Arrive Accra; meet assist and transfer to Hotel.

Meal(s) Included: No

Overnight at Novotel Accra City Centre Hotel or Similar

After breakfast start your city tour of Accra and vicinity. You will visit the W.E.B. Dubois Center and library. Visit Black Star Square and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial (the tomb of Ghana's first President). Pass by Independence Arch-Accra's ceremonial grounds. This evening enjoy the New Years celebration at your hotel.

Photo: Kwame Nkrumah Memorial, Barry Williams

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Novotel Accra City Centre Hotel or Similar

After breakfast have a morning at leisure. In the afternoon drive to Cape Coast.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Elmina Bay Resort or Similar

After breakfast visit Cape Coast Castle and the Castle Museum for a guided tour. Cape Coast Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was one of the departure points for Africans being sent to slavery in the Americas. The castle is home to the infamous "Door of No Return." In the afternoon we will visit Elmina Castle, another UNESCO World Heritage Site built in 1482. This castle was the first European structure built in sub-Saharan Africa.

This evening observe the rituals leading up to tomorrow's celebration of Edina Bronya.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Elmina Bay Resort or Similar

Today experience Edina Bronya, or Elmina Christmas, a festival that has been held for centuries in Elmina dating back to the Dutch occupation during the colonial period. This festival takes place on the first Thursday of January. Drumming, dancing and masquerading are all a part of this grand celebration that commemorates the lives of the ancestors. This carnival atmosphere is a great way to start the New Year.
This evening observe the preparations for overnight fishing as the colorful fishing canoes are made ready to go out to sea.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Elmina Bay Resort or Similar

After breakfast, depart Cape Coast for Kumasi. En-route, 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. Visit the "Slave River" where captured Africans were washed before being confined in the Slave Castles to await shipment to the Americas and the Caribbean.

Arrive in Kumasi and visit the Prempreh II Jubilee Museum, named for the former Asantehene (ruler of the Ashanti people), Nana Osei Agyeman Prempreh II. Exhibits include 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.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Miklin Hotel Kumasi or Similar

Today you will visit the Ashanti craft villages. First, learn about woodcarving in the village of Ahwiaa, known for the talented artisans who fashion royal stools, walking sticks and fertility dolls from wood. Next stop is the village of Ntonso, where Artisans hand-stamp patterns on cotton cloth to make Adinkra textiles. Black-on-black and black-on-red Adinkra cloth are worn for funerals and other solemn occasions. Discover how the black dye is made from the bark of trees, and create your own Adinkra sash. Later, visit Bonwire where the famous Kente Cloth is handmade on looms in a time-honored tradition passed down through generations. Observe the Kente weavers creating the traditional Kente Cloth.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Miklin Hotel Kumasi or Similar

After breakfast visit the Manhyia Palace. The Manhyia Palace was built by the British in 1925 to receive Asantehene (ruler of the Ashanti people) Prempeh I when he returned from exile in the Seychelles to resume residence in Kumasi. It was used by the Ashanti kings until 1974. It now serves as a museum, containing a range of items relating to the Ashanti Kingdom.

In the afternoon tour the Kumasi Central Market, the largest traditional market in West Africa.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Miklin Hotel Kumasi or Similar

After breakfast travel to the Volta Region and visit the Aburi Botanical Gardens: Aburi Botanical Gardens was established as an agricultural research station and convalescent home for the British Colonial Administration. The garden overlooks the coastal plain at an elevation of 1,200 – 1,500 ft. above sea level. You will learn about the cultural and medicinal importance of the trees in these gardens. The serene environment leaves lasting memories.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Volta Hotel or Similar

After breakfast return to Accra, enjoy last minute shopping before being transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast

Included

• Meeting and assistance upon arrival
• Assistance at departure on final day
• Roundtrip airport/hotel transfers
• Hotel accommodation in the indicated properties for 9 nights
• Transportation in private vehicle
• Experienced tour guide
• Admission to all listed sites and events
• Meals indicated (9 breakfasts, 8 dinners)

Not Included

• Airfare to/from Ghana
• Cost of visa
• Meals not listed
• Travel Insurance
• Gratuity to driver and guide