Some coastal updates

Hans writes:

In november and december of last year I made a trip along the coast of Ghana.
Your guide was excellent and much of a help.
Here some of our experiences.

Accra: The Samartine Hotel cannot be recommended. You have to pay upfront for the whole period you want to stay – in my case six days. It took me one and an hour by taxi and at least 30 cedi to get into the center of Accra (and the same amount of time and money to get back). After three days I moved to a hotel in Central Accra, without getting any money back.

Beyin: The Beyin Beach Resort is excellent. Beautiful location, very quiet and the food is not only terrific but also cheap.

Elmina: The Stumble Inn is a great place to stay. It is run by a Dutch couple who is great and the rest of the staff is very friendly. And I had the best lobster in my life!

A warning: when I wanted to use a videocamera in the Elmina Castle I had to pay 200 (two hundred) cedi. That’s outrageous in my opinion. I protested but the price was on an official(?) list on the wall of the ticketcounter. A photocamera is 20 cedi. In the Cape Coast Castle I saw the same pricelist.

Trip report from Hannah

We (two 20 year old girls) have just returned from a month in Ghana – just some updates/suggestions for future travellers!
Firstly thank you SO much for producing such an amazing guide book! There is no way we could have survived without it.

-Nzulezo is more expensive than the book suggests, it now costs GhC 20 for a non-ghanaian adult and C15 for a student. We were hassled slightly about giving the guide a tip but were spared having to give donations in the actual village as apparently we looked too young for the chief to bother asking! However, it was a wonderful trip and we went around 8am which was just so peaceful. We were told to avoid friday-sunday as apparently it gets very busy.

- Getting to and from Beyin is different and more expensive again than the book suggests. From Takoradi it costs C4.50 to Beyin in a tro-tro with several extra cedi for bags. Getting back to Takoradi from Beyin requires a different route – you have to get a tro-tro to “T1″ (Tikobo 1, a small town, but the locals know what you mean!) C1.40 and then another tro-tro from T1 to Takoradi C4.50. We would HIGHLY recommend the Beyin Beach resort – we stayed in the economy rooms which were immaculate and on 2 days were the only people in the resort. It is absolutely beautiful, the food is great, beach empty and we were woken at 6am by Patrick following some eggs hatching to come and watch the baby turtles make their way down to the sea! Amazing.

- We really enjoyed Cape Coast and Elmina but heard some unpleasant stories from friends about being accused of being involved in the Slave trade, hassled for money for an obviously fake charity and finally being threatened (outside Cape Coast castle) by some men that they would kill them. Personally I enjoyed Elmina more as again we got there early in the morning so there were only 6 of us in the guided group (as supposed to 30 in CC), and the guide was fantastic. Cape Coast was a nice town to walk around in, and we felt completely safe. There are some good rasta/souvenir shops opposite Castle View Restaurant which we enjoyed browsing.
- Boti Falls in the E/R was in the throws of a music festival and therefore we were charged C5 which seemed ridiculous, and may have just been because we were a big group but it is absolutely filthy- litter everywhere, and I mean everywhere, human excrement and a generally unpleasant environment. We were advised that we needed a guide to do the Jungle walk- this is a con, the man didn’t ‘guide’ us, it is an obvious footpath which starts off deceptively easily and then becomes a scramble vertically for quite a long distance to reach an umbrella rock for a view of the surrounding area. (and a 3 headed palm tree). Certainly would not bother with that again! And it is very hard work (we are both physically fit), and pretty dangerous unless you have suitable footwear and enough water in the heat.

-Big Millys was great, yes it is touristy but the resort is just what you want for a very reasonable price. The food was delicious and there are people selling fruit etc on the beach just outside. I have just read a previous report advising people to explore outside the resort, in daylight this is absolutely fine, but after dark it is best not to leave the resort. Some friends were staying in another resort further down the beach and the only way they were allowed to walk down to BM at night along the beach was with an armed guard. It is a dangerous area and we certainly felt when we were walking back at dusk that there was a different atmosphere and we wanted to get back as quickly as possible!

- We found Accra the most unpleasant experience of all! It was simply filled with honking transport and hassling people, the most we were hassled in the whole country and after 10 minutes we decided we’d had enough. This was the end of our trip so it wasn’t like we hadn’t experienced being hassled as obrunis before, and in most other places it was simply verbal, but in Accra it was physical as well. We were grabbed by stallholders desperate for us to look at their stock and sometimes they were unwilling to let go. We had to shout at people to let go and frequently say “don’t touch me” as we felt threatened just walking through the market. I certainly wouldn’t bother going to Accra again. Jamestown sounded like something worth seeing from the guidebook but just walking through the edge we were getting hostile glances and again felt very uncomfortable.
The only good thing was visiting the Jay Nii project by the lighthouse- what an amazing couple and would highly recommend people just going and having a look or talking to them. At present they are completing an accommodation block and currently work with 50 children, paying for their primary education, and their food, clothes, board etc if they need it.
Kaneshie market was an experience – it has everything you could possibly want (and more!) fruit, veg, spices, meat, beautiful cloth, household items, store cupboard supplies, beads, buttons, jewellery, shoes…. If you want clothes handmade then it is the place to go! We spoke to a group of women who said they could make a dress in any material for the next day.
Crystalline Hostel was brilliant, although it is located in a suburb which is quite hard to find when you’re first trying to get there! However there are tro-tros connecting it to surrounding areas and the centre which are cheap (C0.55 to central Accra) but there are chop bars, fruit stores, shops etc in Darkuman so everything is there without the need to go into Accra. Aunty and uncle are great, and the food we had at the hostel was delicious. It is a fantastic set-up, highly recommended.

Hannah

Tenack Beach Resort, Beyin

Nana Awaku has made contact to let me know that the new Tenack Beach Resort at Beyin, directly overlooking the beach, is now fully operational. For full details, check out his website www.tenackbeachresort.com or email Nana at info@tenackbeachresort.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evan’s feedback

I loved 99% of the guide, so if its sounds like I’m complaining, I’m not, just providing a different point of view
I’ll start with comments about accommodation.

In Accra, I stayed in Pink Hostel, and I’d agree with the description in the guide – good value, but I’d qualify that by saying only for the dorms.

Cape Coast – Sammo’s Guesthouse. Yes! Thanks for this – great location, and great people – Fifi is a legend, an incredible source of knowledge, and very interesting. And the food is quite cheap, too.

Beyin – Beyin Beach Resort. Well, this is the exception that proves the rule. This received a glowing review in the guide, but I have to say, this was without doubt the worst value accommodation I experienced in two months travel in West Africa. This was a splurge for me – 60 cedi, for a private bungalow. A splurge, to my way of thinking, should be better than where you’d usually stay. But this place had no (functioning) mozzie net, no fan, an extremely bright light outside my room illuminating the path, so I couldn’t get to sleep until it was turned off around midnight. The light in the room was not bright enough to read, I couldn’t charge phone/MP3 player, and there were no curtains in either the bedroom or the bathroom, ensuring no privacy. And it was built on a massive slope.  The staff were great though, although the owner’s inability to get anything to work rendered the whole thing a Fawlty Towers / Seachange (Aussie show) hybrid. He was a great bloke though, but the one word I simply could not use to describe this place, is value.
Kumasi – Guestline Lodge. Agree with comments in the book, not teriffic value, but great location, and the staff were generally pretty helpful, although one girl consistently told all customers that there was no change in the till, but she was just pocketing it.

Tamale – Catholic Gueshthouse. Yes, yes yes! Fantastic accommodation, although the giant rock-like pillows were useless, but still hilarious. Great staff, too. Not sure why you said ‘surprisingly good bar’, though – has he ever met a Catholic in his entire life?
Mole Motel – great value accommodation, but the food made me very ill.

A couple more comments:

Vic Baboo’s cafe in Kumasi made me extremely sick.

Rising Phoenix in Accra – best red-red ever.

I think a comment was made in the guide about Kakum walk not being for those who can’t handle heights. I am petrified of heights, but I thought it was, so to speak, a walk in the park. I wouldn’t want others to feel put off experiencing something as beautiful as this, although I would agree with other comments that it was a bit gimmicky, and I too, felt herded around.
My final comment relates to Nzulezo. In the guide, it says that many people list it among their favourite experiences of Ghana. I would rate it as my worst. The canoeing is great, it’s all very beautiful, but I think that it would be better observed from a very slight distance. Being marched through the village is not good, in my opinion; rich people paying to look at poor people is disgraceful, and that is all this experience amounts to, in my opinion – there is no chance to interact with anyone, so it’s reduced to a ‘see-er vs seen’ experience. We don’t learn anything about the way they live, and I don’t know if the money finds its way to the locals. I’m happy to give the village money, but I feel that it would be best if only tourists who stayed there were admitted to the village itself.

Can’t wait to get back to Ghana, when you’ll be hearing more from me.

Thanks!

Evan

 

Annette’s updates

I spent 4 months in Ghana during 2007 in which I lived just near Kumasi and travelled North to South and recently spent another 2 weeks in 2010 travelling mostly East to West. I have a few updates to the Bradt Guide which I hope will prove useful for the next edition (I was travelling with the 4^th edition as the 5^th edition was not yet out).

ACCRA – I stayed at the Silver Gate Hotel. It is located in Demalt (North Kaneshie) and rooms cost between 15 and 25 cedi. The rooms are very large, self-contained places with a fan and TV. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I stayed here twice and both times it was excellent.

CAPE COAST – Stayed at the Red Cross Hotel. Actually quite impressed. It was really clean and the staff were eager to help even going so far as using their mobile phones to call our next port of call to see whether they had rooms available. At Cape Coast Castle they employ policemen to help tourists (and  keep hawkers out). They are really friendly and even gave me lunch while I was waiting for my friend to finish.

ELMINA – Mabel’s Table. We walked here from Elmina Castle and it was quite a trek! It was a bit more expensive then quoted in the 4^th edition but the food was excellent and they were really large portions. Probably one meal between two would have sufficed.

BEYIN – Beyin Beach Resort. This was our favourite place. The new budget accommodations cost 20 cedi a night (huts with beds and mosquito nets). It was very clean, the shared bathrooms were the best I have seen and it was in such a beautiful location.

NZULEZO – We didn’t stay here. The boat ride was so beautiful although I didn’t see too much as I was constantly bailing out the boat! Did seem a bit gimmicky. The chief’s daughter brought her purse along to our ‘meeting’ to pocket any money we seemed obliged to fork out. Interesting place though.

PRAMPRAM – We set out to find the Turtle Conservation and Ecotourism Project but could not find any sign of it. We asked around the village and nobody seemed to think that they were still around. I have big question marks next to this project in my book. Hotel de Vas was closed, nobody seemed sure if it was going to reopen. We stayed at Sealane and had the same problems as other readers. The ‘Western-style’ food was very expensive. There no water and broken lights. It looked like a very tired place. When we told them we weren’t going to pay unless we got water, they fixed something and we had temperamental water but no hot water. For 30-60 cedis a night, we could have hoped for much more (just take Beyin Beach Resort for instance!). The breakfast which is included is just tea and bread (egg is extra!). Highly recommend not staying here. On the other hand, the ‘Who is your friend chop bar’ had excellent fresh food and really good service.

KETA – From Ho we caught a tro-tro to Denu and then one to Keta. We stayed at Abutia Guesthouse for 12 cedi. The shared bathrooms were absolutely full of mosquitoes (as were the rooms…). I guess that’s what you pay for being so close to the lagoon. The restaurant was not serving food and they instead sent us to Angel Food (on the road to the Lighthouse) which had really good and well-priced food.

BIAKPA – Mountain Paradise Lodge. Unfortunately the weather was terrible while we were staying here and I got the feeling that they were trying to charge for every single little thing. Everything came at a cost. There was no mention of the shared bathroom accommodation (maybe it was full?) and we were not allowed to use tents as it was so wet. The self-contained room was priced considerably more than the book said at 25 – 39.5 cedis. There is now electricity at the site. Taxis were expensive to get there but we were lucky enough to meet the owner of Mountain Paradise at Fume who, although on his way to Hohoe, took our bags so that we could more easily walk the distance from Fume to the Lodge.

FUME – Hanson’s Spot was closed and didn’t look like it was going to reopen anytime soon. We asked many, many people in the village about the unsignposted guesthouse but nobody seemed to know about it.

TAFI ATOME. Accommodation cost 15 cedi. The beds were the most uncomfortable that I came across in Ghana. They do have a running shower now though (no buckets) and the drinks in the shop were cold. The monkey tour was at 6am and we had an excellent guide. Food at the chef’s house was amazing! Seemed the ONLY way to get to and from Tafi Atome was by motorcycle for 1 cedi each way.

HOHOE – Stayed at Grand Hotel. The bar was really loud. I slept with earplugs. Had breakfast at Taste Lodge. Reasonable food but service was very slow (even for Ghana!).

KUMASI – I stayed with friends but when I did have to stay in a hotel in the city, I went to the Kumasi Wesleyan Guest House which is on Asomfo St. It was quite disappointing. There were many stairs to get there and it was not that clean (hair in shower and when we asked to move rooms because our air conditioner didn’t work there were tissues under the bed…). 32 cedis a night for TV and air con. Good location. Nurom Inn Annexe was closed for renovations.

LAKE BOSUMTWI – 2 cedi entrance fee for white people. Good lunch and drinks at Lake Paradise Resort.

Regards,

Annette.

 

 

 

Erika’s updates

I just got back from Ghana and have some comments

The Rising Phoenix in Accra is dirty and there are some annoying types hanging around. Would be good to advise people about that. The food is still wonderful and the price is good. They will pick you up at the airport if you ask them to (for 20 cedis, i think)

Nzulezo was a huge disappointment, we felt very unwelcome in the village, the people pretty much ignored us and were sullen when we wanted to take photos. The village was dirty and not very interesting in any way. I would not recommend this tour to anyone, and i have serious doubts that they are putting any money into any community programs, judging from the attitude of the villagers we met.

All the info about how to get to Nzulezo is still correct. We paid 30 cedis for the taxi from  (can’t remember, starts with an E) to Beyin after dark, but if you pay 40 youre more likely to get a driver who actually knows how to get there! we were cheap and our driver almost got lost!

The Beyin Beach Resort is incredible and they made us the MOST AMAZING red-red for breakfast. the 10 cedi cabins are great value, the place is amazing, i can’t recommend it enough.

The tour at Kakum is not worth what they charge, the canopy walk was cool, but way overpriced. the guide and our taxi driver were in cahoots to steal the money, they tried various ways to get us to pay them directly. please re-emphasize to tourists how important it is to ALWAYS GET A RECEIPT FROM AN OFFICIAL at any “community or official governmental tourist site” to prevent things from degenerating into a terrible tourism experience. The nature walk at Kakum cost 15 cedis and was a disappointment. it was pretty cool, but for 15 cedis for one hour, we felt way overcharged.

We stayed at the Mighty Victory hotel in Cape Coast, it was great value and very clean and safe.

We stayed at the Sambra hotel in Kumasi, it was 44 cedis which felt overpriced. There was a robbery of a guy staying there, someone climbed onto his balcony at night and stole his laptop and some other things, the hotel management was not very helpful apparently, i am not sure i would recommend Sambra to anyone after seeing that disaster.

We stayed at the Al Hassan in Tamale, it was great, not that clean, but great location and price (21 cedi for two beds and a fan) they did my laundry for 2 cedi.

We ate at Sparkles, it was very good, if somewhat bland. We went to the rooftop bar at the Crest and it was pretty scary for two women at night, but not dangerous in any way. We just did not appreciate all the attention.

We took dance lessons from Idrissu and Osman in Tamale, they were incredible, we loved it and cannot recommend it enough.

We stayed at the CICCS guesthouse for one night, very clean, great value at 20 or 22 cedi for two beds and a fan.

Mole was a huge disappointment. please mention to people that between June and February it is very difficult to see Elephants and other wildlife, because they are other places in the park. the guides were grumpy and not very informative. the hotel is a dump and not a good value at all.

we got a car from M&J Travel for the day to go to Mole and do a driving safari and the driver tried to charge us extra to go into the park and even tried to charge us to go back to Tamale!!!!
please warn people about this problem.

The tour in Abompe Bead Factory and the Bamboo Bicycle tour at Abompe were a total ripoff and we were very disappointed. We saw and learned basically nothing and we felt that it was just a gratuitous way to get money out of tourists. i think it is bad form to habituate these communities to charging tourists for worthless tours. I think a higher standard needs to be set from now on, i am considering writing to the Ghanian peace corps to comment on this as well.

We stayed at the Bunso Arboretum Guesthouse and loved it, though it is now 15 cedi per person, so, not the best value, but it is a great spot, very cool and peaceful. you need to bring your own food. The tour was ok, not excellent as the book says, but we enjoyed it, it was better value than the others we took in ghana.

Though I am disappointed in so many of the tours, I should clarify that I am not disappointed in our trip overall, it was wonderful, educational, interesting, exciting and beautiful. Ironically the best part about Ghana was not any of the tourist activities we endeavored to participate in, but the daily effort to find food, find transportation, meet people, and experience the place was the best part of the trip. I will recommend Ghana to any of my hardy traveler friends. Needy tourists need not apply!

We had a great trip overall and LOVED having the Bradt book with us, which we ended up calling “the ORACLE” hahaha.

–
Erika Vohman

New website for West Coast tourism

My name is Lorena López, I am a UNWTO volunteer working with an italian NGO in conjuction with the Ghana Tourist Board Western Region. Since a few years ago the Ricerca e Cooperazione, thementioned NGO, works with other stakeholders to promote tourism in the West Coast using tourism as a tool to poverty reduction. As a result we have just launched a website dedicated to Ghana West Coast. You can check it under the following address: www.ghanawestcoast.com. This website provides useful information about the communities that make up the Ghana West Coast such as how to get there, where to stay and where to eat… that can help tourists at any time.

Updates from Thor Young

My wife and I traveled to Ghana on vacation recently and relied heavily on the 4th Edition of the Bradt guide in our travels. I have comments on some of the places we visited for your internet readers or next edition. I’ll go in order from west to east with a general comment on tipping guides up front:

TIPPING GUIDES: We had a number of excellent “institutional” guides in Ghana at the castles, parks, reserves, community ecotourism sites, etc. I realize they don’t get paid well, if at all (some seem to be volunteers) so I tried to tip well, generally about half the admission price and sometimes higher. However, I was disappointed so few other western vistors tipped our guides at all even after they seemed to go out of their way for us. For example, at both Kukum and Cape Coast castle we had excellent guides who I gave 5 cedis each, but none of the other 8 or 10 western tourists who toured each of those sites with us gave them a thing. I’d like to reward people like these guides and encourage more local residents (as these clearly were) to get involved with local tourism.

BEYIN: The beach here was probably the nicest I saw in Ghana. We visited the Nzulezo Stilt village. The current rate is 10 cedis per non-Ghanaian adult. They stressed no one at the village was to ask us for money and that proved to be true. In fact, no one at the village said anything to us. Compared to other villages we visited, the people at the silt village seemed a bit more “unoccupied” and less friendly – which I imagine is because life on the silt village is pretty slow and they have a steady string of tourists parading by. We did visit the chief, who asked for a bottle of gin or 7 cedis in exchange for telling you the village history. We paid the money as a courtesy (not having any gin), upon which the chief told us a short sentence or two about the village history which our guide had already shared with us, then just sat and stared at us for a while, then finally made a plea for us to give money for the village school. I would recommend skipping this po rtion of the “tour”. That being said, our guide Charles was excellent and gave a lively and informative tour, so the overall 3-hour experience was very pleasant.

AXIM: We stayed at the Lou Moon Lodge and it was fabulous – like some remote luxury hideaway I’d pay three times as much to stay in Hawaii or the Caribbean and still not has a good as food or service. I can’t emphasize how fabulous the food was, and while it was expensive by Ghana standards, it would not have been compared to a similar priced dish in a developed country.

ELMINA: We stayed at the Coconut Grove resort which I really enjoyed, particularly the pool and restaurant. The only part of the resort I would not recommend is the golf course, which looked virtually unplayable. The Elmina castle tour is also very good although I would say if you only had time for one castle tour, the Cape Coast castle museum and tour are a bit better. The admission was 9 cedis for non-Ghanaian adults. Your guidebook mentions the great view from Fort St Jago but does not reference a tour there. I asked at St. Georges castle if there was a tour offered at Fort St. Jago and the folks at the front desk did not really seem to know, but after we hiked up the hill we found there was in fact an attendant there who gave us an excellent 30 minute tour. The rate was 3 cedis per person. I am told that fort along with the three main castles are the only ones in Ghana listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

KAKUM: The current rate if 9 cedis for the canopy walk and an additional 5 cedis for the 1 hour forest walk. You are right, you can’t purchase the forest walk alone – because it starts from the end of the canopy walk. The guide stressed we’d be unlikely so see animals on the forest walk and he was right – but it was worth it to see and learn about all the trees of forests and their traditional uses. Some of the trees are amazingly massive.

CAPE COAST: The castle tour was excellent as advertised. The castle museum is also excellent and probably the only one I saw in Ghana which was of modern western museum exhibit quality. Admission for both was 9 cedis for non-Ghanaian adults.

ANOMABU: You noted the Anomabu Beach Resort has “few if any peers” on the Ghanaian coast. Its an OK place, but really nothing compared to some of the nicer resorts like Coconut Grove. The beach is suffering from severe erosion which threatens to topple the coconut trees which now have half their roots fully exposed. There is very little sand to stand on except the surf zone. The restaurant is very nice (and very popular) and did serve excellent meals as advertised, although I would not list the portions as “enormous” as the guidebook suggests.

SHAI HILLS: The current cost of the tour is 10 cedis per person entry plus 3 cedis per hour for the guide (non-Ghanaian adult), plus 4 cedis for a Ghana registered private vehicle. It takes about 3 hours to drive the park loop and hike to the two main caves if you have your own 4 x 4. I’m not quite sure what visitors on foot do – you can see the baboons near the entrance but not much else unless you have a full day to hike around. The hike to the Hionweyu cave at the park’s highest point is particularly rewarding, provided your thin and athletic enough to make it through the narrow openings. Plans to bring in more animals don’t seen to have materialized yet and you can’t help but think this park could be even better than it is if they could. We also toured the Cedi bead factory nearby which is very informative and worthwhile if you have a interest in beads – however, you might want to emphasize the bead factory is over a mile off the main road on a bumpy dirt road so be prepared.

EAST OF LAKE VOLTA: I could not agree more with the comment in the guidebook that cat-calls of “Obruni” would turn to friendly “Your Welcome” once we crossed the bridge – how very true!

AMEDZOFE: The map in the guidebook implies there is a road from Gbadzeme – don’t believe it. There was a road, but even in a 4 x 4 with a professional driver we barely made it up through 8 ft. tall vegetation and washed out portions – the locals at the top were shocked to see us driving into town from that direction. We went back down via Vane which is better, but not much, the roads up to Amezofe are steep and bumpy and long no matter which way you get there. The town is very nice and the people very friendly. The tourist office was open and provided us an excellent guide. The cost was 5 cedis to see the falls and 3 cedis to see Mount GEMI (which I’m told is properly capitalized and stands from German Evangelical Missionary Institute or something like that). They also call the falls by a different name, something short starting with an “O” that I did not write down. Anyway, the hike to the falls was probably my favorite short hike in Ghana (45 minutes each way) but is not for the unathletic. The view from Mt. GEMI (25 minute easy walk) is also very nice. We stopped at the Paradise Lodge for a drink but did not stay there. The view is excellent and the setting nice, but its not really close to Amezofe (or anywhere) and the road is not easily traveled. Contrary to what the guidebook says the lodge has electricity.

TAFI ATOME: The current rate is 7.5 cedis per person (non-Ghanian adult). We went at 12:30 on a hot day, which I figured would be a poor time to see the monkeys but we wound up seeing a lot right behind the tourist center as soon as we started walking. Apparently there are 4 family groups, only two of which are habituated and we saw both. The guide brought a bunch of bananas and we fed the monkeys from our hands.

WLI FALLS: The hike to the falls is well worth it and a great walk on its own. Its an easy walk, although the hike to the upper falls is just the opposite and very steep and difficult. The lower falls takes 45 minutes, the upper falls 2 hours to reach. The current rate is 8 cedis for the lower falls and just 2 more for the upper falls, so it is quite a bargain. They get a steady stream of visitors on weekdays but its not crowded, but apparently they get tour busses on the weekends which can make the lower falls rather crowded. This is the only eco-tourist site in Ghana where I saw souvenir stands so I assume that is related to the relative popularity of this attraction. I saw pictures of the caves in nearby Lukpe Todome which looked very cool but we did not have time to visit. We stayed at the Waterfall Lodge which was nice and very reasonably priced. It’s a short walk to the tourist office.

LOGBA TOTA: This town is actually fairly easy to get to (relatively) if you have a car – the first 4 km is flat and dirt, the last 3 km is steep but nicely paved with no traffic. The town architecture is interesting for the use of rock and mud in building construction. The tourist office is impossible to locate, but we asked in the square and someone found the only guide who opened a small room in a building near the square. The walk to the falls is 4.5 cedis. The walk is about 45 minutes and moderately challenging. Its sort of interesting in that you pass through the entire villages farm fields which are built on steep mountain slopes. The falls is seasonal and was barely flowing when we went but still nice. I didn’t realize it before we went, but you have to wade/swim through the water at the bottom of the falls to access the cave. Bring your own flashlight. I don’t think they get many visitors – it had been 4 days since the last person signed the guest re gister when I visited.

I visited several other interesting places but have nothing notable to add to the guide on any of them. You’re right – Ghana is a great place to visit and well set up for independent travelers.

Beyin vs Green Turtle

Originally posted March 19, 2009
Adventures in Ghana Says:

BEYIN BEACH RESORT was the absolute highlight of our trip. The chalets are beautiful – huge wooden beds, white linen, chiffon curtains billowing in the doorway on to your own private veranda and view of palm trees and ocean. And all this for GH40 cedis per night!

The food is fantastic, especially the Ghanaian dishes, and Nina is a wonderful hostess. Welcoming, relaxed and happy to provide information on the local area and surrouding attractions, such as Nzelezo.

If you are interested, Nina will wake you in the morning if turtles have hatched so you can watch them take their first swim!

Relaxing, peaceful, beautiful, romantic – BBR is highly recommended.

On the flip side we also stayed at Green Turtle Lodge and thought it was over-rated. The self-contained rooms are beautiful and well designed and their environmental credentials well-earned, but food was distinctly average and we found the staff to be completely dis-interested. The camping offer is disgusting – around 8 tents with flea ridden mattresses crammed in to a small hut on the edge of the beach – its more like a refugee camp than a resort. The beach here is stunning but Green Turtle has work to do if it is to live up to the review in the Guide Book. Apparently Beyin Beach Resort are taking over the Green Turtle conservation programme. If its a choice between the 2 places Beyin wins hands down.

Latest from Beyin Beach Resort

It’s Nina from Beyin Beach Resort in Ghana. We have now been open for over a year and as you can imagine things have moved on quite a bit!

 

We are an English couple with a young family who after visiting Beyin and its deserted beaches decided this would be the perfect place for a beach resort.

We wanted to create a natural, tranquil and peaceful atmosphere for people to relax among the coconut groves but still feel that they are Ghana.

 

We have 4 luxury wooden/ thatched chalets set in a lush green lawned coconut grove with en suite bathrooms (with hot water), king size beds, balconies overlooking the ocean all built from traditional materials.

These are $43 a night for 2 including breakfast and can with an adjoining door become a family chalet for 4 at $74.

We have economy rooms 2 twin rooms and 1 four bed that have shared communal bathrooms and are priced at $16 and $32.

We offer a 25% discount to volunteers with official ID on the Luxury Chalets with 2 sharing.

 

On the natural and unspoilt beaches that are covered in soft white sand are sun beds and umbrellas leading down to the ocean which is refreshing to swim in. Under the shade of the coconut trees next to beach there are hammocks to lay and relax in.

In season from August to February the beaches are the home to nesting Green, Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles and we have a Turtle Conservation Programme offering Turtle Night Time Walks, holidays as well as Volunteer placements.

We have a hatchery on our beach and the releasing of the baby hatchings happens in the early hours of the morning and anyone wishing to be woken can enjoy this amazing experience.

 

There is a restaurant offering international dishes and traditional Ghanaian dishes that is open through the day for guests and non residents.

We have pizza, jacket potatoes, sandwiches and chocolate brownies and much more!

In addition we offer Tailor Made Tours with airport pick up, a laundry service, children’s play area, book swapping/lending,  board games, DVD and movie hire and beach volley ball.

 Experience sea fishing with the fishermen of Beyin…Your trip will take you out to sea with the fishermen on their traditional wooden fishing boats and watch as they use time old fishing methods. After rowing out you will be able to help lay the fishing net and pull in the catch!

The cost of the trip is GH¢4 paid directly to the fishermen.

 

There are 2 villages close by that have a Market Day – Aiyinasi and Tikobo 1 both are easily reached by public transport.

Aiyinasi Market is open on Tuesday and Friday and the tro- tro cost one way GH¢1.50- journey time 40 minutes.

Tikobo1 Market is open on Thursday and the tro- tro cost GH¢0.90 – journey time 40 minutes.

 

We are next to the Amansuri Wetland Conservation area the largest intact swamp forest in Ghana and only 20k from the Ankasa Protected Area a wet evergreen rainforest. Guided walks are available with a ranger and can be organised on arrival. Ankasa is easily reached from Tikobo1 where you can negotiate a taxi for a round trip.

 

The village of Beyin is the where the canoe ride to the isolated village of Nzulezo the stilt village starts. The trip takes you across a beautiful dark watered lake, through lush jungle and past traditional fishing traps to typical African village but with a difference…it’s completely surrounded by water. Many different species of birds can be spotted and spider monkeys heard if not seen.

 

Beyin’s 17^th century Fort Appolonia is completely intact and will soon be converted to a historical and ethnographical museum dedicated to the Nzema people of the area.

 

Also directions to get to Beyin, there is a direct tro from Takoradi which is the fastest way, going every 2 hours (or there abouts) from 10am through to 4pm definitely and 6pm but not always. This goes from the Nzema tro station and the journey is around 2 hours now. The information about going to Half Assini and T1 share car to Elubo is totally wrong and needs to be taken out.

 

 

 

We now have a website - www.beyinbeachresort.com

 

Telephone – 00233 242188240, 00233 275139186 and 00233 245433790

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Nina Sarpong