Solveig writes:
I’ve just returned from a 3-week trip to Ghana (April/May 2013), mostly along the Western Ghanaian coast and to Ashanti region, and would like to mention that the entrance fees for sights (e.g. Elmina & Cape Coast castle, Kakum National Park) have increased quite a bit for foreigners, plus there is now a 20 cedi camera fee in both castles! (instead of 2 cedis)
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.
Lesley Sage writes:
Four of us, including a Ghanain National and her English husband who have a home in Koforidua as well as running their own business in UK, have just finished a short visit to the Volta region, calling into Akosombo on our return to pick up their order of tilapia fingerlings for their home ‘fish-pond’ as a food source.
We stayed in Ho at the Malisel Hotel for one night during some building works; despite having booked a few days before, staff weren’t expecting us, so rooms were not prepared and they reluctantly allowed us a towel each but were unable to provide an over sheet to the bed, so we ended up under a clean but stained sheet with an obvious cigarette burn. The owner was friendly but staff were not. Yes, it was clean. We also found Mother’s Inn only serving banku and the food at White House Bar was fine, except they claimed to have no menu and only on paying did we discover they had charged us ‘tourist’ rates. Otherwise a really pleasant location watching a busy interesting street at night.
Due to my interest in weaving we followed the guidance in your guide and visited Kpetoe Agotime (good tarmac road from Ho towards the Togo border) and were delighted with the “semi-open concrete construction housing about 20 weavers”. Because it was a Sunday morning, only two weavers were not at church but for five cedi I sat at his loom and he patiently instructed me while my Ghanaian friend interpreted what few words he didn’t know in English. We then bought 80cedi worth of strips, tablecloth, three purses and three bookmarks which felt extremely fair value to him and us. A fantastic experience; apparently an English lass is currently being taught by them all to learn Kente weaving.
Akosombo: Afrikiki River Front Resort – the swimming pool was out of action due to refurbishment, due to finish next week, ie beginning of December. We all felt the rooms were overpriced (140cedi as the discounted price because no pool) for the mediocre quality with the money clearly going to the surroundings. Food ok and biggish portions for us; breakfast fine but no fresh fruit.
Volta Dam – trips round the hydro plant itself have stopped but a guide along the dam wall was well worth it for us with some close views of local spear fishermen. At Akosombo Port, the head of security of the Volta River Transport company showed us round for 5cedi each awhich was very interesting. The Yapei Queen was being loaded and he gave us a good insight into the other vessels, dry-dock and future plans/ideas.
Brief comments on other palaces visited with our friends:-
Kakum: James Biney deserves the recommendation you give him.
Elmina: our friends were more moved by the Fort than that in Cape Coast. Watching the boats go out as the sun set and then return to the fish market the next morning was great – you are right about the reaction to taking photos. But definitely worth persuading your stomach to stand up to some pretty intense smells! Our friends bought almost 100cedi of tuna, cuttlefish, prawns and a few others which made for very interesting if not protracted bargaining!
Kumasi: agree about the chaos but tempered by the colour and vibrancy of such a seething mass of humanity!! The small Ashanti exhibition at the Cultural Centre worth a visit and for me, the weaving centre. We used the Four Villages Inn as the overnight stop and agree with the very good quality but pricey comment.
The guide has been an invaluable source of information so a real asset. Thank you. We unsuccessfully visited the Tourist Dept in Koforidua for a decent road map and discovered from a diplomat acquaintance of our friends that there is no such map in existence! Without your maps, we would have not felt so confident – perhaps this is another commercial opportunity for Bradt?
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
On our most recent visit to Elmina we did a walking tour of the town with Felix Nguah, of www.ghanaecotours.com. Highly recommended. He’s engaging and well-informed, and better yet, he’s pursuing an extremely admirable idea in Ghana: sensible, non-harmful tourism that helps you get closer to the communities and also helps people in those communities. Check the website for other offerings, mostly along the coast but also to Kakum and further inland. He deserves being supported, and provides a great experience as well.
Bill Ristow
Thanks to Nitharshan Srikanthapalan for the wonderfully detailed report below:
Here’s some info from the trip I’ve just had in Ghana (1st – 27th March). Mainly involving prices although I think others have already provided a bit of an update on that front anyway…
FYI I rated each hotel out of 7 (likeart scale) so will provide those ratings as well:
1. Afrikiko’s (just outside Akosombo):
$75/85 single/dbl B&B
An adequate room, pool needed chlorine and lots of it – it was not at all clean. The setting was stunning and the food was very good.
Rating: 4
2. Bob Coffie (formerly Freedom Hotel in Ho):
70 cedis for a twin room (with huge beds) B&B
Room, pool and food all good. Setting was ok – it’s central, walkable from the market/lorry-park. We found the staff very friendly and with a sense of humour.
Rating: 6
If you’re staying elsewhere then using the pool at Bob Coffie is pretty pricey (compared to other hotels in Ghana) at a whopping 10 cedis.
We stopped in at Chances on the way – we found it lacking character and the staff seemed miserable and unhelpful. It had a corporate feel to it and we weren’t keen. It was 90 cedis for a twin.
Also, VIP hotel was nowhere near completion and looked like construction had stopped.
3. Tafi Atome Guest House
20 cedis per person (in a twin room) including breaksfast, dinner and the guided tour
No longer bucket showers – they have a poly-tank providing running (cold) water and flush toilets (although the flush wasn’t working so we had to throw buckets of water down them after, ahem, doing our business).
The room had a ceiling fan (that’s not mentioned in the guide).
Rating: 4 (although it was great value for money)
4. Wli Water Heights (near the falls):
45 cedis for a twin room with bathroom. (B&B)
35 cedis for a twin room with shared bathroom. (B&B)
Phone number had changed: 020 938 7176
Room was nice, there’s no pool, the setting was nice and the staff (particularly the owner) were very friendly. Food was outstanding.
Rating: 6
Big Food Safari Lodge has opened nearby. We didn’t get to see it but there are signs advertising it all over the place. The number is 020 788 2334. It’s worth noting that phone signal in the Wli area is pretty horrendous (I think there’s one network which had an ok signal there – which wasn’t MTN) so if you’re going to call them to book, do it in advance of leaving Hohoe.
5. Galaxy Lodge (in Hohoe):
50 cedis for a twin
The room had AC, a fridge and DSTV but we were disappointed with it:
bathroom door didn’t close, the towels were not what I’d call clean, neither were the sheets – one of which had holes and there was a dead cockroach under one of the beds. Breakfast was not included here but the quality of the breakfast that we ordered was reasonable.
We didn’t have dinner there.
Rating: 2
6. Tsarley Korpey (Ada Foah)
$180 for a family room (B&B)
$110 for a double room (B&B)
Everything about this hotel was excellent apart from the value for money (which was mediocre at best). Rating: 4
If, like us, you are two people who don’t fancy sharing a double bed for whatever reason then Ada Foah is a tricky place to be – we didn’t find anywhere with a twin room apart from Garden Club which we weren’t very impressed with.
For info in Ada Foah, Brightest Spot’s prices are now: 35 cedis for a single, 45 cedis for a double.
And there’s also a newish-looking place not mentioned in the book (it was called something like Emizile) which we liked the look of when we went in to have a look at the rooms and they are charging 60 cedis for a double room.
7. Mole National Park:
18 cedis for a dorm room
70 cedis for a dbl/twin room (plus 18 cedis if you want an extra mattress in there)
Dorm room was reasonable (space to sleep 8 on four bunks although they also threw an extra mattress in there), twin room was lovely.
Obviously the setting (looking over the watering hole) is excellent especially if, like us, you got to see eight elephants go in and have a nice long sit in the watering hole just after we got back from a walking safari where we’d got very close to the same aforementioned eight elephants.
Pool was very clean and good.
Value for money was good too given the location (and their monopoly on accomodation) although breakfast was not included.
Only down side was that the running water wasn’t working for one of our two days that we were there.
Rating: 5
8. Premier Palace (Techiman):
35 cedis for a single, 60 cedis for a double (B&B)
Rooms: good (although the single was a little odourous)
Setting is poor
Food was very good and we felt it was good value for money.
Rating: 7
9. Noks (Kumasi):
45/65/75 cedis single/dbl/exec. suite (B&B – sort of, see below!)
Rooms were good
Setting was reasonable (in a quiet suburb which appealed to us)
Food: Breakfast was good but slow. We didn’t eat dinner there
Value for money: Pretty decent but rather disappointingly they claimed that only one breakfast is included per room so if you’re two people sharing a double room and both of you want breakfast then one would have to pay. Bonkers.
Rating: 5
10: African Rainbow (Busua):
125/135/180/25 single/dbl/family/mattress (added to a room) (B&B)
Thinking back, I think these were the prices of the rooms with AC and they had some slightly cheaper rooms without. The AC is very unreliable because of the whole town’s electricity issues. The AC only works if there is no ‘light-off’ AND the backup generator is on (while neighbouring Busua Beach Resort don’t have that issue as they have more than one generator).
Room was good, setting was excellent (given the balcony that each room has and the excellent, breezy, roof-top bar). Food was superb and the value for money was reasonable (and would be good if the electricity wasn’t an issue). They also had free wifi available in the bar area.
Rating: 6
The prices at Busua Beach Resort next door were:
$175/185/50/25 single/dbl/budget/extra mattress.
A non-resident guest can pay 5 cedis to use the pool (hence our decision to stay at African Rainbow). 5 cedis to use the pool was a bargain.
11. Coconut Grove Bridge House (Elmina):
55/65/75 single/dbl/tpl (B&B)
Room was good and the setting is convenient in that it’s central but also you can smell the fish because you’re right next to the town. It’s busy and bustling which might be good or bad depending on your point of view. The food was very good – particularly their signature dish (which was very coconuty)
Value for Money was good bordering on excellent given the alternatives in the area and especially because use of the Coconut Grove Beach Resort facilities (e.g. the lovely, clean, big pool) is included.
Other info:
Elmina Bay Resort were charging: $135/195/15 for dbl/suite/mattress
Eshu in Cape Coast has closed.
Other info you might be interested in is that there was construction occurring at Step-in Gallery when I went there and was duly not open. It was not clear if this was temporary or not – I couldn’t close enough to nose inside and see if any art was displayed.
It’s worth noting that some of the big cities e.g. Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi etc have “Ford stations” where you can pick up what is essentially a comfortable, new version of a tro-tro for longish journeys in relative comfort (they have AC) and safety (although they also drive pretty fast). Price is slightly more than the same journey by tro-tro.
And finally, as a traveller, I felt it would have been useful to have more Forex Bureaus marked on your maps. For someone travelling cash (which is how you’ll get the best rate), these are the most economical places to get your cedis.
The owner of the splendid Baobab restaurant in Cape Coast has also opened a guesthouse on top. Very clean rooms, clean toilets and showers, but not self contained. Profit goes to the project. I highly recommend it.
I am also very happy with the Stumble Inn in Elmina. A great place.
Amei
My husband and I have just returned from 2 weeks in Ghana, staying in Accra, Kumasi and Elmina. We found your guide exceptionally helpful.
We would like to highly recommend Geoman’s Car Rental in Cape Coast. George had a professional approach, which can be unusual to find. He quoted C140 inclusive for an air conditioned car from Elmina to Accra, as opposed to the $US 140 quoted by the Elmina Beach Resort. The car and driver were both good, the journey took about 3 hours door to door, and, best of all, the driver knew Accra well and took us through back streets to avoid much of the gridlocked traffic.
We had less luck with our hotels. We lasted one night at Hotel Georgia in Kumasi. When we checked in we were taken to a room with a balcony overlooking a concrete wall! – so very dark! We said it was unacceptable and taken to another room, which had seen better days. (We previously stayed there 8 years ago).The ceiling fan was hanging by a thread and swaying dangerously so we were unable to use it. However, the room was spacious, cool and with a good shower with hot water. The breakfast was a depressing experience and the pool was not maintained and so couldn’t be used.
We ended up staying at the Golden Tulip for 3 more nights, which was good but more expensive than we had planned. However I got sick there and wonder if it was from the salads.
We booked into the Coconut Grove Beach Resort in Elmina, but were so disappointed with the room that we moved immediately. The room was filled by a huge bed, but there was room for little else – no space for storage and it smelt strongly of damp. The tv was stacked on top of a small fridge in an awkward position. We eventually spent 3 nights at the Elmina Beach Resort, which was adequate, but the atmosphere was dead, with only 7 of the 150 rooms occupied. This was probably because it was the month following Christmas, and the harmattan at the same time, but we found it to be a depressing experience!
Baobab Restaurant in Cape Coast was excellent, and we had several meals there, served by the young people being trained by the Foundation, with evidence of good customer service. It was interesting to talk to one of the teachers, and we were impressed with the quality of their publicity material and gift shop. One to support!
We travelled from Accra to Kumasi via Nsawam, and the road was appalling – more than one hour of rocky, dusty dirt road and we were advised afterwards that we should have taken the route via ‘the mountains’ ie Aburi. We booked the car for this journey via the Niagara Hotel, as recommended by your guide, but were a little disappointed with the car and driver. The rear view mirror was not in place and even after asking for it to be properly positioned it was not. Also this driver insisted on using the Nsawam route as he said it was shorter, but the journey ended up taking 6 hours and was hazardous.
And lastly I’d like to recommend 233 Jazz Bar and Grill in Accra – a cool place with first class music and musicians.
Alice Opoku
