benin Tours Benin, Togo & Ghana Expedition

Itinerary:

Day 1  Cotonou, Benin    
Arrive in Cotonou and transfer to your hotel. Later this evening meet with your tour leader and fellow travellers.    

Day 2  Cotonou to Ouidah
This morning take a short drive to the lake village of Ganvie. On arrival take a guided tour on Lake Nokoue in a pirogue (a traditional boat) used by West African fisherman and visit the stilt village, here you will get to learn about how the “water men” as they are known, fish to support their community. Continue onto Ouidah where you spend the next two nights.    

Day 3  Ouidah
Spend the morning on a guided city tour of Ouidah, the historic centre of voodooism in Benin. Visit the History Museum, the Avenue d’Esclaves as well as many other notable sites. Your guided tour comes to an end with a traditional voodoo dance performance, a ritual used to call on or pray to spirits. The rest of the day is free to spend at leisure.  

Day 4  Ouidah to Lome, Togo    
Leave Ouidah behind as you cross the border into Togo, continue onto Lome via Lake Togo. On arrival at the lake take a boat ride to visit Togoville, a historic town renowned for its royal palace and colonial church. There’s still a strong voodoo influence in the town today, with plenty of fetish stalls dotted throughout the streets. Afterwards continue to Lome, the capital of Togo, one of Africa’s smallest countries and is one of the few capitals to sit on a border with another country which gives Lome a unique lifestyle and architecture, a cross between people, trades and cultures.    

Day 5  Lome to Accra, Ghana    
After breakfast, head west on a four hour journey leaving Lome and into Ghana. Arrive into Accra and visit the many sites on offer, including the National Musuem filled with fascinating displays on the country’s history and culture – indigenous arts and crafts, musical instruments. Another interesting site worth a visit is the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park erected in memory of Ghana’s first president and who led Ghana to independence in 1957. In the evening, sample Accra's lively nightlife, heading out to one of its many bars and restaurants.  

Day 6  Accra to Kumasi    
Drive inland for about six hours to the ‘Garden City’ of Kumasi, nicknamed for its beautiful flora. The city is the beating heart of Ashanti history and is seen as the home of Ghanaian culture. Today, this hilly city is home to over one million people and has quite a cosmopolitan feel about it. After lunch visit the nearby Kejetia Market, the largest open-air market in West Africa.      

Day 7  Kumasi    
Today you’ll visit the museum of the palace, which sits close to the current royal residence. It was built by the British in 1925 and was home to the Ashanti Kings until 1974. In the museum you will learn about the functions of each room and see artefacts belonging to the kings. Continue your tour of the Kumasi area with visits to nearby villages, where you meet talented artisans; weavers of Ghana’s beautiful kente cloth and sculptors of wood carvings.

Day 8  Kumasi to Elmina    
A long day lies ahead as you journey to the fishing port town of Elmina on the south coast of Ghana, en route stop of at a cocoa plantation to learn about how this global commodity is grown and harvested. Arrive into Elmina and check into your hotel. The evening is free to spend at leisure, perhaps relax on the beach after a day of travels.    

Day 9  Elmina to Anomabo Beach
Explore Elmina today with a visit to St George's Castle, built along the shoreline of the Gold Coast – the former name of modern day Ghana. Built between the 15th and 18th Centuries by European trading powers, these castles became the point from which an estimated 12 million Africans were shipped to the Americas. Continue to explore this busy little fishing town by taking a walking tour and discover the Pursubans animist (the traditional religion of Ghana) shrines. After lunch it’s a short drive to the quiet resort town of Anomabo Beach, your home for the evening    

Day 10  Anomabo Beach
Enjoy a relaxing day at this beautiful beach resort or you can take an optional day trip to the Cape Coast. Once the centre of British administration and capital of the Gold Cost between 1700 and 1877, Cape Coast is awash with colonial architecture.

Day 11  Anomabo Beach to Accra    
After breakfast return to Accra in the afternoon where your tour comes to an end.

Departs: