Accra Transportation

There are Ghana Airways flights from Kotoka Airport in Accra to almost every country in West Africa, as well as flights to New York and London. The airport is also served by several major western carriers. The US$20 departure tax is payable in cedis or in US dollars.

Ships connect Tema, 25km (16mi) east of Accra, with ports in Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and South Africa. By land, there are buses, taxis, tro-tros (minibuses) and pickup trucks that run between Ghana and Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Togo. Border formalities for travellers with visas are usually minimal; greasing a palm or two may speed things up. Watch your pockets at crowded border posts.
Getting Around
Airlink offers low-priced domestic flights from Kotoka Airport, 10km (6mi) north-east of central Accra, to Kumasi and Tamale. Considerably slower but oh-so-adventurous, the Yapei Queen makes regularly scheduled 24-hour passenger runs across Lake Volta from Akosombo, 104km (65mi) north-east of Accra at the base of Lake Volta, to Yeji, more than 200km (125mi) away on the lake's north-western shore. The steamer stops at many villages on the way. From Yeji, ferries continue to Buipe, 100km (62mi) farther north-west, and Makongo, 15km (10mi) east; you can arrange ground transport to Tamale from either destination.

Ghana's road network is in decent shape, though there are some badly potholed stretches between Kumasi and Tamale, and almost all secondary roads are unsealed. You're bound to run into an occasional police checkpoint, though they're usually just angling for a 'dash' (the ubiquitous kickback). Car rental is expensive but available in Accra. Otherwise, most Ghanaians get around in taxis, tro-tros (minibuses) and mammy wagons (generally some sort of converted pickup truck).

Government-run buses connect most major towns and some smaller ones, but their service ain't what it used to be and it's usually better to travel with any of the private bus companies. A comfortable but slow railway system connects Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi in a single-track triangle. Only sleepers need to be booked in advance.

The airport is a very basic airport. It was being renovated when I was there (Apr '02). Departed on a Ghana Airways flight, and they did not even have the proper baggage tracking strip (the standard sticker strip with a barcode and a tracking number). All I got was a number on a piece of cardboard on a string.
The city itself is not very large, so most of the attractions are withing walking distance. Streets are relatively wide and clean. There were buses, but I did not take any. Taxis do not have meters. I only took taxis when going from central Accra back to the hotel in Labadi, and if I recall correctly, I paid 15,000 Cedis.