The slave castles of Cape Coast and Elmina, the canopy walkway over the Kakum rainforest, the elephants of Mole and the legendary warmth of its people: Ghana is the easiest, safest and most human gateway to West Africa.
Ghana is the best gateway to West Africa: a stable, mostly English-speaking country famous for the warmth of its people, where the local greeting 'Akwaaba' (welcome) isn't a cliché but a way of life. Unlike the classic safari of the east and south of the continent, the big draw here is cultural and historical: it's the heart of the legacy of the slave trade, with castles that are World Heritage Sites and a memory that challenges you, especially visitors from the African diaspora.
The coast holds the most powerful sites: the castles of Cape Coast and Elmina, where you walk through the dungeons and the 'door of no return' through which millions of people were shipped to the Americas. Close by is Kakum National Park, with its famous canopy walkway over the rainforest. Inland, Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti kingdom, with its palace, its huge market and the villages where kente is woven. And in the remote north, Mole National Park offers the country's most accessible walking safari, with elephants and antelopes.
It's a destination for curious travellers, interested in history, music, markets and human contact more than luxury comforts. You can travel it on a tight budget by tro-tro and guesthouses, or more comfortably on tours with a driver. The distances and the state of the roads call for patience, but Ghana pays you back many times over: few places in Africa combine so much safety, such cultural richness and such genuine hospitality.
The currency is the Ghanaian cedi (GHS), which is divided into 100 pesewas. In July 2026 one dollar is worth about 11.5 cedis (verified July 2026), but it's worth checking the day's rate because the cedi has been steadily losing value and prices are adjusted often. Bring US dollars or euros in cash, in good condition, to exchange at banks or forex bureaus in Accra, Kumasi or Cape Coast, where you get a better rate than at the airport. Hotels, restaurants and supermarkets in the big cities take cards (Visa and Mastercard), but for tro-tros, markets, park entrance fees, tips and small villages you absolutely need cedis in cash. There are ATMs in every city, though they have per-withdrawal limits, so plan to take out money before heading into the north or along the coast. Tipping isn't compulsory but it's appreciated: 10% in tourist restaurants, and some small change for guides, drivers and lodge staff.
Full converter for GHS →There are no direct flights from Latin America: almost every route goes through Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines, which connects Buenos Aires (EZE) and São Paulo (GRU) with Accra (Kotoka International Airport, ACC), the country's only air gateway. You can also fly in via Europe (Madrid, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Brussels) or via Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc. Allow 20 to 30 hours of total travel time depending on the layovers. On the visa front there has been a big change: since May 2026 Ghana has had an e-visa portal, so Latin Americans (who do need a visa) can now apply online before travelling instead of going to a consulate; you upload your documents, pay online and the approval arrives by email. An international yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory to enter. Within the country, the cheapest and most authentic way to get around is by tro-tro (shared minibuses) and intercity coaches (STC, VIP); for more comfort, it's best to hire a car with a driver or book tours, because driving yourself on poorly signposted roads with chaotic traffic isn't for everyone.
The best time to visit Ghana is the dry season, from November to March, when it hardly rains, the roads are in better shape and parks like Mole offer the best wildlife sightings (the animals gather at the waterholes). It's the ideal season to combine coast, culture and nature. One thing to bear in mind is the Harmattan (December to February), a dry wind that carries dust from the Sahara: it brings night-time temperatures down a little, but it hazes the sky and reduces visibility, so pack a light extra layer and something for your throat.
The rainy season runs from April to October, with two peaks (May–June and September–October) and a short dry spell in August. It rains mostly in the south and on the coast, as heavy but short downpours rather than continuous rain, so you can still travel; the north is drier. Heat and humidity are high all year round (Ghana is just a few degrees from the equator), with temperatures around 27–33 °C. If your priority is the beach and surfing, the west coast works well almost all year; if you're after wildlife and dry roads, aim for the November–March window.
Ghanaian food is tasty, spicy and hearty, made to fill you up. The undisputed star is jollof rice: rice cooked in a sauce of tomato, onion and scotch bonnet pepper, which Ghana fiercely disputes with Nigeria as a national dish. The other pillars are the 'swallows', thick doughs eaten with the right hand and dipped into soups and sauces: fufu (a sticky mash of cassava and plantain), banku and kenkey (fermented corn doughs), served with groundnut soup, light soup or palmnut soup. Waakye (rice and beans with egg and hot sauce) is the go-to breakfast-lunch, and red red (bean stew with fried plantain) is a vegetarian classic. As a street snack, don't miss kelewele (cubes of ripe plantain fried with ginger and chilli).
Eating is cheap if you go to 'chop bars' and street stalls: a plate of jollof, waakye or banku with fish costs around 2–5 USD, and a generous lunch at a tourist restaurant 6–10 USD. In Accra restaurants with a more international menu you can spend 12–25 USD. For snacking, try grilled fish on the coast, suya (spiced skewers of Hausa origin) and the tropical fruit, which is excellent. To drink, the local beer (Star, Club, Gulder) is good and cheap; there's also palm wine in rural areas and sobolo/bissap, a red hibiscus drink. Watch out for the heat: Ghanaian chilli is fierce, so ask for 'not too spicy' if you're not used to it.
Ghana is one of the safest and most stable countries in West Africa, with a solid democracy, and tourists are rarely targets of violence. The main risk is petty crime: pickpockets and theft in markets, tro-tro stations and busy parts of Accra, plus the odd bag snatching. The usual city precautions apply: don't show off valuables, keep an eye on your phone, avoid walking alone at night in poorly lit areas and use taxis or apps (Bolt, Uber in Accra) rather than walking in the small hours. Scams and self-appointed 'guides' who are a bit too eager are also common; book tours and transport with reputable operators. The emergency numbers are 112 (general), 191 (police), 193 (ambulance) and 192 (fire).
On health, there are two key points. First, yellow fever: the vaccine is MANDATORY to enter Ghana and you may be asked for the international certificate (yellow card) at the airport, so getting it at least 10 days in advance isn't optional. Second, malaria: there's a risk throughout the WHOLE country all year round, and the local strain is chloroquine-resistant; see a travel medicine doctor about the right prophylaxis (atovaquone-proguanil/Malarone is usually prescribed) and back it up with repellent, long sleeves at dusk and a mosquito net. Vaccines for hepatitis A and B, typhoid and meningitis are also recommended, along with being up to date on routine ones. Don't drink tap water: use bottled or purified water, be careful with street food (best hot and freshly made) and get good travel insurance that covers medical evacuation.
Ghana is an affordable destination by African standards, although prices have risen with the cedi's depreciation and inflation. Backpacker-style, getting around by tro-tro, sleeping in guesthouses or hostels (10–25 USD a night) and eating at chop bars, you can get by on about 30–50 USD a day. Mid-range, with mid-range hotels (40–80 USD), the odd tour, more comfortable transport and restaurants, allow 70–130 USD a day. And travelling comfortably, with good hotels, a car with driver and private tours, it comes to 150 USD a day or more. Admission to the star sites is cheap: the castles of Cape Coast and Elmina are around 5–10 USD, and the Kakum walkway costs about the same.
To get a sense of a typical 10- to 14-day trip combining Accra, the castle coast, Kumasi and a side trip to the north (Mole) or the east (Volta): mid-range comes to around 900–1,800 USD per person on the ground, not counting international flights (which from South America usually cost 1,200–2,000 USD return depending on the season). The big savings are on public transport and local food; the biggest expense is tours and private transfers if you'd rather not deal with tro-tros. A tip: hiring a car with a driver by the day (around 60–100 USD) pays off if there are several of you and saves a huge amount of time in a country where distances are deceptive.
English is the official language and is spoken throughout the country, so with basic English you'll get by perfectly in hotels, restaurants, transport and paperwork; Spanish isn't used. Dozens of local languages are also spoken, Twi (from the Akan family) being the most widespread: learning 'akwaaba' (welcome), 'medaase' (thank you) or 'ete sen' (how are you?) opens doors and draws smiles. Ghanaian culture is warm, religious (mostly Christian in the south, Muslim in the north) and very sociable: greetings are essential (you ask how someone is before anything else), you always use your right hand to eat, give and receive, and it's wise to dress fairly modestly, especially in the north and at sacred sites. Ask permission before photographing people, especially at ceremonies and funerals, which are huge social events.
On the practical side: plugs are type D and G (large three-pin, British-style), the voltage is 230V and power cuts ('dumsor') can happen, so a power bank comes in handy. For connectivity, buy a local SIM from MTN, Telecel or AT as soon as you arrive (cheap, with good data and coverage almost everywhere except very remote areas); you'll need your passport to register it. Hotel wifi is patchy, so mobile data is your best friend. Traffic drives on the right. And one golden tip: travel with patience and a good attitude, because the pace is relaxed, plans change and the best way to enjoy Ghana is to let yourself be carried along by the warmth of its people.
Ghana is, above all, a land of gold. Long before Europeans named it the "Gold Coast", the Akan kingdoms of the forest and the Sahel states to the north traded the precious metal that came from their rivers and mines, some of it towards the Atlantic and some across the desert by caravan towards the Mediterranean. That gold drew the Portuguese in 1482, and at Elmina they built the oldest surviving European building in sub-Saharan Africa. After them came the Dutch, Danes, Swedes and British, who dotted the shoreline with castles and turned that coast into one of the largest centres of the transatlantic slave trade. At the same time, in the heart of the forest, the Ashanti Empire was flourishing: one of the most powerful and sophisticated African states, united around the legendary Golden Stool.
This is the full history of Ghana: from the Akan gold seekers and the caravan cities of the north to the slave-trade fortresses and the door of no return; from the splendour of the Ashanti kingdom and its wars against the British, with Queen Yaa Asantewaa leading the fight, to the Gold Coast colony; and on to the glorious day in 1957 when Kwame Nkrumah declared independence and Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to throw off colonial rule, a beacon of Pan-Africanism. The country then went through coups, revolutions and famine, but it managed to reinvent itself as one of the most stable democracies on the continent. It is the birthplace of kente and highlife, and of a culture that now reaches the whole world.
Read the full history of Ghana →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
