Ghana 2023

New York to Accra

Date: July 27, 2023
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight #: DL 156
Depart: New York (JFK) at 11:55 PM
Arrive: Accra (ACC) at 2:15 PM+ (July 28)

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. You will be met at the airport by Landtours representatives who will assist you with your transfer from the airport to your hotel. Enjoy a welcome drink at the hotel and participate in an orientation session. Dressmakers will take measurements and sew cloths for interested participants.

Hotel: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Meals: Dinner

After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra, the Capital of The capital of Ghana since 1877, Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Religion. In addition, it's the country's most popular city. Travel through the administrative and economic districts of Accra. Also, see the Artiste Alliance Gallery, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan African Culture and the  Independence/Black  Star  Square. Learn about important events in Ghana's history and the country's first president who helped lead Ghana to independence. 

Continue your tour to The National Museum of Ghana in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It is the largest and oldest of the six museums under the administration of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. The museum building was opened on 5 March 1957 as part of Ghana's independence celebrations. End at the Arts Center, where participants can sharpen their bargaining skills to shop for goods from Ghana and West Africa in an open-air market. On display, you will see fabrics of different materials, designs, colors and textures to purchase from.

Hotel: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart to Cape Coast and drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of the West Africa's surviving tropical rain forests. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through the rain forest to discover the wide variety of exotic flora and fauna species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway hanging 40 meters above the forest ground. 

After lunch, enjoy the day at leisure in your hotel. 

Hotel: Ridge Royal Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, visit Elmina, also known as St. George's Castle, which was built by the Portuguese in 1482. Here, learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here participants will witness the dark and stuffy dungeons local people were forced to endure before being sent on a long and perilous passage across the Atlantic. To see the truth of these conditions in person is a powerful reminder of the inhumanity of the slave trade.

After lunch on your own, explore Elmina, a fishing village that's both picturesque and gritty, charming and though-provoking. What better way to appreciate it than to immerse oneself in its main industry fishing! Meet with local fishermen to learn the intricacies of their trade and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Next, meet the fish mongers in the village who will demonstrate the various stages of smoking  the  fish  in  earthenware  ovens.  This  is  a  unique  way  to experience one of Ghana's oldest and important trades. 

After dinner, you will have the opportunity to participate in "Reverential Night." There will be candle light processions and a vigil to commemorate the Africans who died in the slave trade. There will also be a moving ceremony and re-enactment of the slave passage through the "Door of No Return," followed by a midnight declaration of Emancipation Day. This is the highlight of the Panafest celebration.

Hotel: Ridge Royal Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and for a drive through the former slave route to Assin Manso. This was the final transit point for enslaved Africans before being shipped off to the new world. You will have the opportunity to visit the slave dungeons as well as the final resting place for two ancestors whose mortal remains were returned from the USA and Jamaica and re-interred in Ghana.

The Emancipation Day Celebration is opened with a Grand Durbar of Traditional Chiefs and people of the Central Region. Witness this grand, colorful and spectacular event that showcases the pomp and pageantry of Ghana's traditional rulers, dressed in rich Kente and adorned in glittering gold jewelry. Discover the African rhythm in you as you dance to the beat of the 'Fromtomfrom' drums. Continue your drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashanti people, whose legacies are still evident today.

Hotel: Golden Tulip Kumasi Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, you will visit the Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain first- hand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artefacts. Enjoy a drive through the city with monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people. Your city tour on this day will also include a visit to the famous Kejetia market, the National Cultural Centre which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers.

Hotel: Golden Tulip Kumasi Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and visit the three famous Ashanti craft villages; Ahwiaa, the wood carvers' village, Ntonso, the home of Adinkra cloth, and Adanwomase, the Kente weaving village. You will have an opportunity to see how African crafts are made and to buy directly from the artisans who make them. Enjoy packed lunch and return to Accra.

Hotel: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Packed Lunch

After breakfast, depart Accra to a beautiful village located on the lower course of the splendid Volta River. You will pay a courtesy call on the chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers. The group will participate in a naming ceremony of recognition, where a Ghanaian name is given to participants, and a gift presented as part of celebrating a new identity as a Ghanaian and a member of the local community.

After lunch, you will visit cedi beads factory and market. Beads play a very important role in the life and culture of the Krobo people of Ghana. Beads are used to mark family status, special occasions, and the important rite of passage of girls into puberty, called the Dipo. Participants will be shown around the factory and observe the making of beads in a traditional manner. The beads come in every imaginable color, shape, and size and are made from recycled glass, beer and wine bottles, and broken windows. They are pounded and crushed with a mortar and pestle and then poured into molds and heated individually in ovens. These ovens are made from termite soils, which are able to withstand high temperatures. After sizzling in a special oven for about 45 minutes, the beads are smoothed while still warm. A cassava stick is put in the center of the bead while it melts into shape. The beads are cooled and hand polished with sand and water and then strung. Participants will even have the opportunity to make their own beads to take home!

Hotel: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, depart your hotel and drive to Accra. Visit Omanye Art Gallery, one of the most renowned art venues in Accra. There are three expansive floors of art displayed in cool marble galleries established by artists such as Owusu Ankomah and George Hughes, whose paintings are reminiscent of Jean Michel Basquiat and Willem De Kooning. Visit Gallery 1957, named after the year Ghana gained independence, the gallery offers contemporary art with a focus on West Africa.

After lunch on your own, visit Jamestown, the historic centre of British Accra. You'll love the bright colors, authentic tastes and rich history of this charming district. Explore Jamestown's architecture which has a unqiue blend of Eurocentric and Ghanaian influences, a reminder of the district's history as the seat of British Colonial rule before Ghana's independence. Take a picture by one of the Ghana's most famours buildings Jamestown's red and white lighthouse that overlooks the Gulf of Guinea. 

Hotel: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, spend the remainder of the day packing and doing last minute shopping. At 5:00PM, check out of your hotel and transfer to airport for check-in and final departure back home.

Meals: Breakfast 

Flight Information

Accra to New York

Date: August 06, 2023
Airline: KLM
Flight #: KL 590
Depart: Accra (ACC) at 10:05 PM
Arrive: Amsterdam (AMS) at 6:40AM+ (August 07)

Layover in Amsterdam
Date: August 07, 2023
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight #: DL 047
Depart: Amsterdam (AMS) at 10:56AM 
Arrive: New York (JFK) at 1:15 PM

Accra to New York

Date: August 06, 2023
Airline: KLM
Flight #: KL 590
Depart: Accra (ACC) at 10:05 PM
Arrive: Amsterdam (AMS) at 6:40AM+ (August 07)

Layover in Amsterdam

Date: August 07, 2023
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight #: DL 047
Depart: Amsterdam (AMS) at 10:56AM 
Arrive: New York (JFK) at 1:15 PM

Below are some of the documents required for travel to Ghana

Passport
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months pass the return date of the trip.

Immunizations
There are certain recommended and required immunizations for travel to Ghana. Yellow Fever immunization is required for entry into Ghana (you will need to show proof).  Please see the Ghana page of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website for the full list of recommended and required immunizations.

You can go to a local travel doctor to obtain the Yellow Fever Immunization and other recommended immunizations or medication for the trip. Another place is Passport Health, they have travel medical clinics throughout the United States.

Visa
US Citizens are required to have a Visa to enter Ghana. Information on obtaining visa can be found on the Ghana Embassy in Washington, DC website or Ghana Consulate in New York website.

The cost is $60 - $100 depending on whether is standard delivery or rush processing (plus shipping). Currently, visas are only being processed by mail.

You can also use a visa service company to obtain your visa. One such company is CIBTvisas. You can find out more about their process and fees at CIBT VISA.

Please note that the visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issuance. You should not apply for your visa too far in advance because it could expire before your trip ends. I recommend applying for your visa mid-May thru early-June 2023.

The visa application process can take about 2 - 3 weeks to complete.

Checklist for submitting Visa application at the Ghana Consulate in New York

All of the first-class accommodations have been selected with your comfort and safety in mind. Click the link to view the beautiful properties.

Accra: Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Set in an urban oasis within the central district, our contemporary 5 Star hotel is only 7km from the airport where you will receive a warm Ghanaian welcome and complimentary airport shuttle. A tranquil home away from home, the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra provides an atmosphere of ease and convenience where our guests can be perfectly in control of their time whilst taking advantage of everything on their doorstep. The Accra Financial Centre, World Trade Centre, International Conference Centre and Government Ministries are all close by.

Kumasi: Golden Tulip Kumasi Hotel
Make your trip to Ghana an exceptional stay by staying in our 3 and 4 star hotels! Top-of-the-range comfort and services await you in your Golden Tulip hotel room. Our top-of-the-range services allow
you to relax throughout your family stay or your business trip. You will also appreciate the exotic flavors of our restaurants.


 

Elmina: Ridge Royal Hotel
Moving from the ordinary, you get to live like Royalty. Ridge Royal Hotel takes you to the ridge of comfort and luxury in the best style possible. Situated in the historic City of Cape Coast, Ghana. The Hotel boasts of a picturesque landscape in a serene environment.
Richly inviting , comfortably yours.

New York to Accra

Date: July 27, 2023
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight #: DL 156
Depart: New York (JFK) at 11:55 PM
Arrive: Accra (ACC) at 2:15 PM+ (July 28)

Accra to New York

Date: August 06, 2023
Airline: KLM
Flight #: KL 590
Depart: Accra (ACC) at 10:05 PM
Arrive: Amsterdam (AMS) at 6:40AM+ (August 07)

Layover in Amsterdam
Date: August 07, 2023
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight #: DL 047
Depart: Amsterdam (AMS) at 10:56AM 
Arrive: New York (JFK) at 1:15 PM

Full Package

$5,899 per person
(double occupancy)

$6,999 per person 
(single occupancy)

Land Only Package 
(flights and transfers NOT included)

$4,299 per person
(double occupancy)

$5,399 per person 
(single occupancy)
 

Note: In the Land Only package you will make your own flight arrangements and transportation to/from the hotel upon arrival and departure. Overton Travel can assist you with these arrangements upon request.

Payment Schedule

• Deposit: $300 per person, due at time of booking
• Installment #1: September 15, 2022: $650
• Installment #2: October 15, 2022: $650
• Installment #3: November 15, 2022: $650
• Installment #4: December 15, 2022: $650
• Installment #5: January 15, 2023: $650
• Installment #6: February 15, 2023: $650
• Installment #7: March 15, 2023: $650
• Installment #8: April 15, 2023: $650
• Installment #9 – Final Payment: May 15, 2023: Remaining Balance

We encourage all travelers to purchase a travel protection plan at the time of initial trip deposit. 

Overton Travel uses Travel Insured International. Click here to review and purchase a travel protection plan from them: Travel Protection

You can purchase travel protection through the supplier used by Overton Travel or any other supplier you choose.