Ghana holiday, tailormade
| country: | Ghana |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From £795 (14 days) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Phillip Briggs in the Bradt Travel Guide to Ghana writes "When a few years ago, someone coined the phrase 'Africa for Beginners' to describe Malawi... they might have easily been talking of Ghana today. Doubly so. Not only can Ghana be recommended without reservation to even the most nervous of first time travelers to Africa as it is amiable, affordable and hassle-free... but importantly, Ghana boasts a travel circuit so varied and compact that it might almost be seen as offering a microcosmic first taste of Africa."
This trip does more. Home stays in villages of the tremendously hospitable Ewe people will give you a better understanding of the Ghanaian people, their philosophies and their traditional stories, including their deep association with nature.
The mountain biking and the trekking through relatively easy tracks will rejuvenate your body and of course, the beach relaxation will do what it does best, totally relax you.
This trip has been designed to support the community based tourism that exists in the Eastern Region. The home stays will directly benefit local communities. We believe in the conservation through promotion, and that the appreciation of traditional values and of nature through travel will preserve the rich cultural heritage and the pristine nature for years to come.
Although this trip can be conducted at any time of year, temperatures between December and May can be high and there are some rains in June and July. The best time to visit is August to November.
This trip does more. Home stays in villages of the tremendously hospitable Ewe people will give you a better understanding of the Ghanaian people, their philosophies and their traditional stories, including their deep association with nature.
The mountain biking and the trekking through relatively easy tracks will rejuvenate your body and of course, the beach relaxation will do what it does best, totally relax you.
This trip has been designed to support the community based tourism that exists in the Eastern Region. The home stays will directly benefit local communities. We believe in the conservation through promotion, and that the appreciation of traditional values and of nature through travel will preserve the rich cultural heritage and the pristine nature for years to come.
Although this trip can be conducted at any time of year, temperatures between December and May can be high and there are some rains in June and July. The best time to visit is August to November.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival in Accra. Met by representative at the airport and taken to the hotel in the outskirts of Accra. Relaxation, trip briefing and welcome dinner in the tourist hotbed of Osu. |
| Day 2: | Accra. Plunge into the long history of Accra and a feel of Africa. Guided tours to the Usher Fort and the Osu Castle, James Town and the markets of Keneshie. |
| Day 3: | Game park & Ho. Visit the game park for a small hike and to see animals like the kobs, duikers, baboons etc. Later drive to Ho. Visit of the Ho town and market to see how a small town market looks like. |
| Day 4: | Mountain Paradise. Mountain biking through a relatively level hill track from Ho to Mountain Paradise. Drumming and cultural performances. Optional drumming lessons. |
| Day 5: | Biking & hiking. Biking around the hills to villages of Biakpa and Amedzofe. Visit historical sites like an old German Church and other historical buildings. Hike to Gemi. Overnight at Mount Gemi (807m). |
| Day 6: | Mountain Paradise. Hike back to Amedzofe and back on a downhill biking to Vane, and retrace back from another route up to the Mountain Paradise. |
| Day 7: | Kulugu. Hike the Kulugu trail through canyons to the river and back. Overnight Mountain Paradise ecolodge. |
| Day 8: | Agumatsa National Park. Trekking via the mountains towards the highest waterfall in the West Africa Wli Waterfalls in the Agumatsa National Park. Overnight in a camp along the ridge. |
| Day 9: | Village visits. Trek to the community tourism village of Laiti Wote, at the base of the highest mountain in Ghana, Afajato (885 m). Visit the village and in the afternoon, trek through the lush forest for a 45 minute climb to the top of the mountain. Overnight at homestays in Laiti Wote. Excellent meals provided at Stella's Inn, run by Stella, trained chef. Highly recommended village grown mushrooms in tomato sauce with rice. |
| Day 10: | Hiking. Lazy start after breakfast to drive to the Wli waterfalls, the highest in West Africa (about 100 meters) within the Agumatsa National Park, which takes a 20 minute drive and a 45 minute hike through forests. Lunch at the beautiful Waterfall Lodge. Continue after lunch on to the award winning community tourism village of Tafi Atome, where the endangered Mona monkeys have been protected by the villagers for centuries. Jungle walk through the forests to interact with the amazingly friendly monkeys. Home stay at Tafi Atome with the community. This village has excellent traditional Kente (inlay) weavers. |
| Day 11: | Canoeing. Early drive south to another community based tourism location in the marshes created by the Volta at Xavi, a rarely visited lazy village boasting excellent canoeing along the Lugur River along with an exotic collection of birds and a baobab grove. Stay at Xavi in home stays, or optional to drive more and reach the coast. |
| Day 12: | Forts & fishermen. Drive via the Keta Lagoon, driving past mountains of sea salt collected in the lagoon, to Ada Foah and overnight at the beach. In Keta, we visit the historic Pridzenstein Fort, which served as a prison, and was built by the Danes. We shall try to time the drive so that we can visit fishermen bringing back their boats from the day long fishing in the Gulf of Guinea. Overnight at Ada Foah. |
| Day 13: | Ada Foah. Chill at Ada Foah. Optional fishing trip on the estuary, where the Volta meets the sea. Afternoon drive back to Accra, in time for some last minute souvenir purchases. Farewell Dinner. |
| Day 14: | Departure. Transfer to airport. |
how this holiday makes a difference
 This trip supports the Community Based Eco-Tourism developed around some of the tourism hotspots in the Volta Region of Ghana. Prices are decided by the community and the benefits go directly to the community. Each trip that comes through will contribute in installing confidence in the communities about their abilities and this direction of sustainable tourism. This trip is an effort to ensure a steady stream of income to these rural communities and provide the necessary supplemental income in their daily lives. All guides and support staff are local Ghanaians. Apart from this, we try to demonstrate the concepts of linked prosperity in tourism through this trip, ensuring a responsible spread of income (and to some extent training) to different players in the tourism scenario of Ghana. Being nature based, the trips also prove to local communities that environmental and cultural conservation can result in additional incomes thereby strengthening the perception of the need for conservation in the local communities. This has long term benefits. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |