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AccraTravel Guide

Ghana5 stories

Ghana's Atlantic capital hums with highlife music, monumental independence history, and West Africa's warmest welcome — a city best experienced at street level, plate in hand.

Is Accra right for you?

When to come

Dry season, November to March

Around 33°C by day in February, 28°C in August — recorded at the local weather station.

What it costs

Mid-range. Comfortable without planning around money, expensive if you stop counting.

What we've planned, and who for

We have a weekend here planned hour by hour.

Accra is inWarm in JanuaryEnough for a long weekend
When to go
January: around 33 degrees by day, 25 at night, 12 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
February: around 33 degrees by day, 25 at night, 26 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
March: around 33 degrees by day, 25 at night, 61 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
April: around 33 degrees by day, 25 at night, 88 millimetres of rain, wet.
May: around 32 degrees by day, 25 at night, 151 millimetres of rain, very wet.
June: around 30 degrees by day, 24 at night, 190 millimetres of rain, very wet.
July: around 29 degrees by day, 23 at night, 63 millimetres of rain, some rain.
August: around 28 degrees by day, 23 at night, 21 millimetres of rain, dry and hot.
September: around 30 degrees by day, 23 at night, 43 millimetres of rain, some rain.
October: around 31 degrees by day, 24 at night, 80 millimetres of rain, wet.
November: around 32 degrees by day, 25 at night, 37 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
December: around 32 degrees by day, 25 at night, 27 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
Cold to hot, by dayDry to wetWhen we would go

Dry season, November to March

Average daily highs, recorded at Accra (Accra/Kotoka International Airport), 1991-2020 normals.

Where this comes from

NOAA; Deutscher Wetterdienst (English Wikipedia, 'Accra')

Budget level

Mid-range

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with

Nothing else we cover is within a comfortable hop — this one is a trip of its own.

Plan itWhere to stay in Accraad · Booking.comTours and tickets
On the map

Finding Accra

Open in Google Maps Larger map
The stories

Reading Accra

A street vendor in Accra, Ghana selling a pyramid of boiled eggs stacked on a tray on a plastic stool
01
The List

Nine Things in Accra Worth the Traffic, in Order

Three days in Accra realistically buys you six things, not fifteen, so here are the nine that repay the hours they cost, ranked and argued from the Jamestown fishing harbour to the castles three hours west.

Ghana · 13 min
Four ripe plantains blistering and blackening over the wire rack of a charcoal grill at a roadside stand in Accra
02
Food

Breakfast to Midnight: Eating Your Way Through Accra

Waakye at dawn, jollof at noon, kelewele at dusk and grilled tilapia under the stars — a full day of eating in Ghana's capital, dish by dish.

Ghana · 2 min
A plate of Ghanaian waakye - rice and beans served with spaghetti, gari, a boiled egg and stew
03
Stays

Book the Traffic, Not the Room: Where to Sleep in Accra

Accra is a compact city that drives like a sprawling one, so the district you book matters far more than the room inside it — here is the sleeping map from Osu to the airport, at three budgets.

Ghana · 11 min
A packed central Accra market street seen from a balcony above: hawkers' umbrellas, yellow taxis nose to tail, headloads and traders spreading their goods along the kerb
04
Hidden Gems

The Backstreets and Local Markets of Accra

Beyond the monuments: the secondhand-clothing labyrinth, the herbal medicine stalls, Jamestown's boxing gyms and the workshops where coffins are carved into fish and aeroplanes.

Ghana · 2 min
The Black Star Gate at Independence Square in Accra, inscribed Freedom and Justice
05
Itineraries

48 Hours in Accra, Hour by Hour

Two days through Ghana's capital: Nkrumah's mausoleum, Jamestown's fishing shore, Makola's beautiful chaos, and the best jollof of your life.

Ghana · 2 min
In pictures

Accra, framed

Black Star Square and the Independence Arch on the seafront, Accra
Photo: Nana Kwandoh / Unsplash
Black-and-white low-angle view of a soldier statue with rifle and bugle atop a tall granite memorial column.
Photo: Maxx Sas / Unsplash
Looking straight up at the coffered underside of Accra's Independence Arch, inscribed 'Freedom and Justice.'
Photo: ZSarpong / Unsplash
Bronze statue of Kwame Nkrumah with arm raised, backed by the white stone arches of his Accra memorial park.
Photo: WyteShot 📸 / Unsplash
Our picks

What we'd do in Accra

See and do

Eat and drink

Where to stay

Before you go

Practical essentials for Ghana

Money

Ghanaian cedi (GHS)

Language

English is the official language and is spoken fluently nationwide; Akan (Twi) is the most widely spoken indigenous language

Power

Type G, with older Type D sockets still around, 230V 50Hz

Getting around

Shared tro-tro minibuses and unmetered taxis cover Accra, but ride-hailing apps - Uber, Bolt, Yango and inDrive - are the practical choice for a visitor.

Tap water

Not safe from the tap; drink sealed bottled water.

Driving

Right-hand side; the 1949 International Driving Permit is required alongside your national licence.

Emergency

112 (general), 191 (police), 193 (ambulance), 192 (fire)

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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