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

DayFromToKmDetails
1Schiphol AirportAccra  
2Accra   
3AccraSomanya65The lodge is a few kilometers south of this city
4SomanyaAtimpoku35 
5AtimpokuHo75 
6HoAmedzofe38The last 10 km are a tough climb. Before Vane there is a few km of unpaved road.
7Amedzofe  Amedzofe waterfall is worth a visit
8AmedzofeHohoe4812 km of bad roads (Vane and Fume)
9HohoeKadjebi47Spent the night in guesthouse of District Assembly
10KadjebiNkwanta97 Unpaved road, rather tough
11NkwantaBimbila90Relatively good unpaved road
12BimbilaYendi72Very bad unpaved road, last 10 km paved
13Tamale   
14Tamale   
15TameleBuipe110 
16BuipeKintampo95Three km before destination exit to Falls, worth a visit
17KintampoTechiman65 
18TechimanSunyami61Road differs from ITM map, but it's self-explanatory
19SunyamiBekyem51Guesthouse (basic) in town, hotel a little past the town
20BekyemKumasi78 
21Kumasi   
22Kumasi   
23KumasiObuasi63First part a lot of traffic
24Obuasi   
25ObuasiDunkwa40 
26DunkwaBogosa42 
27BogosaTarkwa37Lots of potholes, beautiful surroundings
28TarkwaButre76Last 8 km unpaved road, tough
29Butre   
30Butre   
31ButreShama6015 km of (good) unpaved road
32ShamaCape Coast67Road not too busy
33Cape Coast   
34Cape CoastWinneba87 
35WinnebaAccra60Busy road
36AccraAmsterdam  
  Total route1660We bicycled approximately 2000 km on this trip

Money

Compare car rent

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.

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