22 Jan 2024
Bottom line up front: Toufic is an outstanding guide, very personable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. We would book him again in a heartbeat and plan to for one of the longer trips outside of Accra next time we're in Ghana.
My wife and I reached out to Toufic about an Accra city tour on Thursday and he arrived at our hotel at 8am sharp on Saturday to introduce us to some of the city's more famous locations: the Kwame Nkrumah memorial, the D.E.B. du Bois residence, the Art Market, and most memorably Nima Market. We started at the Nima market to beat the day's heat. It was nonetheless packed with sellers and buyers--there were many spots where you had to thread your way through the stalls and visitors--and we were thankful Toufic was there to guide us to the best parts and also to bring us out. The market resembles a vast maze and without him it would have taken ages to find our way back to where we entered. All in all, we spent about an hour and a half voyeuristically "shopping," though neither of us felt confident enough to barter but Toufit was nice enough to include him in our shop. The marketplace was extremely busy but very little hassling. It was an experience we won't forget. From there we headed to the Nrumah memorial, followed by an Art Market, where my wife and I purchased about 5 pieces--Toufic offered us some sage advice but let us experience the haggling culture ourselves, which was appreciated. From there, we spent about an hour at W.E.B. du Bois final residence in Accra before grabbing lunch downtown with Toufic, who was nice enough to chat and socialize over kebabs and Jollof rice. All in all, we spent almost 6 hours with him and enjoyed every minute.