Tourist Attractions in Ghana

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Ghana is becoming a popular holiday destination and attracts different kind of tourists.
Tourists mean Euros & Dollars, so don’t be surprised when you see and hear begging kids everywhere around the country.
OBROUNI GIVE ME CEDIS is the most popular phrase.
Please stop giving money without a reason!!! Let them do small works for you or guide you before you pay something. Otherwise they stay beggars.

Kakum National Park is a beautiful place, and well worth travelling the few miles from Cape Coast. But it's mainly focused on its famous Canopy Walk - a bridge suspended over the forest canopy (maintained scrupulously by daily checks).

Nothing wrong with the canopy walk (apart from the fact that it's expensive) but there are better ways of enjoying this park. You will almost certainly not see animals if you get there after 8 am, so an overnight stay or early-morning walk (5 30 am), arranged the night before, is a much better option.

Unique Suggestions: Don't pass up Kakum, even if you can only come during the daytime like most people.

The tropical rainforest is under severe threat here, as in other parts of the world.
It's worth paying a small sum (about 4-8 euro, depending on whether you do the Canopy) to help maintain the Park and preserve a little piece of rainforest heaven/ haven for the remaining animals, whether or not you get a glimpse of them.

Fun Alternatives: There are a few other national parks in Ghana, but this is the one with the easiest access from Accra.

Tipping. Bribery. Backsheesh. Dash. Call it what you like, it is a way of life in Ghana, as in much of Africa. It can grease a palm and open doors to many different establishments which may otherwise ‘be closed’, find you goods ‘not available’, and in many ways enrich your experience of Ghana.

Unique Suggestions: Don’t try to fight it, work it in to your budget before you go. As I said it is a way of life over here, and you cannot change it. Be careful how much you tip: too little and it can be an insult, too much and you are making a rod for your own back and the travellers who follow behind you. Ask a local what would be appropriate.

Fun Alternatives: For those occasions where you think it may be appropriate with a small gift, bring something along from your home country. This may especially be appreciated if you are staying with a local family.

This government legal money- spinning swindle is not unique to Ghana. Getting a visa is both time consuming and costly. All nationals, other than West Africans, require a visa to enter Ghana. We got ours by visiting the Ghanaian Embassy in London and leaving the passport with them, having downloaded an application form from the net. Costs and timing will depend on your nationality and where you reside, so check with the nearest Ghana consulate for up-to-date information. Visa service agencies can take the leg-work out of the process for you, but they do charge a fee. Fees vary from agency to agency.

Always ask before taking photographs of people, and respect their answer – if they say no, don’t take the photograph! Group shots such as markets or street scenes are OK, but many people do not like being photographed. I took this picture as I was walking through a market, and didn’t realise that the lady had covered her face.

Unique Suggestions: If people ask for money to have their photo taken, really it is up to you if you want to proceed. Negotiate a price before snapping the picture.

Fun Alternatives: If you promise someone a copy of the photograph you have just taken of them, make sure you really do send it to them. Many local people do not have access to photography and cameras, and this could well be one of the few, if not the only, photograph they have of themselves.

It is a common occurrence in many Third World countries to have dual pricing for entry to tourist attractions. I am in two minds about this system.

For: To make money from the tourists, they set what is to most of us a reasonable rate. Most local people would not be able to afford this charge, so in order to attract local people, and thus teaching them about their valuable heritage, they lower the rate for Ghanaians. Fair enough.

Against: We are both seeing the same thing, why should it cost us more?

Unique Suggestions: There is nothing you can do about it, so you just have to grin and bear it.

Whenever we stopped the mini buses, the local children would come running. Usually it was out of pure curiosity, but sometimes they would ask for pens, sweets or money.

Unique Suggestions: Never give to the children directly, as it encourages begging.

Fun Alternatives: If you want to help, give to a registered charity, or to a school.

Unfortunately in Accra the parents of Arab refugees or immigrants to Ghana have been grooming their children to beg aggressively from tourists. The children - some no more than 3 years of age will grab on to your leg and refuse to let go - the youngest one that we experienced cried and repeated over and over again "Dash me a 1000". When we gave him 500 cedies he was not satisfied and then grabbed on to the leg of someone else.

Solution - quite aggressively remove their hands from your leg and say "no" in no uncertain terms.

Unique Suggestions: Solution - quite aggressively remove their hands from your leg and say "no" in no uncertain terms. Also carry a few coins that you can throw at these children and throw it in the opposite direction to you

Fun Alternatives: There's no avoiding this one unless you can truly blend in with the locals. They tend to grab on to children or the elderly