Caboose

Here is some general information we worked out or picked up as we travelled around Ghana. We used the Bradt Ghana guidebook (3rd edition, 2004) and I recommend it, it’s worth noting that prices for most things have approximately doubled since the guidebook was published.

If you’re in Nigeria you can get a visa from the Ghanaian High Commission in Abuja. It takes three days and they will ask you to bring letters from your employer, copies of flight tickets and all sorts of other things. They will then ignore all of them.

Flying to Ghana worked out fine, quite a few airlines operate on that route. We chose Virgin Nigeria because it’s (relatively) easy to buy a ticket from them, without having to travel to Lagos. Bear in mind that West African weather can cause delays and cancellations, in dry season the Harmattan can reduce visibility and in rainy season you get storms. It might be worth keeping enough cedis on you to pay for a taxi back into Accra when you’re leaving.

People who read my previous entries about Ghana may be laughing when I describe things as expensive, for example accommodation at ¢100,000 per night. If you’re converting from pounds or euros then things are very cheap, if you’re living on 1000 Naira per day then it’s not so cheap.

Accommodation (places I liked)

• Kokomlemle Guesthouse (021 224581). We spent quite a few nights here and it’s a very pleasant place. The restaurant is very cheap and their breakfasts are good. If you have the money then going for a self-contained room might be a good idea.
• Big Milly’s Backyard. Although our first night wasn’t great due to a lack of electricity (warm beer, stinking kerosene lanterns and no fan) this place has a nice atmosphere and is the best-run of the beach places we stayed at. The food was lovely, apart from the garlic-free garlic bread, and the environment is beautiful.
• Fort of Good Hope. The rooms are very basic and you have to share a toilet but being able to sit on the battlements in the early morning watching the fishing boats is amazing.
• Red Cross Hostel, Cape Coast. I’m quite sure this is the cheapest accommodation in Ghana, ¢60,000 for one person, ¢70,000 for a male/female couple and ¢80,000 for three people (or two people of the same sex). Clean and with your own bathroom.

Eating

• Bocadillo, far end of Old Asante Road, Takoradi. Good food at reasonable prices and a French breakfast that includes real coffee (not Nescafé)!
• Nobles Chinese Restaurant, Osu, Accra (follow the signs, it’s tucked away on a back street). Excellent Chinese food, although a little bit expensive.
• Twin City Chinese Restaurant, Takoradi. Again, lovely Chinese food and cheaper than Nobles. The bonus here was that the atmosphere was genuinely Chinese and the family who run the place are very friendly. The entrance is tricky to find, it’s up the stairs on the right-hand side of the building as you look from the street.

Another place I really liked was the Black Star bookshop in Cape Coast. It has moved since the guidebook was published and is now on Commercial Road, very close to Cape Coast castle. They have a good selection and you get the feeling that the owner is actually interested in books. After Nigerian bookshops (anything you like as long as it’s a management textbook or religious) it was a joy to browse.

Trains from Takoradi to Kumasi were only running on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays while we were there. If you’re planning to travel by train you might want to go to the station in advance to find out what the current situation is. You should take plenty of food and water with you and don’t expect to arrive anywhere close to on time, the most important thing is to relax and enjoy the journey.

One note on travel is that Metro Mass Transit now operate buses both within cities in Ghana and between towns. In particular we could have saved a lot of hassle and some money by taking the MMT bus direct from Accra to Kokrobite. Travel is easy, tro-tros go to most places and you just have to ask around at the tro-tro station for where you’re going.

The cedi is being revalued in July, this means that after that ¢10,000 will be 1 new cedi, ¢1000 will be 10 pesawa.

In summary: Ghana is lovely; travelling around is easy and if you’re coming from a hard-currency economy everything is cheap.