Nigeria and Ghana holiday

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION
This nine-day journey through Nigeria and Ghana has been thoughtfully designed to keep its carbon footprint as low as practically possible, while still delivering a rich and meaningful travel experience.
Rather than relying on a series of short-haul internal flights between destinations, the itinerary is structured around shared overland road transfers — from Lagos to Badagry, onward to Abeokuta, and across Ghana from Accra to Elmina and back. Travelling together as a group by road significantly reduces the CO2 emitted per person compared to individual or air-based alternatives, and allows guests to experience the landscapes, towns and roadside life of both countries in a way that flying simply cannot offer.
Human-powered exploration is woven naturally into the trip. Guests walk the famous canopy boardwalk at Lagos' Lekki Conservation Centre, the longest in Africa, browse on foot through the Lekki International Craft Market and the Accra Arts and Crafts Centre, and explore the historic grounds of Elmina Castle and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park entirely on foot. For those who choose the optional Kakum National Park excursion, the experience is similarly pedestrian-led, traversing over 1,000 feet of suspended treetop walkway above the forest floor. Across the itinerary, several days involve meaningful amounts of walking as the primary mode of exploration.
We are also happy to advise guests on how to reduce the carbon impact of their flights to and from West Africa, including how to use Google Flights and Skyscanner to compare emissions across routes, and how to choose airlines offering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) contribution options at the point of booking. We encourage all travelers to consider their routing carefully, favoring direct flights wherever available.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
West Africa's natural environments are extraordinary, and this trip makes a genuine effort to connect guests with them in ways that directly support their protection.
On Day 3, the itinerary includes a visit to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation's (NCF) Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos, a serene urban nature reserve managed by one of Nigeria's most respected environmental organizations. Entry fees paid by guests directly support the NCF's conservation work, which spans wildlife protection, environmental education and habitat management across Nigeria. Walking the canopy boardwalk through the reserve, guests encounter monkeys, birds and forest ecosystems in the heart of a major African city, a reminder of what urban green spaces can achieve when properly protected.
For guests who choose to visit Kakum National Park on Day 8, entrance fees contribute to the management and preservation of one of Ghana's most ecologically important rainforest reserves. Kakum is home to over 40 mammal species, hundreds of bird species, and rare forest elephants. The park is managed by the Ghana Forestry Commission, and tourist revenue plays a meaningful role in funding its ongoing protection. Guests are guided through the park by trained local rangers with expert knowledge of the forest ecosystem.
Throughout the trip, guests are encouraged to observe wildlife and natural environments responsibly, keeping to designated paths, avoiding disturbance to animals, and following the guidance of local expert guides at both Lekki and Kakum. We brief all travelers before nature-based activities on low-impact behavior, including how to avoid introducing or spreading invasive species between sites.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
This trip was built around the principle that tourism should leave money where it matters most, in the hands of local people and local businesses.
Both accommodation properties used in Ghana, The Pelican Hotel in Accra and Ridge Royal Hotel in Elmina, are locally rooted establishments, offering guests a more authentic and community-connected experience than international chain hotels. In Nigeria, Eko Hotel and Suites is a long-established Lagos landmark and one of the country's most iconic hospitality brands. Choosing these properties over multinational chains ensures that a far greater proportion of guest spend circulates within the local economy.
Shopping and market visits are deliberately embedded into the itinerary as a means of directing tourist spend to local artisans and makers. The Lekki International Craft Market in Lagos and the Accra Arts and Crafts Centre are both dedicated spaces for locally produced art, textiles, jewelry and traditional crafts. Guests are actively encouraged to browse and buy directly from the makers and stall-holders. The visit to the Nike Art Gallery and Cultural Centre, the largest privately owned gallery in West Africa, similarly supports a homegrown cultural institution that has been championing Nigerian artists for decades. The farewell dinner on the final evening in Accra is held at a local restaurant, ensuring the trip ends as it began, with local food, local atmosphere and local benefit.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
From start to finish, this trip is guided and operated by local professionals in both Nigeria and Ghana. Dedicated cultural tour guides, one based in Lagos and one in Accra, accompany guests throughout their time in each country. These are not generic transfer drivers or hotel-arranged guides; they are specialist cultural practitioners with deep knowledge of the history, heritage and communities that guests encounter along the route. Employing local expert guides rather than expatriate or internationally sourced staff ensures that the most skilled and knowledgeable voices in the room are also local ones, and that the income generated stays within the destination community.
The trip's focus on heritage tourism, particularly the Badagry Slave Route, the Fihankra Naming Ceremony at Elmina, and the cultural sites of Accra, means that local historians, traditional chiefs, ceremony officiants and community leaders are active participants in the guest experience, not simply a backdrop to it. These engagements create meaningful and fairly compensated income opportunities for community members whose expertise and cultural custodianship sit at the very heart of the itinerary.
This trip is designed to be welcoming to all guests regardless of background, nationality, ethnicity or identity. As a journey centered on African heritage, diaspora reconnection and Pan-African history, it is particularly meaningful for guests of African descent, and our guides are experienced in facilitating those deeply personal connections with sensitivity and care. We are committed to ensuring every traveler feels respected, included and at home throughout the journey.