Ghana in July/August

JackD9922

Hi there!

I'm travelling to Ghana around the start of July to do an elective in a hospital in Accra. It only lasts 4 weeks and after I'm hoping to travel to around for a bit, hopefully flying back to Ireland early August. This might give me 7-10 days to play with.

I'm looking for some recommendations on things to do in Accra and Ghana as a whole.
Should I travel north up to Kumasai and Tamale?
I definietly want to go to Cape Coast.
Does anybody have any must see/do recommendations?

Needless to say, I'll be getting about 7 different vaccines and taking malaria prophylaxis.

Also, is the visa easy to get from the Ghanian embassy? How long does it take? I've about a timescale of about 3 weeks that I need to get it in as I'll be travelling in June....

Also, I have a peanut + nut allergy (carrying epipens). I've heard peanuts are fairly common place and used in different dishes. Can anyone spread some light on the food over there, whether or not peanuts were in a lot of dishes?

Thank you very much!

imme

Hi there
Are you a student OP?

If so has anyone on your course, institution, rcsi etc been to Ghana
They may be able to give you info on visa , travel etc

Do you need to get a visa from their embassy in UK, I can't imagine Ghana has an embassy in Ireland

If so the embassy might be able to give you info on how long it takes etc

FTA69

Hi there, I was in Ghana two years ago and definitely enjoyed it. 7-10 days is not a long time and you'll need to pick a few things to do and maybe take an internal flight if you go to the north or Kumasi. You can't fly from Kumasi to Tamale unfortunately so pick one or the other I'd say. Distances are longer than you think and the road are abominable. Local transport is via TroTro which is dirt cheap but involves loads of ye packed into a converted Hiace that isn't roadworthy. Great way to meet the locals though.

Accra is a great town, there are beaches with bars etc and also an area called Osu which is like the nightlife spot. However, do be careful if going to the beach bars and nightclubs etc. As a white person you'll stick out a mile and attract the attention of any scuts that may be about.

Cape Coast is lovely but has a huge amount of tourists and as such the hassle factor can be high at times, especially if you're a woman. That having been said, most people are sound but common sense is advised, there's a pronounced drug problem in that part of Ghana. Baobab is a good hostel to meet people. Try catch a football match if you're there's it's an absolute scream. Down the road is Elmina which has a hugely impressive slave castle (as does Cape Coast) and it's worth a nose.

Food centres around staples such as kenke (fomented corn porridge) and yam and rice. Be very specific about the peanut stuff because it is common over there and a lot of people won't be aware of allergies or set much store by it. Food is heavy but can be tasty, the palaver sauce and yam was my favourite as well as barbecued guinea fowl. They love a good booze up too.

Lastly, as with being a tourist anywhere in Africa, expect to be shown great kindness by some people and have the p*ss taken by others but you'll have a great time there.

JackD9922

FTA69 wrote: »

Hi there, I was in Ghana two years ago and definitely enjoyed it. 7-10 days is not a long time and you'll need to pick a few things to do and maybe take an internal flight if you go to the north or Kumasi. You can't fly from Kumasi to Tamale unfortunately so pick one or the other I'd say. Distances are longer than you think and the road are abominable. Local transport is via TroTro which is dirt cheap but involves loads of ye packed into a converted Hiace that isn't roadworthy. Great way to meet the locals though.

Accra is a great town, there are beaches with bars etc and also an area called Osu which is like the nightlife spot. However, do be careful if going to the beach bars and nightclubs etc. As a white person you'll stick out a mile and attract the attention of any scuts that may be about.

Cape Coast is lovely but has a huge amount of tourists and as such the hassle factor can be high at times, especially if you're a woman. That having been said, most people are sound but common sense is advised, there's a pronounced drug problem in that part of Ghana. Baobab is a good hostel to meet people. Try catch a football match if you're there's it's an absolute scream. Down the road is Elmina which has a hugely impressive slave castle (as does Cape Coast) and it's worth a nose.

Food centres around staples such as kenke (fomented corn porridge) and yam and rice. Be very specific about the peanut stuff because it is common over there and a lot of people won't be aware of allergies or set much store by it. Food is heavy but can be tasty, the palaver sauce and yam was my favourite as well as barbecued guinea fowl. They love a good booze up too.

Lastly, as with being a tourist anywhere in Africa, expect to be shown great kindness by some people and have the p*ss taken by others but you'll have a great time there.

Wow, sounds like you had experienced a lot in your time there. Thanks for the travel advice. Travelling up north via a converted Hiace sounds like quite the adventure. I'll be travelling after for 12 days so I hope to see Tamale or Kumasi.
I'd love to meet the locals out there, any quick do/don'ts on interactions?
I'll do my best to catch a football match then!
Thanks for the reply, especially the food info, really appreciate that!

Hey imme! I managed to sort out the visa so I'm all good on that front!