Travel advice & practical information for travelogue:
'Bicycle Tour around Lake Volta'
Useful addresses
New York
Consulate General of Ghana
19 East 47th St.
New York, NY 10017
Tel.: 212-832 1300
London
Ghana High Commission
13 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8PN
Tel.: 020-7201 5900
Fax: 020-7245 9552
E-mail: information@ghanahighcommissionuk.com
Web site: Consulate General of Ghana
Paris
Embassy of Ghana
8, Villa Said
75116 Paris
Tel.: 01-4500 0950
Fax: 01-4500 8195
E-mail: ambghanaparis@yahoo.fr
One needs a visa to visit Ghana.
General information
Ghana borders on Ivory Coast, Togo and Burkina Faso. Until 1957, Ghana was a British colony named Gold Coast. After several military regimes, of which the last one lasted from 1981-1991, Ghana has developed a stable democracy. In the poor northern part of the country the population is mainly Muslim, in the wealthier south they are Christians of many different denominations.
Ghana is reasonably wealthy for African standards. Its main export products are gold, precious stones and cocoa. Also tourism is a source of income. Most tourism is concentrated on the coast, where the old slave fortresses are sight. But if our experience is indicative, the number of tourists is still modest.
A geographical sight is Lake Volta, the largest water reservoir in the world, 520 km long and a surface of 8502 square kilometers. The lake was created by the 1965 construction of the Akosombodam. It has an electricity plant which provides most of the electricy in the country. The bicycle tour goes around this lake in a wide perch
Planning our trip
We made reservations - against our habit - for the hotel in Accra as well as for the Hideout Lodge. The newspapers predicted an invasion of supporters of the soccer clubs which participated in the Africa Cup, which took place during our stay. We didn't notice anything like an invasion. So, next time we won't make reservations in advance.
We found information about accomodation mainly in the Bradt travelguide about Ghana. We also had a travel schedule that friends had used for bicycling in Ghana. In the Bradt guidebook not all places we visited are described.
Travel schedule
Day | From | To | Km | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Schiphol Airport | Accra | ||
2 | Accra | |||
3 | Accra | Somanya | 65 | The lodge is a few kilometers south of this city |
4 | Somanya | Atimpoku | 35 | |
5 | Atimpoku | Ho | 75 | |
6 | Ho | Amedzofe | 38 | The last 10 km are a tough climb. Before Vane there is a few km of unpaved road. |
7 | Amedzofe | Amedzofe waterfall is worth a visit | ||
8 | Amedzofe | Hohoe | 48 | 12 km of bad roads (Vane and Fume) |
9 | Hohoe | Kadjebi | 47 | Spent the night in guesthouse of District Assembly |
10 | Kadjebi | Nkwanta | 97 | Unpaved road, rather tough |
11 | Nkwanta | Bimbila | 90 | Relatively good unpaved road |
12 | Bimbila | Yendi | 72 | Very bad unpaved road, last 10 km paved |
13 | Tamale | |||
14 | Tamale | |||
15 | Tamele | Buipe | 110 | |
16 | Buipe | Kintampo | 95 | Three km before destination exit to Falls, worth a visit |
17 | Kintampo | Techiman | 65 | |
18 | Techiman | Sunyami | 61 | Road differs from ITM map, but it's self-explanatory |
19 | Sunyami | Bekyem | 51 | Guesthouse (basic) in town, hotel a little past the town |
20 | Bekyem | Kumasi | 78 | |
21 | Kumasi | |||
22 | Kumasi | |||
23 | Kumasi | Obuasi | 63 | First part a lot of traffic |
24 | Obuasi | |||
25 | Obuasi | Dunkwa | 40 | |
26 | Dunkwa | Bogosa | 42 | |
27 | Bogosa | Tarkwa | 37 | Lots of potholes, beautiful surroundings |
28 | Tarkwa | Butre | 76 | Last 8 km unpaved road, tough |
29 | Butre | |||
30 | Butre | |||
31 | Butre | Shama | 60 | 15 km of (good) unpaved road |
32 | Shama | Cape Coast | 67 | Road not too busy |
33 | Cape Coast | |||
34 | Cape Coast | Winneba | 87 | |
35 | Winneba | Accra | 60 | Busy road |
36 | Accra | Amsterdam | ||
Total route | 1660 | We bicycled approximately 2000 km on this trip | ||
Money
It is not possible to withdraw cash from an ATM with a Master Card. Only Visa cards. In bigger towns (but not all of them) traveller cheques can be used. Euros and US dollars can be exchanged in lots of places.
If you know in advance which places you're going to visit, you can find out online if and where there are ATM's where you can use your MasterCard and Cirrus or Visa to withdraw money.
Health
Because of the risk of malaria it is important to rub uncovered body parts with DEET. A good source of information about health risks is the site of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Ghana. Always consult your family doctor as well.
Safety and security
Travelling in some countries or region can bring risk with it. That shouldn't always keep you from visiting there, but part of a thorough preparation should be to get information about possible risks.
One can find up-to-date information on the web site of the CIA World Factbook Ghana. Also always consult with your own country's Foreign Department.
Plan your trip to Ghana online
Through online reservation systems like À la Carte Vacations you can book airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and holiday houses. You can build a fly-drive itinerary with maximum flexibility, book a flight plus a hotel hotel for a night or weekend. Without the limitations of package deals from travel organisations and most times for a much better price.
Hotels Ghana | Airline tickets Ghana | Flights from Ghana | Budget hotels Ghana