Ghana High Commission website. Applications take four days to process.
CLIMATE
Ghana has two seasons – Dry and Rainy.
The Dry Season runs from October to March – and there is rarely a drop of rain during that time. Generally temperatures are pretty stable and range between 28 and 32 degrees centigrade. A short sub-season runs from December to January, when the strong winds from the Sahara, called the harmattan, cool the temperature but brings an increased level of dust.
The Rainy Season (not as wet as the name implies) runs from April to September. The rain levels increase from month to month, so you are unlikely to get much rain from April to early June. When the rains do come, they generally consist of short bursts of heavy tropical rain, so you can generally find a bar to enjoy a beer during that time and then carry on with whatever you were doing before the rain started. Temperatures are slightly cooler during this period, although you only really notice it in the mornings. They range from 26 to 30 degrees centigrade. Because of the relative lack of high rise buildings in Ghana, you can sometimes see the rain arriving from miles away – it is really quite weird, and locals seem to have the ability to determine whether or not the rain will be a long or short burst.
HEALTH
You will need some vaccinations when visiting Ghana, so please seek medical advice before the journey. However, there are two main causes of illness to visitors to Ghana, and in both cases, it is a matter of preventation being better than cure:
Water and food - We find that drinking tap water is the main source of stomach problems when we go to Ghana. Although the tap water is safe to drink, it can take a while for your stomach to adjust to it, so if you are on a short trip, it is better to stick to bottled water at all times. Avoid ice in all but the high class hotels and wash all fruit and vegetables with bottled water. Fresly cooked hot food is safe to eat, but we tend to avoid the salad that comes with the meal to be on the safe side.
Malaria - Caused by mosquito bites. Although you should buy anti-malarial tablets which you take before, during and after the trip, the best way to avoid getting malaria is to is avoid being bitten in the first place. Always carry insect repellent with you and make sure that by 6pm in the evening, you have covered all exposed areas of your body with the repellent. Keep your bedroom door closed in the evenings to avoid spending a painful night with a mosquito. And finally, and obviously, do not sleep outside at night! There is nothing more upsetting than watching a programme on tropical diseases which includes some tourist who got very sick after deciding it would be a good idea to spend the night camping by an African river. No Ghanaian would choose to do this, so you shouldn't either.
FOOD
You can get a wide variety of food in Accra - Chinese food is probably the most common and very good especially the fish dishes - but you will also find Indian, Mexican, Lebanese, French, Thai, Italian, American, Fast Food and probably many others we don't know. Choices are more limited outside Accra but there will still be enough for you to get a good variety. However, you should try some Ghanaian food whilst in Ghana.
Ghanaian food can be quite spicy although restaurants are allowing for foreigners tastes by toning down on the chillies. However, they also offer “shitto” a prawn based spicy sauce, which you can add to your dish to increase its spiciness. Food is generally made up of a few staples: Rice, Yam, Plantain and Corn dough
RICE Rice is served in a number of ways:
Fried Rice – For some bizarre reason, this Chinese dish has become a Ghanaian “must” and virtually every restaurant will serve this. Upmarket restaurants tend to, rather ironically, treat this as the “local” offering. Waakye – Rice and beans are cooked together until very soft and served with a meat or fish stew. Jollof Rice – The king of rice dishes until Fried Rice came along, Jollof rice is a savoury rice dish cooked in a tomato based sauce – a bit like a dry paella. It is usually cooked as a vegetarian dish and served with meat or fish. Omo Tuo – Rice is cooked until very, very soft and then kneaded into a round ball. It is served in a thick soup – usually made from groundnut or palm nut (or sometimes the two are combined). It is best eaten with your hands, but if you must then you can eat it with a spoon!
YAM This tubular root vegetable is comparable to potatoes, but is more dense and, in our opinion, more flavoursome. The best variety is Puna from the Ashanti region.
It is served in the following ways: Yam Chips/Fries Yam Balls – Mashed and mixed with vegetables, then deep fried. It is very tasty Boiled Yam – Served with meat or fish, but also commonly served as Ampesi – this is a generic name for palm oil based stews usually cooked with cocoyam leaves (like spinach) and garden eggs (like aubergines, eggplant).
PLANTAIN From the banana family but much larger and heavier, This can be cooked when ripe or unripe. When ripe it is quite sweet and can be cooked as: Fried Plantain – Can be eaten as a appetiser either plain or with spices (kelewele) or as a main course with beans (known as Red, Red). Unripe plantain is sometimes sliced very thinly into crisps and eaten as a snack. As a main meal it can be boiled and served in the same way as boiled yam. It is also cooked as Fufu – when it is pounded with cassava and served as a thick gluely ball in a soup. Of the meals described so far, this is a more acquired taste, and it is often only as good as the soup that it is served with.
CORN DOUGH Fresh corn is ground and then mixed with water and left to ferment for a period of time. When fermented it is served in a number of ways. Banku - The milder option, it is served with fried fish and a hot spicy sauce or with an okra based stew. Whilst this is probably an acquired taste, it is definitely worth acquiring. Especially at Asanka Locals in Osu. Kenkey – This has quite a sharp taste and is served with fried fish and hot spicy sauce. Not a favourite of ours!
Meat and fish are plentiful and are sometimes served as Kebabs with a unique nut based seasoning which originates from the north of Ghana. Vegetarians do not get much of a selection in Ghanaian restaurants, but the benefit of self catering is that you can buy beautifully fresh and tasty vegetables in the markets and cook delicious vegetarian meals at the villa.
GETTING AROUND
It sometimes feels as if no-one walks any real distance in Ghana, and especially not in Accra. Despite the lack of a coherent public transport system, Ghanaians travel everywhere by car or bus. Anytime you see someone with a serious intent to walk to their chosen destination, they are usually foreigners – generally accompanied by the bemused glances of locals. You will quickly discover that this is because of the heat and dust, and you may be well advised to do as the Ghanaians do - if you don’t want to exhaust yourself too much.
To come and go as you please, you can hire a car from a rental company - we can arrange this for you, as we have established a relationship with a reputable company who will provide you with a car and driver for a discount on its usual rates. Alternatively, you can hire a taxi for your journey or for a whole day – they are plentiful and distinctly coloured so you will find one easily. Always ask a local for an idea of prices before you approach taxi drivers. Then make sure you agree a charge for the journey with the driver before you enter their car.
The cheapest way to travel is by "tro-tro" - mini buses or shared taxis (above) that travel around Accra. If you want to get into town, walk from the villas to the main road, and stay at the junction, the buses will stop around the area. The ticket collector will yell 37, Accra or Cricle and depending on where you are going, you can get on the right bus.
You may notice when reading through these pages that we make no attampt to give you directions. This is because it is quite difficult to do, and directions outside central Accra tend not to be by road name but by landmarks. As in all countries, the taxi drivers are very knowledgeable and as long as you know where you want to end up, they will get you there.
There is a good network of buses available for travelling around the country. You can get a bus to virtually anywhere you want, with the STC offering the most comfortable service. You can travel on air-conditioned buses to Cape Coast, Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi. We recommend that you always buy your bus tickets at least a day before you travel to guarantee your seat on the buses. When you arrive at your destination, you will easily find taxis to take you wherever you want to go. So, whilst a chauffeur driven car offers you comfort and flexibility, you can still travel far afield in relative comfort without the expense.
Ghanaian food can be quite spicy although restaurants are allowing for foreigners tastes by toning down on the chillies. However, they also offer “shitto” a prawn based spicy sauce, which you can add to your dish to increase its spiciness. Food is generally made up of a few staples: Rice, Yam, Plantain and Corn dough
To come and go as you please, you can hire a car from a rental company - we can arrange this for you, as we have established a relationship with a reputable company who will provide you with a car and driver for a discount on its usual rates. Alternatively, you can hire a taxi for your journey or for a whole day – they are plentiful and distinctly coloured so you will find one easily. Always ask a local for an idea of prices before you approach taxi drivers. Then make sure you agree a charge for the journey with the driver before you enter their car.