Going to Ghana (possibly) - what should I know?
Discussion
Looking for anyone with direct experience of being a (white) tourist in Ghana, and how best to stay safe.
The ".gov" advice always states the worst, i.e. terrorist attacks, muggins, armed gangs etc, but it says that for countries I've happily walked around with no issues!
Planning to stay in and around Accra, and at a proper hotel, not a local guesthouse. The "hotels" seem to be in 2 categories, i.e. low rent £30/night or tourist £120+ per night, not much in between.
Is independent travel sensible (bus?). How do you choose a proper taxi?
Nothing booked yet, just started to think about this year's holiday.
The ".gov" advice always states the worst, i.e. terrorist attacks, muggins, armed gangs etc, but it says that for countries I've happily walked around with no issues!
Planning to stay in and around Accra, and at a proper hotel, not a local guesthouse. The "hotels" seem to be in 2 categories, i.e. low rent £30/night or tourist £120+ per night, not much in between.
Is independent travel sensible (bus?). How do you choose a proper taxi?
Nothing booked yet, just started to think about this year's holiday.
My reply is possibly outdated?
My son worked in Accra for over a year some time ago. He did not get any hassle or problems in the bars and restaurants.The ones the locals use were as cheep as chips.When I suggested a visit he said don’t bother it’s a sh** hole. You would have to stay inside the hotel grounds. There is nothing in and around Accra of interest.He said I would have to drive over 100 miles just to see an elephant.
He moved to South Africa, I’ve visited the place twice and had a great time.
My son worked in Accra for over a year some time ago. He did not get any hassle or problems in the bars and restaurants.The ones the locals use were as cheep as chips.When I suggested a visit he said don’t bother it’s a sh** hole. You would have to stay inside the hotel grounds. There is nothing in and around Accra of interest.He said I would have to drive over 100 miles just to see an elephant.
He moved to South Africa, I’ve visited the place twice and had a great time.
Don't know about Ghana, but we've got a holiday booked somewhere that needs a yellow fever jab, and it turns out that it can be quite unpleasant. Got jabbed on Monday last week, felt rough for 48 hours, feverish again this weekend. Side effects can last 5-10 days.
On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
My daughter did some work experience for Ghanian TV a few years ago (hilariously she was identified as an 'European Ebola expert' on a news report!)
She found living in Accra fine, she and her German housemate were a novelty amongst the locals, but had no issues there.
They did get robbed on a trip to a beach one day, though, so maybe stick to well populated beaches, rather than searching out the out of the way ones...
M
She found living in Accra fine, she and her German housemate were a novelty amongst the locals, but had no issues there.
They did get robbed on a trip to a beach one day, though, so maybe stick to well populated beaches, rather than searching out the out of the way ones...
M
otolith said:
Don't know about Ghana, but we've got a holiday booked somewhere that needs a yellow fever jab, and it turns out that it can be quite unpleasant. Got jabbed on Monday last week, felt rough for 48 hours, feverish again this weekend. Side effects can last 5-10 days.
On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
Just for clarification, NHS suggests you can have it over 60 if travel to a YF area is unavoidable. On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccina...
Blackpuddin said:
Just for clarification, NHS suggests you can have it over 60 if travel to a YF area is unavoidable.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccina...
Indeed - I was thinking of holidays. If you've no choice, the increased risk of potentially fatal side effects is still better than the risk of catching potentially fatal yellow fever.https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccina...
otolith said:
Blackpuddin said:
Just for clarification, NHS suggests you can have it over 60 if travel to a YF area is unavoidable.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccina...
Indeed - I was thinking of holidays. If you've no choice, the increased risk of potentially fatal side effects is still better than the risk of catching potentially fatal yellow fever.https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccina...
As someone who worked and lived in Ghana for a couple of years I can thoroughly recommend going anywhere but Ghana for a holiday.
We searched high and low for activities to do on weekends and ended up spending most weekends in the sports bar or Irish pub.
Even the beach has a raw sewage outlet pumping into the water close to the beach.
As for safety, it became progressively more dangerous during our time there. A colleague had his 4x4 attacked with bats and machetes but managed to drive away, another guy we knew woke up with a knife at his throat whilst his apartment was being robbed.
The abject poverty you will see is also very saddening very young children begging outside the bars and nightclub in the early hours and eople and children sleeping on cardboard in the streets.
We searched high and low for activities to do on weekends and ended up spending most weekends in the sports bar or Irish pub.
Even the beach has a raw sewage outlet pumping into the water close to the beach.
As for safety, it became progressively more dangerous during our time there. A colleague had his 4x4 attacked with bats and machetes but managed to drive away, another guy we knew woke up with a knife at his throat whilst his apartment was being robbed.
The abject poverty you will see is also very saddening very young children begging outside the bars and nightclub in the early hours and eople and children sleeping on cardboard in the streets.
Ok, thank you for the above advice.
The biggest negative for me is the yellow fever vaccine. After reading the NHS bit, and finding that it's compulsory for a Visa to Ghana, I'm going off the idea!
I shall talk to my Ghanaian friends about it further.
Wasn't expecting a lot of nightlife in Accra, that's ok because it's not my scene anyway.
The biggest negative for me is the yellow fever vaccine. After reading the NHS bit, and finding that it's compulsory for a Visa to Ghana, I'm going off the idea!
I shall talk to my Ghanaian friends about it further.
Wasn't expecting a lot of nightlife in Accra, that's ok because it's not my scene anyway.
M4cruiser said:
Ok, thank you for the above advice.
The biggest negative for me is the yellow fever vaccine. After reading the NHS bit, and finding that it's compulsory for a Visa to Ghana, I'm going off the idea!
I shall talk to my Ghanaian friends about it further.
Wasn't expecting a lot of nightlife in Accra, that's ok because it's not my scene anyway.
They check you have the yellow fever card as you go through passport at the airport.The biggest negative for me is the yellow fever vaccine. After reading the NHS bit, and finding that it's compulsory for a Visa to Ghana, I'm going off the idea!
I shall talk to my Ghanaian friends about it further.
Wasn't expecting a lot of nightlife in Accra, that's ok because it's not my scene anyway.
Have done some work there on week visits, but confirm there isn’t a lot to see in the city .
Some good restaurants like la tandem and some good hotels like the kempinski but not cheap.
Did walk round the market with a local colleague which was interesting but definitely not touristy
I wasn't referencing nightlife. What I meant was the lack of anything else meant the pub was the only place too go.
There's no museums, galleries, safaris, iterally nothing to do.
If you have children or medical needs I should warn you the medical care is also terrible, I ended up in hospital with a broken leg to be told the hospital has no wheelchair and as one of two white guys in the hospital they got us mixed up and I nearly got wheeled into theater to have a testicle removed. I had to be flown back to the UK for treatment as the insurance company agreed the country didn't have the medical expertise to handle a badly broken leg.
As for medical requirements I recall I needed 4 vaccinations before I went, but you also need to be on antimalarial drugs whilst you are there, these are not fun as generally leave you feeling nauseous and have to be purchased via a private prescription. Having seen first hand malaria kill a perfectly fit and healthy young American woman and left several colleagues seriously ill I would strongly caution against not taking them.
There's no museums, galleries, safaris, iterally nothing to do.
If you have children or medical needs I should warn you the medical care is also terrible, I ended up in hospital with a broken leg to be told the hospital has no wheelchair and as one of two white guys in the hospital they got us mixed up and I nearly got wheeled into theater to have a testicle removed. I had to be flown back to the UK for treatment as the insurance company agreed the country didn't have the medical expertise to handle a badly broken leg.
As for medical requirements I recall I needed 4 vaccinations before I went, but you also need to be on antimalarial drugs whilst you are there, these are not fun as generally leave you feeling nauseous and have to be purchased via a private prescription. Having seen first hand malaria kill a perfectly fit and healthy young American woman and left several colleagues seriously ill I would strongly caution against not taking them.
M4cruiser said:
Looking for anyone with direct experience of being a (white) tourist in Ghana, and how best to stay
M4Cruiser, I think you have an idea of Ghana. Why do you want to go there?Go to South Africa, stay at Montycasino for a while, fabulous place.
Then drive up to Mabula Game Reserve.
Old Merc said:
M4cruiser said:
Looking for anyone with direct experience of being a (white) tourist in Ghana, and how best to stay
M4Cruiser, I think you have an idea of Ghana. Why do you want to go there?Go to South Africa, stay at Montycasino for a while, fabulous place.
Then drive up to Mabula Game Reserve.
t holes in the world, I don't see the sense in going to a boring one.wildoliver said:
Old Merc said:
M4cruiser said:
Looking for anyone with direct experience of being a (white) tourist in Ghana, and how best to stay
M4Cruiser, I think you have an idea of Ghana. Why do you want to go there?Go to South Africa, stay at Montycasino for a while, fabulous place.
Then drive up to Mabula Game Reserve.
t holes in the world, I don't see the sense in going to a boring one.Have been to South Africa, wonderful place (many years ago) and also included a game reserve. That's the only African country I have been to.
This trip is (/would be) different. I changed jobs a couple of years ago and now have some friends / work colleagues from Ghana (they are working here) and they are going back to visit their family in Accra. Opportunity to visit somewhere with a small connection, instead of somewhere with no connections at all. (As an aside, work colleagues in my previous job were mostly non-ethnic non-religious, non-foreign, in fact I now realise not a lot of anything, they were very boring.) New world has opened up!
I generally find normal touristy places boring now.
Google Map does show some architectural features and the National Museum of Ghana, but I accept what you say above, about there being very little. I just didn't know how little!
otolith said:
Don't know about Ghana, but we've got a holiday booked somewhere that needs a yellow fever jab, and it turns out that it can be quite unpleasant. Got jabbed on Monday last week, felt rough for 48 hours, feverish again this weekend. Side effects can last 5-10 days.
On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
Not sure if they've changed the type of vaccine given now, but the yellow fever jabs that I had before working in Angola came with a yellow, yellow fever card that only had a 10 year validity, and I was told the same when I was jabbed.On the upside, that's it for life, and you can't have it once you're over 60, so worth getting it for future travel.
That was 18 years ago now but I relocated from Angola before the expiry and have never travelled anywhere that needs the YF inoculation since.
They changed the policy on yellow fever, used to be 10, then 20 and now it's life.
If you have a card with 10 or 20 on it, it's still valid now.
You won't get into Ghana without the yellow fever vaccine. If you turn up without it, you will be taken to a seperate area and forced to get it paying an extortionate amount. Don't be surprised when you see the heat vision cameras on the way in either, they predate covid, looking for people with elevated temperatures.
If you have a card with 10 or 20 on it, it's still valid now.
You won't get into Ghana without the yellow fever vaccine. If you turn up without it, you will be taken to a seperate area and forced to get it paying an extortionate amount. Don't be surprised when you see the heat vision cameras on the way in either, they predate covid, looking for people with elevated temperatures.
Joe M said:
They changed the policy on yellow fever, used to be 10, then 20 and now it's life.
If you have a card with 10 or 20 on it, it's still valid now.
Interesting to know, and a good job I never threw my card away!If you have a card with 10 or 20 on it, it's still valid now.
I never had any issues with the YF jabs.... the rabies ones though..... now they were nasty
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