14-day Ghana coast & heritage tour

Accra

Day 1: Welcome to Ghana!

Arrival at Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport, Accra-Ghana. You will be met by a staff member and transferred to your hotel.

Accra

Day 2: Free Day in Accra

After a restful night, you will have your breakfast and relax as you await to be picked to engage in recreational activities. You will engage in activities such as; canopy walkway, rope courses, canoe rides, horse ride, table tennis and other interesting activities OR visit the beach to relax.

Accra - Cape Coast - Elmina

Day 3: Visit the Kakum National Park

After breakfast, depart for a scenic drive to the Central Region of Ghana, the breathtaking home of Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles. As you leave the hustle and bustle of Accra for the slower, more laid-back pace of the lush Central Region.

Your first stop will be to the Cape Coast Slave Castle, built in 1653 by Sweden and later taken over by the British, is also home to the West African Historical Museum. After the Castle tour, you will explore Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Kakum consists of over 360sq km of diverse and dense vegetation and is a blend of true rainforest and semi-deciduous forest. The most popular attraction, however, is the canopy walkway. Made up of seven bridges extending 330m, the walkway hangs 40m above the forest floor.

Elmina - Axim

Day 4: Elmina City Tour

After breakfast, you will depart to explore the old city of Elmina including the Elmina Slave Castle, which is the biggest slave castle in Ghana. You will also have the opportunity to interact with the locals around. After the tour, you will continue to Axim. Upon arrival, you will spend the rest of the day relaxing at your beachfront hotel.

Axim - Nzulezu - Axim

Day 5: Canoe Ride and Fort Appolonia

After breakfast, depart on a trip to Beyin to visit Nzulezu Stilt Village. Nzulezu, a unique village is built entirely on stilts over an open lake fed by two rivers. According to oral history and tradition, villagers migrated several centuries ago from Walata, a city in the ancient Ghana Empire, which fell in the year 1250. Ancestors of the village believe that villagers were led to this secure place by a snail. Nzulezu is a Nzema word meaning “built on water.” Upon arrival at Beyin, enjoy a five-kilometer ride on the lake in a local dugout canoe.

Later, visit Fort Appolonia upon your arrival back in Beyin. This fort was built in 1768 by English merchants and transferred to the Dutch in 1868 who renamed it after their King Willem III. The Dutch held it until 1872 when it was turned over to the British by a treaty.

Axim

Day 6: Free Day in Axim

Today, you have the whole day to yourself to relax at your beachfront hotel.

Axim - Cape Coast

Day 7: Cooking Class in Cape Coast

You will depart from Axim to Cape Coast. Upon arrival, you will have a cooking lesson which we will dine afterward. If there is time, we will engage in a cultural performance before departing to the hotel.

Cape Coast - Kumasi

Day 8: Assin Manso Ancestral Site

After breakfast, you will depart on a 4-5hours journey to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. You will make a few stops to stretch and also visit the famous Assin Manso Ancestral Site. This site houses a river called 'Donkor Suo', which literally means 'Slave River'. This river is also referred to as the Last Bath. This site is significant in the history of the slave trade because the slaves had their last bath here before being sold for shipment to the Americans and Carribeans. You will also witness the graveyard of some Africans who died due to this infamous trade. We will continue to Kumasi. Upon arrival, you will have the rest of the day to relax after a long journey.

Kumasi

Day 9: Free Day in Kumasi

Today, you have the whole day to yourself to relax at your hotel and engage in leisure activities.

Kumasi

Day 10: Naming Ceremony and Craft Villages

After breakfast, you will depart to participate in activities in two craft villages; Adanwomase and Ntonso. Your first stop will be Adanwomase Kente Weaving Village. You will participate in a kente weaving workshop. Kente cloth is a traditional African textile and is made by hand weaving strips of silk and cotton to produce beautiful colorful designs. After your kente workshop, you will then visit the Chief Palace to undergo a traditional naming ceremony.

You will then depart to Ntonso Village which is the home of ‘Adinkra’ for the Adinkra cloth-making workshop. Adinkra is a visual symbol, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and represents concepts or aphorisms and can be found on fabric, walls, woodcarvings, logos, and in pottery. You might recognize the symbols from the designs on the wrappers of Divine's chocolate bars.

Kumasi

Day 11: Kumasi City Tour

After breakfast, you will depart to visit 3 museums in the Ashanti Regional Capital namely; Manhyia Museum, Military Museum, and the Jubilee Museum within the Kumasi Cultural Center. After your tour at the Jubilee Museum, you will move to a point close-by to have a view of the Kejetia Market. Kejetia Market is often regarded as the largest market in West Africa with over 11,000 stalls and with buyers and sellers of about three times the number of the stalls. Afterward, you will have a tour of the Market. End your tour with a visit to the Okomfo Anokye Sword site.

Kumasi - Accra

Day 12: Free Day in Accra

After breakfast, you will depart to Accra. Upon arrival, you will have the rest of the day to relax.

Accra

Day 13: Visit the Game Reserve Shai Hills

After breakfast, depart to the outskirts of Accra to tour a Game Reserve. Shai Hills is a resource reserve consisting of a very striking and attractive range of rocky hills set in the middle of expansive open and wooded grassland plains. The rock is visible in many places along the hills as impressive steep cliffs and large and attractive rocky outcrops. There are several cave systems in the hills, some of which have played and continue to play an important role in local history, culture and tradition. Currently, the reserve supports 31 species of mammals, more than 175 species of birds, and 13 reptile species which include; western kob (about 150), oribi (not common), grey duiker, bushbuck, serval, civet, genet, anubis baboon, vervet monkey, and spot-nosed monkey. After your tour of the game reserve, you will return to Accra to relax at your hotel.

Accra

Day 14: Say Farewell to Ghana during a City Tour

After breakfast, you will embark on a city tour of Accra. You will drive through the administrative and economic districts of Accra, the capital of Ghana. Over 100 years old, Accra has a blend of colonial and contemporary architecture which symbolizes the cultural mix of the city. blend of colonial and contemporary architecture which symbolizes the cultural mix of the city. You will visit the W. E. B. Dubois Center for Pan African Culture, where Dr. Dubois spent two years working on a Pan-African encyclopedia under the invitation Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana’s first President).

Continue your trip to the Arts Center – a large arts and crafts market where you can find handicrafts from all over Ghana and West Africa.

Afterward, depart to the airport to end the tour and depart home.