Bryan writes:
Regarding the President Hotel in Accra, your info is still mostly correct — rooms a bit grungy, but still great value — but you might want to let the folks know that the hotel has a church service in the front courtyard every Sunday morning. If you are in your room, you will hear every word of it. Not a problem for me, but might be an annoyance for others.
I will say, though, that the President has the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. I honestly want to ship it home.
Sandra writes:
We (German couple, 41 and 52, journalist/university prof) visited Ghana for three weeks in February 2013 and found the guide very good and valuable (and – this for Germans who are preparing for Ghana - far far better than the German one from Jojo Cobbinah, this one gives just lots of wrong and more of useless information.)
Here a couple of updates to the Bradt guide and highs and lows as we have experienced them (prices are usually for self-countained doubles or one of those big-bed singles, with fan)
Accra, Pink Hostel (100 GhC)
nice staff, full of young volunteers, feels a bit in the middle of nowhere, okay but nothing special.
Accra, Afia African Village – also called: Afia Beach, Accra (120 US Dollar)
the bungalow was nice, although the AC did not work, for being in Accra the beach looks very good, pay attention when you call to make a reservation: The guy I asked how much it is confirmed the figures, 100 for a standard bungalow, 110 with balcony and 120 with ocean view, but he didn’t say that it was in Dollars although I was talking of Cedis all the time. At the end Helen, the boss, proofed to be very professional: she charged us the 120 Cedi. In fact 120 Dollars seems a bit too much and 6 Cedis for a beer is double of what you pay elsewhere.
Ada Foah, Brightest Spot Guesthouse (25 GhC)
great value for the money! nice courtyard with very good tilapia & banku served.
ferry Ada Foah to Akuse (5 GhC)
the MS Sogakope left on time - Friday 6h in the morning – and this is a great trip to do. Women are selling food and there are lots of little villages to see (even if I some times felt a bit like in a zoo).
Atimpoku, Adomi Hotel (35 GhC)
room was okay and quite – what you won’t expect, because the Hotel is right on the main traffic circle. The owner is half-german and has been living in Hamburg for most of his life, good opportunity for an interesting chat on Ghanain-German cultural differences.
Koforidua, Erdrec Hotel (34,50 GhC)
the Hotel description fits just perfectly! one feels a bit like in USSR already entering the reception Hall and for sure once touched the dark red carpeted floor – quite unique. still: good value, just a bit out of town, but plenty of shared taxis on the street.
Boti Falls didn’t have any water in mid February, even if the man at the Trotro-Station in Kof-Town was sure there was, they still want the full fee.
Kumasi, Sanbra Hotel (44 GhC) and Fosua Hotel (60 GhC with AC)
both okay, but alltogether not too friendly or nice, just okay. We didn’t find the coffee shop or the cocktail bar in the Aseda House though.
Tamale, Catholic Guesthouse (33 GhC)
very nice place to stay, we particularly appreciated the quiet garden after downtown trips, plenty of shared taxis to get into town.
Visiting the Mosque and walking up is worth and also walking along the Zongo Hausa to the leather workers, on the rooftop bar of the Crest Restaurant do not worry if a couple of young Ghanains take a seat at your table, they are just curious and want to talk and they will leave immediately if you just tell them friendly to do so!
There is a ForEx in Hospital Road now.
Bobiri Forest Butterfly Sanctuary (30 GhC)
this is a wonderful place to stay! Agnes prepares good diner even if you arrive without reservation and a very nice breakfast with lots of fruits, take it both on the terace of the main house. The walk though is for sure a bit longer than 3km, but still it is worth walking from Kubease. And: Jonathan does a great job as a guide through the Forest (4 GhC).
They told us they are open year round, but still maybe it is better to phone: 020 8094709 or 0236 464520 (the numbers Agnes gave me)
Winneba, Lagoon Lodge (35 GhC)
the first room somewhat stylish (in our sense) room for decoration and colours, huge bathroom – very nice. Food is good, somewhat ridiculous that there is no smoking allowed in the garden though. The guys at the reception/at the bar were friendly but totally clueless, it took them nearly half an hour to copy, re-copy and re-copy again the same invoice. Be patient!
Winneba itself seems poorer than other small cities, the beach is okay but nothing compared to the ones farer west and seeing the University Campus is worth – like a wholly different, elitist, world.
Green Turtle Lodge, (60 GhC)
it is (still) a great place to stay, what a wonderful project! But we had the impression that things are changing and that this might be related to the fact that the original owners have left (we talked to the caretaker who said the place is still for sale, but an American might buy it within short time). The huts could easily be in a better shape: for example the electricity didn’t work properly when it got humid at night, because the connecting wires were ‚connected’ in the most unprofessional way – though the staff managed to fix it after a while; time to buy new matrasses and pillows, and for sure to wash the cushions. The evening turtle tour now seems to be done only if tourists ask for it, at least the documentary book on the daily turtle watch tours stopps in february 2011 or 2012 (sorry can’t remember the year). The staff is friendly, the food is good and a bit different in style from what we had most of the time, but the reception looks a little bit like there was no-one there for the last two years.
Still the beach is great!
The canoe tour (10 GhC) with Jimmy at 6h in the morning in the mangroves behind Akwidaa (poor little village 25minutes west from the Turtle walking at the beach) is everything but exciting and Jimmy didn’t have a good day, he hardly said a word and after 35minutes he seemed only happy that is was over.
Butre, Hide Out Lodge (50 GhC)
Another great beach and another nice lodge. in comparison with the Green Turtle the food here unfortunately is done in some ‚western style’ kind and this is not a good idea at all: I had a bad banku which was cut into slices like Italian polenta, the pepper sauce wasn’t hot at all and the fish was just a fried slice – what a disappointment in comparison to so many great grilled tilapia, banku and pepper I had on the streets elsewhere. The advantage on the other hand is Butre itself, which is just around the corner – over the bridge to be exact – and a very nice little village, with fishermen who that morning we were waiting for a Trotro had exposed what to us looked like little sharks and dolphins!
Elmina, Coconut Grove’s Bridge House (110 GhC, 85 GhC when AC does not work!)
the idea was to go to the One African Guesthouse – but do not try to walk their from the main road where the Tros between Takoradi and Cape drop you off, it is just too far and it is all walking along the busy road. So we ended up in the Coconut Grove’s: the building is very nice facing the bridge and the castle, but for the room itself it is definetely a bit overpriced and the breakfast is ridiculous – every single street egg bread was a lot better.
Elmina was the only city we visited which had a square place and spots around – being from Old Europe that was what we missed elsewhere – thanks to the Portoguese!
the fish market is definetely worth the 1 GhC entry fee – quite an impressive quantity of tunas and even more impressive the way slight women cut them into pieces with machetes.
Cape Coast, Mighty Victory Hotel (40 or 50 GhC)
Oasis Beach seemed to us a bit too much an all-Obruni/volunteer meeting place, the Mighty Victory is worth the walk through town up the little hill and it isn’t far at all, a quite and nice place to stay with gazebos in the garden-kind entrance. Don’t miss the Market day on Sunday.
Carol writes:
I have recently returned from a short visit to Ghana using your guide. I went to a lot of trouble to find the Ghana Visitor Centre as you recommended on P114 but when I got there it had been closed since last year. Otherwise very happy with the information given.
Graham Douglas has sent me the following updates:
ACCRA
The STC terminal on Ring Road is still there but no buses, perhaps they have all been moved to the other one near Tudu station ?
There is another bus terminal for Benin, on the road towards Achimota from Nkrumah Circle, a few hundred yards on the left in an area called Carprice.
The City Garden restaurant is on the other side of Ring Road near Barclays. The have 2 menus, an orange one for Ghanaians and a purple one for foreigners, according to the waitress ! Difference is that everything is double price.Better use the one where you have Honest Chef, called Wok something.
Barclays only change TCs at the branch on High Street, and now only up to 150 pounds per visit.
Baseline Jazz Club is now called +233 , very good. Byewells was rubbish when we went , might as well have been a DJ.
You mention Eclipse bar on you map but it should be in Mompotsie rd, which is parallel, it is also a good budget hotel. (0302257263and there is a very good cybercafe opposite, with air-con.
The White Bell was good until my last visit when I asked for 2 separate dishes, and they put small amounts of each on the same plate but still charged for 2 dishes. Arguing proved fruitless.
KETA
The Emancipation Beach is a great place to chill, before getting back on the road. Driving is psychopathic, and gets far worse in Togo and Benin along the coast. Next time I come I will avoid the coast altogether and cross from Honuta to Kpalime.
ABURI
Try the Highlander Hotel , not far from the garden entrance – and not to be confused with the Oylander.
HO
Barclays won’t change ANY money except for their own customers only one that does is Stanbic and then won’t take CFA. Couldn’t find a Forex either.
ATIMPOKU
The Forex here will change CFA. The Adomi Hotel is now very rundown and not cheap. First room they showed me had filthy toilet and broken washbasin, when I moved I asked them to change the blue lamp for a white one and she said “just swap it with the bathroom light” ! Wires falling off the walls.
AKOSOMBO
The reception centre is where you say but about 1 or 2 Km before the police barrier. The taxi driver took me to the barrier and I then had to go back. Entrance fee is now 5 Cedis but you also have to pay at least 15 Cedis for another car to take you and the guide there. Luckily I was able to split this with another traveller. The tour is very superficial, so I don’t know who gave it a rave review. They don’t allow access to the turbine room either so really all you get is a chance to take a couple of photos ad hear a few basic facts that you can surely find on the web.
KOKROBITE
Phone numbers are out of date for the Garden Hotel/Restaurant,0546392850. This is a much quieter option than Big Millys, but the music is excellent still at Milly’s and so popular now, it looks set to be the next Goa.
Graham writes:
Standard Chartered no longer change TCs even at the main branch, and Barclays only change them at the Accra High Street Branch but with a limit of 150 sterling a day, despite having the purchase certificate and photocopying my passport.
Coaches to Cotonou (Benin) go from the Chisco Station near Nkrumah Circle, the STC ones don’t stop in Acrra now. Fare is 90 cedis one way. The ABC station is in Carprice about 1/2 mile along the road from Nkrumah Circle towards Achimota, but they charge 115 cedis.
Best internet cafe in Accra is Cosby in Mompotse Ave, air-conditioned and a good fast connection, just opposite the Eclipse Hotel (recommended).
Your readers may be interested in this article which I wrote about my 2009 trip here: http://www.theprisma.co.uk/2011/01/17/moving-slow-in-west-africa/
I’d like to recommend the Salmarise Hotel in North Legon, for those wishing to stay at a hotel near the University of Ghana.
The Salmarise Hotel (20 Kofi Annan Road, North Legon) has clean rooms with en-suite, hot water and air-conditioning. Wifi is sometimes available, and it is free. Rates include breakfast and they have a restaurant that serves typical Ghanaian fare for lunch and supper (12 GHS for chicken, 15 GHS for fish). The staff is sweet and the location is great for those who need to stay close to the U of Ghana. Rates are 53 GHS for a single bed, 72 GHS for a double, and 93 GHS for an executive suite. They currently have 6 single, 6 double and 4 executive suites, and are expanding the hotel to add more rooms and a conference centre by next year (maybe). Taxi drivers from the airport will not know how to get to the hotel, so carry their phone number with you: +233 (0) 302 520730; +233 (0) 24 9219564. Taxis from the airport should cost 10 GHS and no more than 15 GHS, but I’ve had drivers try to charge me 35, so be prepared to haggle.
Thanks!
Liette
My husband and I have lived in Ghana for almost a year, working on a voluntary basis with a chain of low-cost private schools west of Accra. In our free time we have travelled to different parts of the country, and I believe we have seen all the major points of interest. We have used your Guide extensively (our copy is well-worn!) and found it immensely valuable. We have noted just a few points where we believe it is out of date or inaccurate, and now that we are returning to the UK I have listed these, hoping that you may find then useful for a future edition. They are not in order of importance, just in the order they occur in the book.
Comments on the Bradt Guide to Ghana
p.69f: Buses may be the safest mode of travel, but we would hesitate to say they are the most efficient. The STC seems to be on the verge of folding: it now runs seldom on some routes, never on others. Some newer bus services are excellent, notably VIP which runs frequently between Accra and Kumasi. They are certainly more comfortable than most tro-tros, although the same is not true of the Metro Mass buses (seating 5 across instead of 4). But the long distance tro-tros are (in our experience) as fast as buses, and a lot more convenient.
You rightly point out that buses will drop passengers off along their route. The problem is that they will not pick passengers up along their route – you have to buy your ticket at the original point of departure. For example, we live some 15 miles west of Accra, in the direction of Cape Coast. But to get to Cape Coast (or beyond) by bus, we would have to first go to Accra, in the opposite direction! With traffic hold-ups, this can add hours to your journey – we speak from experience, having done this soon after arrival in Ghana, before we knew better!
The other problem with buses which run to fixed schedules is the difficulty of getting information about timetables. Websites do not work; emails are not answered; phone calls may be ignored, or switched through to a fax machine. If by any chance you do get through, you will probably be told that your query cannot be answered (‘we don’t know yet’) or given information which is later proved to be incorrect.
So we quickly learned to take our chances with tro-tros, and found it amazing that (as you state on p.70) you can just turn up at a station and be assured that there will be a vehicle going where you want to go; no need to find out about times, just go when it suits you!
On the subject of tro-tros, we do not agree that it would be better to wait outside the vehicle until it is ready to depart (p.70). The earlier you board, the better your chances of choosing the optimal seat. We were usually quite glad to have just missed a tro-tro if this meant being first to board the next one. Yes, you would be waiting a while for it to depart, but you would be able to choose the most comfortable seats – if you were really lucky, you might be able to get the ones at the front, beside the driver. Not only do these offer the best views, they are generally more comfortable – and you do not have to get up to let people on and off!
p.76: As a vegetarian, I have lived in Ghana for a year, eaten out frequently, and experienced no problems at all. You paint an unnecessarily depressing picture. It’s true that most local Ghanaian food is meat- or fish-based, but you can usually get red red (bean stew with plantains) or jolloff rice (cooked with tomatoes and onions). And if you go to restaurants advertising ‘Continental’ (i.e. western) as well as local cuisine, you will find that pizzas and other vegetarian dishes are common. Indeed, many of the restaurants where we ate had a specific ‘Vegetarian’ section on the menu, with at least 3 or 4 options.
p.77: June 4 has not been a public holiday in Ghana since 2000!
p.117: The Hotel Shangri-La is now called the Western Sun, but is currently closed for refurbishment.
p.126: The Tribes restaurant at Afia African Village is excellent, but you cannot see the sea!
p.129: The Centre for National Culture does not close at 3pm on Saturdays. We visited between 4.30 and 5pm.
p. 138: It’s not really true that the National Theatre is ‘host to regular plays and dance performances’. Plays are in fact very rare: the theatre is used more often for events such as religious rallies, graduation ceremonies, beauty contests etc, but most nights it is not used at all. Finding out what is on is not easy. When we first arrived in Ghana the website was not working, we could get no information by telephone, and even visiting the theatre in person (twice) got us nowhere. The website is now functioning, but only gives information about the coming week. There is no way of booking other than going to the theatre in person – difficult if you do not live in Accra. However, I doubt if there is ever a problem about buying tickets on arrival; when we finally managed to see a performance there were no more than 30 people in the audience.
On that same evening, we planned to eat in the theatre restaurant, recommended in the Guide. We found that the ‘International restaurant’ offered drinks only, no food, not even snacks. It was too late to go elsewhere, so we went hungry!
p.150: In Winneba, the cemeteries mentioned are overgrown, especially the Settlers’ (European) cemetery – we could not get anywhere near the graves. But there are a couple of interesting towers in Winneba which are not mentioned in the Guide.
p.151: The map of Winneba is unhelpful; it does not show the lorry park (tro-tro station), so we struggled to orientate ourselves on arrival. The road to Lagoon Lodge is shown in the wrong place (unless the road on the map is meant to be the footpath from the Lodge to the beach).
At Lagoon Lodge itself, it is impossible to see the sunset from the bar (which is surrounded by a high wall). And even if the wall was knocked down, the bar would not overlook the Muni Lagoon. We walked some distance looking for the lagoon, but found only dried up mud. If the lagoon still exists, it must be some way from the lodge.
p.153: In Mankessim, we managed to find the famous posuban shrine, but it is not on the same road as the tro-tro station. In fact, it is about 500 metres up the road to the right from the roundabout, coming from Accra.
pp.164 and 178: We could not find shared taxis between Cape Coast and Elmina at the places mentioned, but dropping taxis were cheap.
p.173: The Canopy walkway at Kakum National Park now costs 30 cedis each – a big increase on the 9 cedis mentioned in the book.
p.196: The map is misleading. The scale indicates that it is about 2km from Agona to Busua, but in fact it is 10 (as stated on page 197).
p.207: We were disappointed with Ankobra Beach (‘almost breathtaking perfection’): it is so narrow, there is very little sand between the resort and the sea. We thought the resort was quite expensive too.
p.226: It is possible to get a tro-tro direct to Ada Foah from Tudu station in Accra (there is a booking office specifically for tickets).
p.227: The Manet Paradise Holiday Resort is closed (for refurbishment?)
p.228: In one respect the facilities at the Maranatha Estuary Beach Club have improved on your description – they now have some flushing toilets! Our problem (not stated in the Guide) was that there is nowhere at all to wash, shave etc. The other beach camps were all closed when we were there in August.
p.263: We were not impressed with the Kekeli Hotel in Ho. There was no water at night, and no mirror in the bathroom for shaving etc. It was very noisy on Sunday morning, even before the church service started! There were lots of children running around, and one even burst into our room. We had chosen to stay there partly because the Guide mentions that car rental can be arranged for a fixed and apparently very reasonable price. When we enquired, the receptionist said that we would have to negotiate with the taxi driver. She arranged for him to come and meet us, but was otherwise not involved. We had to return to the hotel to meet him (and he was nearly an hour late). The price he asked was extortionate, but by that stage we had no alternative. We bargained, and he agreed to lower his price, but not by much. What we paid was far in excess of what we paid anywhere else.
The Freedom Hotel is now called the Bob Coffie.
p.264: We tried two of the Ho eating places listed in the Guide. The Mother’s Inn offered only banku and fufu; the White House had no food at all. We ended up having lunch at what we believe was a new restaurant; it was called the Royal Farm, it was close to the Kekeli Hotel, and the food was excellent.
p.268: At the welcome office in Amedzofe, the local guide said that there were two options: the waterfall walk and the mountain walk (as per the Guide). He that we would be able to climb Mt Gemi, but would find the waterfall walk ‘too challenging’. We are in our 60s but very fit, and as we had gone to Amedzofe mainly to see the waterfall, we insisted. The guide was not kidding! The first part of the walk was flat and easy, but then it plunged steeply downhill, and lost all semblance of being a ‘path’ – it was a long scramble over slippery rocks, clinging to a rope. We managed it (with help from the guide) but both the descent and the climb back up were very difficult. We wondered why there was no hint of this in the Guide – surely a warning would be appropriate? Re-reading it afterwards, we wondered if we had in fact done a different walk, since we did not ‘come out at the three knee-deep pools separating the upper and lower falls’. We ended up at the base of the lower falls – the ‘more ambitious’ walk mentioned? But if there is an alternative (easier) walk, why did our guide not offer this – especially as he felt the waterfall walk would be too challenging for us?
p.284: The Wli Water Heights Hotel is a lot more than 50m from the turn-off for the tourist information centre. A sign at the turn-off says 300m, and having walked it several times, we would say it is at least that.
p.291: We had to laugh when we read that the road between Accra and Kumasi ‘follows good surfaced roads in its entirety’. On the contrary, much of the journey is on rough dirt roads; the bus has to travel slowly, with much jolting, and the trip takes 6 hours. We found it amazing that the road between the capital and second biggest cities was in such bad shape; some people we talked to maintained that this was a deliberate political decision to keep business and finance in the south.
p.307: The book says there are 8 STC buses daily between Accra and Kumasi. There are now hardly any (STC seems to have declined considerably, with few buses going anywhere). But there is an excellent new company called VIP, which has a bus station not far from the main STC station. You buy a ticket which specifies a bus and seat number. Buses leave as soon as they are full – generally about every half hour.
p.312: On the map of Kumasi, the Sambra Hotel is in the wrong place, as is the Manhyia Palace (it is much further from the town/market than the map suggests).
p.313: The Four Villages Inn was pleasant enough, and the breakfasts were excellent. But we considered it very expensive compared with what we usually pay in Ghana. On our second visit to Kumasi we stayed in the Sambra Hotel which cost about a third of the price, and was more conveniently located. It also has an excellent restaurant.
p.315: We were not able to find Aseda House, but there was a large hole in the ground where it is shown on the map, so perhaps it has been demolished.
p.320: We went to the Adae Festival in Kumasi, and it was certainly worth seeing. What you said about photography was accurate, but the time given was not: the ceremony started well after 12 and was still in progress when we had to leave about 2pm.
p.355: Entrance to Kintampo Falls now costs 7 cedis for non-Ghanaians. We were there at Easter, and could not get near the Falls owing to the crowds of people wading, dancing and generally having a good time in the water. The atmosphere was amazing – it’s obviously the place for locals to go on public holidays!
p.377: We thought the Larabanga mosque was beautiful, and we did not suffer any of the problems reported by your readers. We enjoyed a brief but hassle-free visit.
p.397: The Hotel Myaga at Navrongo was very limited in terms of food. It amused us that the price for a double room included only one breakfast!
Sandie & Ian
