Welcome to Ghana! Our company driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel, where you may settle in for a welcome drink, a tour briefing, and a few hours of relaxation.

Activities Included

After breakfast, we'll embark on an exciting sightseeing tour of the vibrant city of Accra. Must-see highlights include the Osu Castle, originally known as Christiansborg Castle. Continue the tour to the old colonial neighbourhoods of James Town and Usher Town, which are best explored by foot. Be sure to pay a visit to the old fishing harbour, climb to the Usher Lighthouse, stroll through the fishing communities, and wander about the Mokola Market. Carry on to the Independence Square and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Mausoleum, the final resting place of the first president of Ghana. Visit the Artist Alliance Gallery and the Art Centre, where traditional artworks and textiles are on display. Break for lunch at a local restaurant before resuming your tour, which stops next at the W.E.B Du Bois Memorial Centre. During weekdays, check out the Trashy Bags workshop, where eco-friendly accessories are fashioned out of reused plastic. Finally, wind down with a drink and a well-earned dinner at your hotel, where you can spend the remainder of the evening at leisure.

Activities Included

Today's expedition takes us through the Akuapem Mountain Range to the Ashanti Kingdom. Along the way, we'll stop at TK Beads Industry to observe the centuries-old process of making colourful beads from recycled glass. The beads still play a significant role in Krobo ceremonies. There is a fantastic shop on the premises, and visitors are welcome to take part in a bead-making workshop. The tour continues to the Aburi Botanical Gardens, the entrance to which is richly furnished with the extraordinary handiwork of local wood carvers. The Gardens are one of the most beautiful, tranquil, and fascinating places in Ghana - join us for an insightful tour of the many medicinal plants grown here. Our next stop is Adjeikrom Village, where you can take a guided walk through the cacao plantation. Stop at a local restaurant for a delicious lunch before continuing your journey to the Bunso Arboretum Tropical Gardens, which are set amongst the lush hills of the East Akim Region. The Arboretum offers a 45-minute guided walk, during which you will learn about tropical plants, timbers and herbs, as well as birds and butterflies. The Arboretum is known for its canopy walkway, a wooden structure which weaves between the uppermost treetops of the Gardens' giant tree species. Visitors may also wish to visit the Temple of Besease, an important place of worship for the Ashanti people for over three centuries. The Temple was recently restored with the assistance of the French Cooperation; it is a particularly beautiful example of traditional Ashanti architecture. After your arrival in Kumasi, check into your hotel for dinner and a night of rest and relaxation.

After breakfast, visit some of the highlights of the city, such as the Manhyia Palace Museum (which contains a wealth of information on the legacies of the Ashanti Kingdom). Proceed to the National Culture Centre, which shares its premises with the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, home to the dazzling studios of traditional potters, brass artists, wood carvers, bead makers and batik designers. Enjoy an early lunch at a local restaurant. Afterwards, visit the three famous craft villages of the Ashanti Region: Ahwiaa (the woodcarvers’ village), Adawomase and Ntonso villages (the home of Adinkra), and Bonwire (the Kente weaving village). This part of the tour allows you an intimate perspective of African craft techniques; it is also an opportunity for you to buy directly from the artisans who practise them. We'll then drive on to Kejetia Market, the largest open air market in West Africa. Upon arrival, you'll be split up into smaller groups with one guide apiece. The guides will lead these small groups through the market. If prior arrangements are made, travellers may attend the Akwasidae Festival on this day; it is celebrated every six weeks. At the end of the day, you'll return to your hotel for dinner and a night's rest.

After breakfast, we'll begin our journey into the Central Region of Ghana, considered the heartbeat of Ghana tourism due to its wealth of beaches, forts, castles and festivals. En route, we'll visit the slavery monument and ancestral graveyard in Assin-Manso. This was once the last stop on the slave route, where enslaved Africans were sold at the market before being shipped into the "New World" under tragic circumstances. Visit the Cape Coast Castle, home to the West African Historical Museum, established in 1994 by the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the Ghanaian government in 1994. Enjoy a local lunch in one of the surrounding restaurants before heading onwards to the picturesque Elmina or St. George's Castle. The castle was built by the Portuguese in 1482, and holds the title of being the first European structure built in Sub-Saharan Africa. Visit Fort St. Jago, built by the Dutch in 1665 on St. George Hill. It is from this vantage point that the Dutch launched their successful land attack on Elmina Castle in 1637. Continue to your resort for dinner and a few hours of hard-earned relaxation. You could take a leisurely walk along the beach to see the fisher folk going about their activities under the golden reach of a beautiful sunset. Don't forget to bring your cameras for a sunset photo shoot!

Activities Included

We'll depart after breakfast to explore the verdant Kakum National Park, one of West Africa's surviving tropical rainforests. A blend of true rainforest and semi-deciduous forest, Kakum is home to a breathtaking array of butterflies, flora, and fauna. The most popular attraction in the forest is the canopy walkway, which is made up of seven bridges extending 330m and hanging 40m above the forest floor. Undertake a 2km walk on the forest floor to discover a wide variety of exotic floral species and their medicinal values, or take the canopy walkway to enjoy an aerial view of the treetops to the choral whispers of the forest birds. After lunch, visit the Posuban Military Shrine, where the Asafo companies, (Fanti traditional soldiers), prepare spiritually for war. Head back to your resort, where you may choose to engage in any number of activities which take place there: horse riding, drumming and dancing, fishing, batik design and bead-making, or time spent relaxing at the beach.

Activities Included

Spend the day with a host family, who will engage you in an outdoor cooking class. This will be a practical introduction of the preparation of West African cuisine. Your exquisite culinary efforts will be served for dinner, and the group or individual with the tastiest dish will win a traditional souvenir! After the day's fun, return to your resort for some RnR.

Spend your last few hours in Elmina strolling the beach. In the late morning, you'll depart on a scenic return journey along the coast to Accra. Once you're back in Accra, take a moment to do some last-minute souvenir shopping before the company driver drops you off at the airport for your outbound flight. Thank you for traveling with us, and bon voyage!