Tour Overview
This package reflects 8 days of travel, relaxation, wellness, and social impact. You would travel through Accra, Aburi, Cape Coast, and engage in some exciting experiences and memorable activities. You would get to appreciate the natural and historical landscape of Ghana. Engage communities and make an impact in any form or kind as a platform to promote and project sustainable tourism initiatives.
Day 1 - Accra
Arrival
Upon arrival at the airport, a ZayVoyage by SARI Representative will pick you up at the Kotoka International Airport and drop you off at your hotel. The guide will assist you with check-in, take you through your itinerary, and answer any questions regarding your stay in Ghana.
Overnight Stay in Accra
Day 2 - Aburi
Aburi Botanical Gardens & Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm
After breakfast, you will drive an hour from Accra to Aburi in the Eastern Region.
Your first stop will be the Aburi Botanical Gardens. Your tour guide will walk you through the gardens to learn about some plant species, their origin, and their specific uses. You will be taken through the history and the various lawns of the park as you get to connect with nature. Some of the trees were planted by some African heads of state and global leaders.
You will also visit the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, the first Cocoa Farm in Ghana, located in Akuapem Mampong, a town in the Eastern Region. You will learn about the history of Cocoa, how it got to the shores of Ghana, and be taken through the plantation process from sowing, harvesting, fermentation, and finally to drying. You will taste some fresh cocoa and also purchase some finished products from the cocoa plant, like the chocolate and locally made black soap.
Overnight Stay in Accra
Day 3 - Cape Coast
Assin Manso Slave River & Cape Coast Castle
You would depart Accra for Cape Coast in the Central Region this Morning
En route, you will make a significant stop at the Assin Manso Slave River Site, an important part of the history of slavery. This is where the slaves took their last bath after their long journey, shaved their beards, and made to look presentable and ready for sale. They were branded based on who they belonged to before they were dispatched to the castles and await shipment. This was a very emotional and spiritual journey especially for those in the diaspora
En routeFrom there, your next visit is to the Cape Coast Castle, the youngest of the three slave castles in Ghana, yet the most significant in the history of slavery. It was built at the peak of slavery to accommodate more slaves who were taken through the door of no return to the “new world”. This is a very significant site in the Emancipation Day celebration, as the remains of two descendants of our ancestors who were taken through the door of no return were brought back symbolically through that door of no return. This is to signify the welcome of all diasporans to Ghana and the continent of Africa on behalf of our ancestors who did not get the chance to.
Overnight Stay in Cape Coast
Day 4 - Cape Coast
Social Impact Activity, Naming Ceremony/Drumming and Dance & Wellness Activity
This morning, as part of our social impact initiative, you will engage the Cape Coast School for the blind. You will give donations and talk with the students to motivate them and make them feel included and seen in society.
You would have a Naming Ceremony, Drumming, and Dancing experience. A naming ceremony is an important part of Ghanaian society that gives each individual an identity. In Ghana, with your name, we are able to tell your day of birth, order of birth, your tribe, and sometimes even the circumstances surrounding your birth. Be ready and excited to receive your True African Name.
To end the day, you will engage in a wellness activity at the hotel, like beach relaxation and a Spa and Massage Session.
Overnight Stay in Cape Coast
Day 5 - Cape Coast
Elmina Castle & Kakum National Park
You will head for Accra from Cape Coast after breakfast.
Before you leave, you will first visit the Elmina Castle, the oldest European building below the Sahara built in 1482 by the Portuguese. This slave dungeon was initially built as a warehouse to store trade goods that were bartered between the Europeans and Africans. These warehouses were later converted to dungeons to keep slaves when the attention was shifted from trade of goods to human trade. This is where it all started.
You will first visit the Kakum National Park, the second largest national park in Ghana, home to various plant and animal species. Here, you will take about a 20-minute hike through the national park towards the Canopy walkway constructed in 1995 by 2 Canadians and 6 Ghanaians. You will take a 350-meter-long walk on a suspension bridge, 11 to 40 meters above the ground. You will see the forest from above and appreciate nature amid chirping birds and some butterflies.
Return to Accra
Overnight Stay in Accra
Day 6 - Accra
Free Day / Beach Relaxation
On your free day, you will have the option to relax, read a book, walk around the hotel, visit the beach, have a massage/ spa session, or engage in any wellness activity or experience you would like.
Overnight Stay in Accra
Day 7 - Accra
Accra City Tour
After breakfast, you will have a late morning pickup to start an Accra city tour
Your first stop will be the WEB DuBois Memorial Centre, the home of the Father of Pan Africanism. Dr. W.E.B. DuBois was invited by the first president of Ghana to edit the Encyclopedia Africana. He completed just four episodes for eight African countries before his death. The site contains his personal belongings, gifts he received, books he authored, and the ones he brought to Ghana. There is a Mausoleum for him and his wife on the site as well.
Your next stop is the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, where the first president of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, stood to declare the independence of Ghana. The site has a museum which houses his personal belongings; from the items he used while in School, gifts he received, items he used during his presidency, and some books he authored. The site also houses the mausoleum where he and his wife were buried.
You will make a stop at the Arts and Crafts Market to purchase some Ghanaian-made and inspired arts and crafts to take as souvenirs back home. You will get some already-made African dresses, shirts, wood-works and carvings, paintings, traditional fashion accessories, some Ashanti Kente and Northern Smock fabrics, among many other things. The sellers will be persuasive in their bid to get you to look at the wares since there are various stalls with similar items.
Your final visit will be the Independence Square, also known as the Black Star Square. It is a vast area built for national gatherings in 1961 by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, that can host about 30,000 people. It has other monuments like the Independence Arc, the Monument of Liberation, and the Independence Gate. This site is bordered by the ocean, Accra Sports Stadium, and the Osu/Christiansborg Castle.
Overnight Stay in Accra
Day 8 - Accra
Departure
This is the day for your final departure from the shores of Ghana back home.
Depending on your time of departure, you will have some time for last-minute shopping and packing. Our guide will be at your hotel to pick you up for the Kotoka International Airport for your final departure.
