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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
Join RALF to share your own tips and traps
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Kumasi Zoo is Ghana's oldest zoo and sits between Kejetia and the Cultural Centre, so it fits a walking day with the fort. Expect a modest visit with antelopes, baboons, chimpanzees, lions and crocodiles, plus thousands of bats roosting in the trees. Bring water and a snack because there is no eatery inside, and note…
Do not count on a taxi meter in Kumasi. Agree the fare and the exact drop-off before you get in, keep small notes ready, and be firm but polite if the first quote is high. A ride-hailing app such as Bolt shows an upfront fare and a trip record, which is simpler for short central trips. Check the plate and driver name…
Adum is the handiest address for Kejetia, yet guides call it extremely noisy and congested, and traffic around Kejetia and Adum is the pressure point of every trip. For quiet nights, look at Ahodwo, a leafy garden-suburb district between the centre and KNUST with a small cluster of restaurants. Taxis or Bolt cover the…
The central tro-tro station by Kejetia is chaotic, and route maps are not posted, so read the destination signs and ask a mate or ticket seller. Boarding on the ring road avoids the worst of the central jam. Some commuters report being dropped midway and asked to pay again, so ask whether the fare covers your final…
Each July the Centre for National Culture in Bantama launches an Arts and Craft Exhibition that stays open for weeks. Artisans from across Ghana rent stands to show paintings, wood sculpture, beadwork, leather bags, batik and broadloom kente. It is a good way to compare makers before you head to the craft villages…
Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary lies northwest of the city and is known for more than 140 bird species, plus monkeys and antelope. Birdwatching is the main draw, so go early and take a guided walk. Tro-tros run to the Esaase or Owabi stops, then it is a walk or a short taxi. Sources disagree on weekend opening, so call ahead…
Ahwiaa, on the Mampong road north of the city, is the Ashanti wood-carving village. Carvers make stools, drums, masks and akuaba fertility dolls, and you can watch them work before you choose. Compare two or three workshops, ask who carved the piece, and bargain politely. Craft-village day tours often bundle it with…
Adanwomase is a kente village north of Kumasi that wove cloth for the Asantehene. Start at the Visitor Centre, where you book a weaving tour with a hands-on workshop in spinning, warping and weaving, then browse the village shops. Longer master-weaver sessions, a village tour and an evening drumming show must be…
The Armed Forces Museum fills the old Kumasi Fort with medals, weapons, armoured cars and portraits of Prempeh I, Prempeh II and Yaa Asantewaa. The fort was the setting of the 1900 siege, so the history is told where it happened. Ask for the guided tour, and plan it for a weekday because the museum closes on Sundays…
The Centre for National Culture in Bantama holds the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, with royal regalia and exhibits on Asante history. Around it, artisans make and show kente, wood carvings, beadwork and leather goods, so you can watch before you buy. Go on a weekday morning when the benches are busy, and ask the makers…
From mid-December to New Year, Accra fills with concerts, beach parties, art shows and cultural events known as Detty December. In 2025 the Ghana Tourism Authority backed a month-long December in GH programme of more than 100 events nationwide, from Afrofuture and AfroBeach festivals to a highlife centenary…
+233 Jazz Bar & Grill in North Ridge, formerly Bassline Jazz Club, is Accra's long-running room for live bands playing highlife, blues and jazz. It hosted The Ghana Jazz Experience for International Jazz Day 2026 with Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and his Sekondi Band, so it is clearly still active. Go on a band night, check…
Osu puts you on Oxford Street, walkable and busy, with street art, bars and a mix of budget and luxury stays, though petty theft is reported so stay alert at night. Labone is calmer and artsy with some of the best-value rooms, and Cantonments is polished and quiet. Airport Residential suits an early flight. East Legon…
Filming at protected sites such as Osu Castle, Flagstaff House, ministries and prisons needs national security clearance, and the castle needs a separate heritage permit, so keep cameras away from government buildings. The UK advisory also warns of self-appointed officials who charge fees to photograph well-known…
At Kotoka International Airport, thieves have posed as porters, officials or drivers to get hold of bags and documents. Genuine airport staff wear ID cards showing a name and a photograph, and a card without a photo is not valid. Say no to unsolicited help, keep your bags with you, and ask any driver for ID that…
The Arts Centre, officially the Centre for National Culture on Barnes Road, packs kente, beads, wooden carvings, masks, baskets and paintings into one craft market. The stalls near the entrance are the busiest and pushiest, so walk through to the back, where it is calmer. Open with an offer well below what you would…
Kantamanto, Accra's huge secondhand clothes market, burned on the night of 1 January 2025 and traders have rebuilt it. It reopened in 2025 with new wiring, fire extinguishers, trained fire wardens and a security force, and overnight stays are now prohibited, so go in daylight hours. Wander section by section and take…
The W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre in Cantonments is under renovation, and in October 2026 the bungalow where Du Bois lived was reported closed to visitors. A photograph exhibit tracing his life from the United States to his final years in Accra was shown on a recent visit, but check what is open to the public. Ask…
Legon Botanical Gardens lies off Atomic Haatso Main Road at Agbogba Junction, about five minutes from the University of Ghana main entrance. It has a 138 m canopy walk set 13 m above the ground, a high ropes course, canoeing around islands and bird watching, enough for a relaxed half day. Plan the visit for Wednesday…
The National Museum of Ghana in Adabraka reopened in 2022 after being closed for refurbishment since 2015. Its collections cover ethnography, archaeology and art, and the museum also displays seven vehicles once used by former heads of state. It is a good first stop to get the country's story straight before you head…
Osu Night Market sets up every evening just off Oxford Street, once the sun goes down. Graze your way through kelewele (spiced fried plantain), grilled tilapia, suya, waakye wrapped in leaves and Ga kenkey with pepper and fish. Every vendor has their own spice mix and regular customers, so try two or three stalls. Ask…
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