Complete Ghana: Self-Launched Route from Accra to Accra

Land at Kotoka International Airport (ACC). Skip the private transfer — a metered taxi or ride-hail (Bolt is widely used in Accra) into the Osu or Airport Residential area costs £5-8 and takes 25-40 min depending on traffic. Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse, change some cedis at the airport (rates are fine), and pick up a local SIM from MTN or Vodafone in the arrivals hall (~£3 for data). Walk to a nearby chop bar for jollof rice or waakye for dinner and get an early night — Accra's humidity catches up with you fast.

🚌Airport taxi/Bolt to Osu ~£6

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Osu (~£18/night)

• →SIM card and cedi exchange at airport
• →Evening walk around Osu

Do the G Adventures day-2 city circuit yourself. Start at Black Star Gate and Independence Square (free, 20 min walk from Osu), then take a Bolt to Jamestown (~£2) for a self-guided wander past the lighthouse, the old colonial warehouses and the fishing harbour — local lads will offer to guide you; agree a price up front (~£5) or politely decline. Continue to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum (entry ~£4). In the afternoon, ask in Jamestown or Osu about visiting a fantasy coffin workshop in Teshie — the famous coffin carvers welcome small visits, tip ~£3-5. Eat lunch at a local restaurant in Osu (~£3) and keep the evening free.

🚌Bolt rides across the city ~£5 total

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Osu (~£18/night)

• →Black Star Gate & Independence Square
• →Jamestown walking tour
• →Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (~£4)
• →Fantasy coffin workshop visit in Teshie

Take an early STC or VVIP intercity coach from Accra towards Cape Coast/Kumasi and get off at Assin Manso (~4 hrs, ~£8). Visit the Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River Site — the 'last bath' where enslaved people were washed before the coastal forts — with a site guide (~£3 entry plus tip). Then pick up a shared taxi or tro-tro to Bonkro (~£3). Book a night or two at the community guesthouse tied to the Picathartes Forest reserve (arrange in advance by phone or via a local Cape Coast tour operator; around £15-20 per night with meals negotiable). Afternoon: ask your host to arrange a visit to a local Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmer to see the harvest and taste fresh cocoa — agree a fair fee of ~£8-10 directly with the family or cooperative rep. Dinner at the guesthouse and, if the community is showing one, join the outdoor film night.

🚌Intercity coach Accra–Assin Manso ~£8; shared taxi to Bonkro ~£3

🛏Community guesthouse, Bonkro (~£17/night incl. simple meals)

• →Assin Manso Ancestral River Site (~£3)
• →Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farm visit (~£9)

Breakfast at the guesthouse, then head to the New Edubiase market by shared taxi (~£2 each way) with your host or a local cook — buy plantain, kontomire, egusi, fish and palm oil for a group dinner. Bartering alongside locals is the whole point; bring small cedi notes. Back at the guesthouse, pay the cook ~£10-12 to teach you to prepare groundnut soup or fufu. In the afternoon, walk with a community guide into the rainforest edge being protected for the white-necked rockfowl (picathartes) — a birding guide costs ~£10-15 if you want to try for a sighting. Finish with a bonfire and, if the locals are around, drumming and stories.

🚌Shared taxi to New Edubiase market ~£4 return

🛏Community guesthouse, Bonkro (~£17/night incl. simple meals)

• →New Edubiase market shop
• →Cooking class with guesthouse chef (~£11)
• →Community rainforest walk with guide (~£12)

Travel by shared taxi/tro-tro to Kumasi (~3 hrs, ~£6). En route, stop at the Asante Traditional Buildings at Ejisu-Besease — the surviving UNESCO-listed shrines of the Asante Empire (entry ~£4, guide tip ~£3). Then detour to Ntonso, the Adinkra village, where family workshops will show you the stamping process and let you print your own cloth strip for ~£8-10. Arrive in Kumasi late afternoon and check into a budget hotel or guesthouse near Adum (~£18/night). Dinner at a local restaurant — try fufu with light soup.

🚌Shared taxi/tro-tro Bonkro–Kumasi ~£6; local hops ~£4

🛏Budget hotel near Adum, Kumasi (~£18/night)

• →Asante Traditional Buildings, Ejisu-Besease (~£4)
• →Ntonso Adinkra cloth workshop (~£9)

Spend the morning in Adum and Kejetia Market — one of West Africa's biggest, a genuine labyrinth. Keep bags in front of you and go with a local guide if you want orientation (~£5). Then walk or take a short taxi to Manhyia Palace Museum (~£3 entry) for the Ashanti royal history. If your dates land on an Akwasidae Sunday (held every six weeks — check the palace calendar before you book flights), arrive at the palace forecourt early, dress respectfully, and watch the king's procession, drummers and dancers. Entry to the public ceremony is generally free or a small donation. Grab lunch from street vendors and return to the hotel for a pool-side or rooftop evening.

🚌Short taxis around Kumasi ~£4

🛏Budget hotel near Adum, Kumasi (~£18/night)

• →Kejetia & Adum markets
• →Manhyia Palace Museum (~£3)
• →Akwasidae Festival (if dates align, free/small donation)

Long travel day: coach or shared taxi from Kumasi towards Somanya/Kpong (~4-5 hrs, ~£9). Near Krobo, arrange in advance (through your Akosombo lodge or a local guide, ~£10) to visit a bead-making family in the Krobo hills — see the recycled-glass bead process and make a bracelet. Continue by tro-tro to Akosombo (~£3) and check into a riverside budget lodge or guesthouse (~£22/night). At sunset, hire a small boat from the Akosombo jetty for a Volta River cruise (~£12-15 per person if you share with a couple of others, or ask your lodge to join a group). Dinner at the lodge.

🚌Coach Kumasi–Somanya ~£9; tro-tro to Akosombo ~£3

🛏Riverside lodge/guesthouse, Akosombo (~£22/night)

• →Krobo bead-making family visit (~£10)
• →Volta River sunset boat trip (~£14)

This is a big day — the G Adventures version does it in a private vehicle. DIY: take an early tro-tro or shared taxi from Akosombo to Hohoe via Kpando (~2.5-3 hrs, ~£6), then a moto-taxi to Liati Wote (~£2). Register at the Afadjato trailhead (~£3 entry) and hike Ghana's highest peak, 885 m, in 1.5-2 hrs up — steep but non-technical. Moto-taxi on to Wli (Agumatsa) Falls (~£2), entry ~£3, and walk 45 min to the lower falls where fruit bats cling to the cliffs. Lunch in Wli town (~£3). Return to Akosombo by late afternoon (~£6) or, simpler and cheaper, overnight in Hohoe (~£16) and return in the morning.

🚌Tro-tro/shared taxi Akosombo–Hohoe ~£6 each way; moto-taxis ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse in Hohoe or return to Akosombo lodge (~£18/night)

• →Mount Afadjato hike (~£3 entry)
• →Wli (Agumatsa) Falls (~£3 entry)

Return to Accra by coach or tro-tro (~3 hrs, ~£7). On the eastern edge of Accra, stop at Shai Hills Resource Reserve (~£2 by Bolt from the highway junction). Entry ~£6 including a compulsory ranger guide; walk to the Obonu Tem caves and look for baboons, green monkeys and antelope across the savannah-and-forest landscape. Bolt back into Accra (~£5) and check into your Osu hostel again (~£18). Dinner at a local restaurant in Osu and ask around for live highlife music — +233 Jazz Bar & Grill or Reef Bar are reliable bets.

🚌Coach back to Accra ~£7; Bolt to Shai Hills and into town ~£7

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Osu (~£18/night)

• →Shai Hills Resource Reserve with ranger (~£6)

Take a morning STC or VVIP coach from Accra to Cape Coast (~3 hrs, ~£7), then a shared taxi to Elmina (~£2). Lunch on grilled tilapia at a local spot in Cape Coast (~£4). Visit Cape Coast Castle with a guided tour (~£8 entry, tours run hourly) — emotionally heavy and essential. In the afternoon, book a batik workshop directly with Global Mamas in Cape Coast (their shop coordinates workshops; ~£15-20, book a day or two ahead by email or phone) and dye your own cloth with the women artisans. Head to Elmina and check into a beachfront budget guesthouse (~£18/night) for a sunset swim.

🚌Coach Accra–Cape Coast ~£7; shared taxi to Elmina ~£2

🛏Beachfront budget guesthouse, Elmina (~£18/night)

• →Cape Coast Castle guided tour (~£8)
• →Global Mamas batik workshop (~£17)

Take a shared taxi to Kakum National Park (~40 min, ~£3). Arrive at opening (8am) to beat tour groups; entry plus the 7-bridge canopy walkway is ~£10. Do the walkway, then a short forest loop with a ranger — look for hornbills and Mona monkeys. Nearby, the stingless bee project (ask your guesthouse to call ahead, ~£5 donation) explains pollination and local honey. Lunch at the Baobab Foundation near Cape Coast (~£4), which supports out-of-school children. Back in Elmina, book a djembe lesson with a local drumming teacher through your guesthouse (~£10 for an hour) and end the day at Elmina Castle (St George's, ~£6 with guide, closed to visitors in the evening — go tomorrow morning if you're short on time).

🚌Shared taxis to Kakum and back ~£6

🛏Beachfront budget guesthouse, Elmina (~£18/night)

• →Kakum canopy walkway (~£10)
• →Stingless bees project (~£5 donation)
• →Djembe drumming lesson (~£10)
• →Baobab Foundation lunch (~£4)

Early walk through Elmina's fishing harbour as the canoes come in — the most atmospheric hour in town — then a short guided visit to Elmina Castle (~£6). Take a tro-tro west along the coast to Beyin via Takoradi/Axim (~4-5 hrs, ~£10). At Beyin, arrange a dugout canoe trip to Nzulezu Stilt Village at the community tourism office (~£10-12 including guide and canoe) — the ride through the Amansuri wetland takes about an hour each way. Later, transfer by shared taxi to Ankasa Reserve Lodge or a nearby budget guesthouse (~£20/night). Optional guided night walk in the rainforest edge (~£8).

🚌Tro-tro Elmina–Beyin ~£10; shared taxi to Ankasa ~£4

🛏Ankasa Reserve Lodge or nearby guesthouse (~£20/night)

• →Elmina fishing harbour walk
• →Elmina Castle/St George's (~£6)
• →Dugout canoe to Nzulezu Stilt Village (~£11)
• →Optional night walk (~£8)

Spend the morning in Ankasa Resource Reserve — the best remaining Upper Guinean rainforest in Ghana. Hire a park ranger guide at the gate (~£8) for a 3-4 hour walk; bring leech socks or long trousers and plenty of water. Look for forest elephants, bongo and hundreds of bird species if you're lucky, and expect to hear far more than you see. In the afternoon, do a village walk in Ankasa/Beyin with a local guide (~£5) and learn about Nzema culture, then eat a simple fish-and-rice dinner. If you want a bike, ask your lodge about hiring one for the laterite roads (~£4).

🚌Local moto-taxi/shared taxi ~£5

🛏Ankasa Reserve Lodge or nearby guesthouse (~£20/night)

• →Ankasa Reserve ranger-guided walk (~£8)
• →Nzema village walk (~£5)

Travel back east by shared taxi and tro-tro to Cape Coast (~5 hrs, ~£10). Check into a budget guesthouse in the old town (~£16/night). Spend the afternoon recovering: walk the colonial-era streets around Kotokuraba, browse the craft market, and eat at a local spot. This is a flex day — if you're running behind on the coast, use it to catch Elmina Castle or a second Kakum visit, or add a beach afternoon at Brenu Akyinim (~£5 shared taxi, beach entry ~£3) with optional kayaking (~£10).

🚌Shared taxi/tro-tro Ankasa–Cape Coast ~£10

🛏Budget guesthouse, Cape Coast (~£16/night)

• →Cape Coast old town and craft market
• →Optional Brenu beach and kayaking (~£13)

Morning coach from Cape Coast back to Accra (~3-3.5 hrs, ~£7). Check into your Osu hostel (~£18) and spend the afternoon doing whatever you didn't get to on day 2 — the Nkrumah Mausoleum, the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre (free/small donation), or simply shopping for kente and beads at the Arts Centre. Final-night dinner: splash out ~£10-12 at a proper restaurant in Osu or Labone, or go back to your favourite chop bar. Repack and confirm your airport transfer arrangements.

🚌Coach Cape Coast–Accra ~£7; Bolt rides ~£4

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Osu (~£18/night)

• →W.E.B. Du Bois Centre or Arts Centre shopping

Depending on your flight time, squeeze in a last breakfast of kelewele or a walk along Labadi Beach. Book a Bolt or metered taxi to Kotoka International Airport (~£6, allow 45-60 min in traffic). Make sure you have your yellow fever certificate to hand — Ghana requires proof of vaccination on entry — and keep some cedis for any last-minute snacks or a taxi tip.

🚌Bolt/taxi to Kotoka Airport ~£6

🛏None (departure day)

• →Optional final beach walk or market stop