We visited the Nzulezo stilt village last week and definitely would not recommend this to anyone. It is a dump and a tourist trap. It is so full of trash that it could float on it instead of the water.
We also visited the Monkey Forest Resort run by the Dutch couple next to Kakum national park. There has been no change in this place since they started it and everything they tell you, is less than true. If this place had been anywhere else, it would have shut down for animal abuse.
Nancy
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
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
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
