24 Oct 2024
ATMs are plentiful and you should use ghana currency for everyone's convenience. Just write out a chart and keep it in your wallet with ghana denomination equal to US currency. Tip staff generously. Police check points are plentiful but the police are generally very nice, don't aggravated them and it's all good. The roads can be very bumpy, a good seat cushion works wonders for long flights and the vehicle ride. Ghanaians are very polite and friendly and make a lot of effort to make us comfortable so if we have small inconvenience please be respectful and understanding. Ghana is a very safe place and I never felt any uncomfortable going anywhere. Use Uber but tip in cash, use local ride share like Bolt or yango but set the payment to cash and pay the driver and tip in cash. If you set it on credit card you may not get picked up. Meals are inexpensive compared to the states, generally about 6-9 USD. and portions are huge. Local beers, Star and Club are large 22oz and cost only 1.56 USD. in the bar. The weather in October is 87 hi 76 lo. No need for pants. Shorts only and either tank tops or very light t-shirts. Private massage at coconut grove beach resort are excellent, we had the couple massage in our room. Dorothy, Olivia, and Ameri were excellent. Cost was equivalent to 49.50 USD. so tipping them generously is still a bargain. If you have bottled drinking water and candy for them after it helps as the work they perform is strenuous. Our guide, Basit, made our trip very relaxed and serene. Tripafrica tours are very different from the group tours from Gate 1, Smart tours, or Overseas Adventure travel. We've tried those and it became less appealing each time for so many reasons. With Tripafrica tours it doesnt include airfare there, so you can shop the airfare on your own find what works best for you as far as price and dates you want, then contact Tripafrica and they'll put together a tour based on the period you are there. If there are places or activities you want they'll make those arrangements also. They gave me a few options and I liked what they were and picked one. I wanted to come a day earlier to just relax and leave a day later so they adjusted my program to that also. On the big company group tours much of it is so scripted and feels rehearsed and like we're cattle being led around with a guide that is constantly feeding us information overload and won't shut up. Not so with Tripafrica, they don't talk your ear off and they give you room to breath while you take in the beauty of the country and the people. They stop when you need to pee right away or want to get a snack or stretch. We stopped and got fresh coconut juice at a roadside stand and waved down people selling water and plantation chips a number of times. Those other tours would never do that and the money we spend goes directly to the members of the community. We stayed at only locally owned places as arranged by Tripafrica to keep it all local. There were a few very minor inconveniences but all were addressed immediately. Just remember that internet connection in rural areas is spotty. Toilets in some places are different as some areas are underdeveloped, like at stops along the way so bring wipes if you like. By the end of the trip we felt like family. Our driver, George was absolutely wonderful getting us to each location safely and timely. I recommend tipping driver and tour guide generously as the saving using small tour companies leaves you the ability.