Magical Benin, Togo & Ghana incl. Ouidah Vodun Festival — Self-Launched, 14 Days

Land at Cadjehoun Airport and take a green-and-yellow taxi into town (~3,000–5,000 FCFA / £4–7; agree the price first). Change money at an airport bureau or a downtown bank/forex kiosk — bring clean euros or US dollars, cards are patchy. Base yourself near Haie Vive or Ganhi where guesthouses run £20–30/night. Spend the afternoon walking the city core on your own: Esplanade des Amazones, Place du Souvenir, Mathieu Kérékou Garden, the Bio Guéra Monument and Place des Martyrs. Buy a Benin SIM (MTN/Moov, ~£5) with data.

🚌Airport taxi ~£4–7; walking and occasional zem (moto-taxi) ~£1

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Haie Vive or Ganhi, Cotonou (£20–30 dorm/private)

• →Cadjehoun Airport arrival & taxi transfer
• →Self-guided Cotonou monuments walk
• →Buy local SIM card
• →Currency exchange

Take a shared taxi or zem to the Dantokpa area and grab a bush taxi to Porto-Novo (~45 mins, 1,000–1,500 FCFA / £1.50–2). Wander the Grand Marché, hire a local guide at the Grande Mosquée (small fee + donation, ~£2–3) and visit the Musée Honmè / Royal Palace of King Toffa (~£3). Back in Cotonou, catch sunset at the Esplanade des Amazones. Eat at a maquis: rice and sauce or pâte with fish, £2–4 per plate.

🚌Shared taxi Cotonou–Porto-Novo return ~£4–6

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel, Cotonou

• →Porto-Novo market walk
• →Grande Mosquée of Porto-Novo with local guide
• →Royal Palace of King Toffa museum & Musée Honmè
• →Esplanade des Amazones sunset

This is the reason for the January dates. Vodun Days runs around 10 January with Zangbeto masks, Egungun ceremonies and drumming in the streets and around the Temple of the Pythons — free to attend, just show up and respect photography etiquette (ask first, expect small donations). Also visit the Sacred Forest of Kpasse (entrance ~£3), the Temple of the Pythons (~£2), the basilica opposite it, and walk the 4km Route des Esclaves from Place Chacha past the Tree of Forgetfulness and Zomaï House to the Zoungbodji memorial and Door of No Return. Sleep in Ouidah (guesthouses £15–25) or return to Cotonou by shared taxi (~1,500 FCFA).

🚌Shared taxi Cotonou–Ouidah ~£2–3 each way; zem/moto around town ~£1–2

🛏Guesthouse in Ouidah or Cotonou (£15–25)

• →Vodun Days festival: Zangbeto & Egungun performances
• →Sacred Forest of Kpasse
• →Temple of the Pythons & basilica
• →Route des Esclaves walk to Door of No Return
• →Zoungbodji memorial

Early start: shared taxi to Abomey-Calavi (~£1.50), then a pirogue out to Ganvie on Lake Nokoué — negotiate a boat with a fisherman/guide at the jetty (~£10–15 for the boat, split if you can) and pay the village entrance (~£3). Back on the mainland, take a bush taxi north to Abomey (~2.5 hrs, ~£3–4). At the Royal Palaces of Abomey (UNESCO) take the on-site guide tour (~£5–6 entry + guide) to see the bas-reliefs of the twelve kings, thrones, regalia and royal sepulchres, and hear about the Agojie women warriors. Overnight in Abomey guesthouse (£15–20).

🚌Shared taxi + pirogue + bush taxi ~£18 total

🛏Guesthouse in Abomey (£15–20)

• →Pirogue to Ganvie stilt village
• →Royal Palaces of Abomey UNESCO tour
• →Bas-reliefs & Historical Museum
• →Agojie women warriors history

Bush taxi back toward the coast and over the Hillacondji/Sanvee border into Togo (Benin–Togo border formalities are quick for most nationalities; get your Togo visa online in advance, ~£20–25). Continue to Agbodrafo and hire a local guide at the Wood Home / Maison des Esclaves (~£3–5). Take a small boat across Lake Togo to Togoville (~£5–8, negotiate), see the voodoo shrines and fetishes, and taste herbal teas with the village herbalist. Then a shared taxi into Lomé (~1,500 FCFA). Evening: Independence Square at dusk and the fishing harbour.

🚌Bush taxis Abomey–Lomé ~£8–12; boat ~£6; shared taxi ~£2

🛏Budget hotel/guesthouse in Lomé (£20–30)

• →Wood Home slave house, Agbodrafo
• →Boat across Lake Togo to Togoville
• →Togoville voodoo shrines & herbalist tea tasting
• →Independence Square and Lomé fishing harbour

Start at Lomé's Akodessewa Fetish Market — entry is a few pounds plus a guide; ask before photographing. Then take a bus or shared taxi north to Atakpamé (~2.5 hrs, ~£4–6) and a zem out to rural Davedi to see how a Togolese village lives. If you want the Bobo dance and twin-dolls ceremony, arrange through a local guide or the Atakpamé tourist office a day ahead (guide ~£10–15). Kente weaving in Togolese style is visible in villages around Atakpamé — ask at a weaving shed and leave a small tip. Return to Lomé in the evening or overnight in Atakpamé (£15–20).

🚌Bus/shared taxi Lomé–Atakpamé return ~£8–12; zem ~£2

🛏Budget hotel in Lomé or Atakpamé (£20–30)

• →Akodessewa Fetish Market
• →Davedi village visit & daily life
• →Bobo dance & twin dolls ceremony (pre-arranged guide)
• →Kente weaving demonstration

Head east to the Volta River — buses to Sogakope then a shared taxi/moto to Vume. The women potters shape clay entirely by hand with no wheel; buy a piece and leave a small donation (~£2–4). Continue to the Aflao border and cross into Ghana (Ghana visa/e-visa in advance, ~£50–60 for a single entry; buy a Ghana SIM on arrival). Shared tro-tro or VIP bus from Aflao to Accra (~2–3 hrs, £3–5). Settle into a hostel/guesthouse in Osu or Kokomlemle (£18–28).

🚌Shared taxis + tro-tro/VIP bus Lomé–Aflao–Accra ~£10–14

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Osu or Kokomlemle, Accra (£18–28)

• →Vume pottery village on the Volta River
• →Aflao border crossing into Ghana
• →Buy Ghana SIM & cedis

A self-guided independence-history circuit: start at the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre (small entry fee), drive/walk past Flagstaff House, then Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park with museum and presidential library (~£5). Walk Independence Square, Independence Arch and Black Star Square. Bargain hard at the Accra Arts & Crafts Centre, then head to Teshie to see the fantasy coffin carving workshops (guides expect a small tip; ask before photographing). Tro-tros and Uber/Bolt are both cheap in Accra (~£1–3 a ride).

🚌Tro-tro/Bolt across the city ~£4 total

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Accra

• →W.E.B. Du Bois Centre
• →Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & museum
• →Independence Square, Arch & Black Star Square
• →Accra Arts & Crafts Centre bargaining
• →Teshie fantasy coffin workshops

Take an STC or VIP bus west to Cape Coast (~3 hrs, £4–6) and a tro-tro back to Elmina. Stop at Mankessim to see the Posuban shrines of the Fante warrior companies (local guide £2–3). Elmina Castle / St George's Castle is a UNESCO site — the mandatory guide-led tour is included in the entry (~£8–10 for foreigners), and it's heavy, so leave time. Walk the harbour with its painted fishing boats and watch boat builders at work. Sleep in Cape Coast (£18–28).

🚌STC/VIP bus Accra–Cape Coast ~£5; tro-tros ~£2

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Cape Coast (£18–28)

• →Posuban shrines, Mankessim
• →Elmina Castle guided tour
• →Elmina harbour & traditional boat builders

Morning at Cape Coast Castle (UNESCO): the guide tour takes you through the dungeons to the Door of No Return and the castle museum (~£8–10). Afternoon at Elmina Fish Market — vivid, busy, and best with a local guide. In the evening, catch a traditional drumming and dance performance — the Cape Coast Centre for National Culture and several local groups stage shows, or ask your guesthouse to arrange one (£5–8).

🚌Tro-tro Cape Coast–Elmina ~£1

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Cape Coast

• →Cape Coast Castle & Door of No Return
• →Castle museum
• →Elmina Fish Market
• →Traditional music & dance performance

Take a shared taxi/tro-tro to Assin Manso and walk to the Slave River (Donkor Nsuo), where captives were bathed before the coastal march — the site guide is a few pounds. Continue north by bus to Kumasi (~4–5 hrs, £6–9) and take a taxi to Manhyia Palace Museum, the former residence of the Asantehene, for royal relics and artifacts (~£4–6). Overnight in Kumasi guesthouse (£18–28).

🚌Tro-tro + bus Cape Coast–Assin Manso–Kumasi ~£10–12

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Kumasi (£18–28)

• →Assin Manso Slave River (Donkor Nsuo)
• →Manhyia Palace Museum, Kumasi

A DIY craft loop around Kumasi: tro-tros or a hired taxi for the day (£12–18). At Bonwire watch kente being woven and buy direct from the loom; at Ntonso learn adinkra symbol meanings and stamp your own sash (~£3–5); at Ahwiaa meet woodcarvers. Back in town, visit the National Cultural Centre and the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum. Eat at a chop bar — waakye, kelewele and jollof for £2–4 a plate.

🚌Hired taxi/tro-tros for the village loop ~£10–15

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Kumasi

• →Bonwire kente weaving
• →Ntonso adinkra stamping workshop
• →Ahwiaa woodcarving
• →National Cultural Centre & Prempeh II Jubilee Museum

A road day north-south: STC or VIP bus Kumasi–Accra (~4–5 hrs, £6–9). Back in Accra, browse Makola Market or Osu's shops, grab a final bowl of kelewele and grilled tilapia, and sort your onward airport logistics for tomorrow (Bolt to the airport is ~£5–7).

🚌STC/VIP bus ~£7

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Accra

• →Bus day Kumasi–Accra
• →Makola Market or Osu browsing
• →Accra street-food evening

Slow morning: Jamestown lighthouse and the beach at Labadi if time allows, then Bolt or airport shuttle to Kotoka International (~£5–7). Arrive 3 hours before an international flight. If your flight is late, taxis run 24h and the airport has decent food.

🚌Bolt/taxi to Kotoka International ~£5–7

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Jamestown or Labadi morning
• →Airport transfer & departure