Exhibit at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities(Courtesy of Egyptian Tourist Authority) © Gardel

Meal(s) Included: No

Overnight at Safir Hotel or Similar

Visit The Egyptian Museum of antiquities where a vast treasure of numerous objects made of gold, bronze, alabaster, silver from Egypt's most glamorous times are exhibited including the new mummy room and the objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Continue to Old Cairo, the Coptic area of Cairo where the Romans constructed the fortress of Babylon. You will see the ruins of the fortress towers of the church of St. Mary, more commonly known as the Hanging Church.  Dinner at a local restaurant.

Photo: Camel ride around Giza, Public Domain

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Safir Hotel or Similar

In the morning, drive to Alexandria, "The Pearl of the Mediterranean," built by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. The highlights of the tour include the Greco-Roman Museum, which showscases the history and archaeology during the Roman Era; Fort of Qaitbey, which was built in the 1480's by Sultan Qaitbey, houses the Lighthouse of Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the Pillar of Pompey which is the tallest ancient monument in Alexandria; and the Ancient Catacombs of Kom El-Shuqafa which dates back to the first century AD.

Photo: Bibliotheca Alexandria, Public Domain

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Safir Hotel or Similar

After breakfast, you will go on a tour of the pyramids of Giza, you will see the 3 gigantic pyramids; the Sphinx which dates back to 3000 years B.C.  You will also visit the Solar Boat Museum. After lunch you will visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities; you will get a  guided tour of the artifacts  from Ancient Egypt dating back to 5000 BC. Including the Tut-Ankh-Amen collection. Have dinner on the Citadel Cruise along The Nile.

Photo: Cairo’s Citadel, Public Domain

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Safir Hotel or Similar

Depart Cairo early afternoon to Accra, Ghana. Arrive in Accra late evening. You will be assisted and transferred to your hotel, where you have the evening to your leisure.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast

Overnight at Novotel Accra City Centre Hotel or Similar

Take a city tour of Accra and vicinity including the W.E.B Dubois Center for Pan Africanism and library. W.E.B Dubois, a founder of the NAACP—spent his final years in Ghana. Visit Black Star Square and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial (tomb of Ghana’s first president and a Lincoln University Alumni). Pass by Independence Arch-Accra’s ceremonial grounds. After lunch, visit a local casket making shop to see a collection of caskets carved in the shape of different objects, depicting traditional beliefs in life after death. The “Fantasy Coffins” of Teshie Nungua have been featured in National Geographic and can be found in museums and galleries worldwide.

Photo: Kwame Nkrumah Memorial, Barry Williams

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Novotel Accra City Centre Hotel or Similar

After breakfast, depart to Kumasi, en route stop at Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, which is the first commercial cocoa farm in Ghana. You will touch the actual Cocoa pods. Cocoa is Ghana’s largest export and is used to blend some of the world’s finest chocolates. Continue to Kumasi arriving late afternoon. This evening \visit the Kumasi Fort, completed by the British in 1897 and the site of the Ashanti Rebellion initiated by Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa in 1900. View a collection of the weapons used by the Ashanti Army, photos, and other memorabilia

Photo: Ashanti Royalty,
Galen Frysinger

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Noda Hotel or Similar

After breakfast, visit Kumasi Central Market (also known as Kejetia Market), the largest open-air market in West Africa where more than 10,000 vendors sell just about everything imaginable. Late morning you will visit the Prempreh II Jubilee Museum, named for the former Asantehene (ruler of the Ashanti people) Nana Osei Agyeman Prempreh II. Exhibits include what is said to be a replica of the famed Golden Stool, which is believed to have descended from the sky and is the spiritual symbol of the Ashanti people. After lunch your tour of the Ashanti Region continues with visits to the Ashanti craft villages starting with the Woodcarving Village of Ahwiaa, known for the talented craftsmen who fashion royal stools, walking sticks and fertility dolls. Your second stop is the village of Ntonso where artisans hand-stamp patterns on cotton cloth to make Adinkra textiles that are worn for funerals and other solemn occasions. The third village is Bonwire where the famous Kente cloth is handmade on looms, in a time-honored tradition passed down through generations.

Photo: Kente Cloth Looms, Barry Williams

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Noda Hotel or Similar

Travel to Cape Coast in Ghana’s historic Central Region. En-route you will stop at Assin Manso, the burial site of two former slaves from the U. S. and Jamaica whose remains were re-interred in August 1998 during Ghana’s first Emancipation Day Celebration. You will see the “Slave River” where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slave Castles to await shipment to the Americas and the Caribbean. Continue to Cape Coast where the evening is at leisure.

Photo: Cape Coast Castle, Barry Williams

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at The Coconut Grove Beach Resort or Similar

Photo: Elmina Castle, Barry Williams

Visit (Elmina Castle) Fort Sao Jorge de Elmina – the site of the first European contact with West Africans when the Portuguese landed here in 1471. Elmina Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in 1482 and is the first European structure in sub-Saharan Africa. The castle was also used as a Slave Prison. Impress your friends and family for years to come with the traditional recipes you will learn in your Ghanaian Cooking Workshop. Learn to make fufu, ground nut soup, and palava sauce. Sample some of Ghana's most popular foods. *NOTE: All dishes are made with purified water

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at The Coconut Grove Beach Resort or Similar

Early morning drive to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Extending over 360sq km, Kakum is the home to over 40 large mammals and 400 bird species as well as many species of butterflies, flora and fauna. The most popular attraction is the Canopy walkway, which is made up of seven bridges extending 330m, hanging 30m (100 feet) above the forest floor.  Choose between a 2 km nature walk through this forest to discover the wide variety of exotic floral species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway. This afternoon we will visit Cape Coast Castle which also houses the West African Historical Museum established by the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the Ghanaian Government in 1994. Cape Coast Castle is another restored UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Castle was one of the embarkation points for Africans being shipped to slavery in the Americas. Cape Coast was the capitol of Ghana during the Colonial Era.

Photo: Canopy Walkway at Kakum
National Park, Public Domain

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at The Coconut Grove Beach Resort or Similar

On the return drive to Accra visit the village of Abandze, the home the famous Jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Arrive in Accra early afternoon where you will have a day room to refresh and relax until you are transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast

Included

• Meeting and assistance upon arrival
• Roundtrip airport to hotel transfers and luggage handling
• Hotel accommodation in the indicated properties
• Transportation in private vehicle
• Experienced tour guides
• Meals indicated (11 breakfasts, 10 dinners)
• Admission to sites listed

Not included

• All international flights
• Travel insurance
• Cost of Visa
• Gratuity for drivers and guides
• Meals not indicated