While preparing your trip to Ghana you probably ask yourself “what do I have to bring with me?”. First of all we want to say: don’t worry. When you book a tour with us, you will receive a document in your mailbox with a packing list and some other relevant information.
To give you a small introduction to this document we will share five things you definitely have to leave at home.
Above a picture of really necessary (and personal!) things you have to bring. We will soon write about those things too.
Lots of clothes
First of all always try to pack as light as possible. During our latest trip we travelled for two months with only hand luggage. Check here exactly what we brought.
During a round trip or package tour we mostly use the public transportation, and you have to carry your own luggage. It is also very common in Ghana that you pay an extra luggage fee, so save yourself stress for carrying your stuff and save yourself some money.
The best advice is to pack for just a week, even you go much longer. We often made the mistake to bring too much clothes, and ended up wearing the same clothes over and over again. After a while you will know which clothes you will really wear, and which are just useless in your bag. So a week for underwear, one or two pair of socks, some tops and bottoms is fine. For the footwear go for slippers (for bathing, you can buy them cheap in Ghana), sandals and closed shoes for hiking. If you are planning to go out, also bring some night out outfit.
Other accessories you should bring (but also can get in Ghana) are a hat and sunglasses.
You will get more package advice after booking a tour.
Lots of food
Another thing we used to do a lot is bringing lots of food from home. You can understand this is very unpractical during a round trip, as well as super unnecessary because there is so much food in Ghana!
There is a big supermarket called Shoprite with lots of branches in the country (Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi), as well as Melcom with even more branches (but less choices). Also on markets you can find things like chips and candy (this is what we used to bring when staying at family compounds far from the big cities), so no need to bring this.
And by the way, isn’t trying new dishes and tasting different food products part of the adventure too? During our food tours you will definitely try some ingredients you didn’t hear of before.
Washing powder
This is actually true for all kinds of cleaning solutions, and things like soap, shampoo and deodorant. If you don’t have allergies, you can easily buy all this in Ghana.
You probably don’t even need washing powder and other cleaning products, since most hotelshave a washing service and you don’t have to clean your own room. We highly recommend you to bring soap, shampoo and deodorant in small sizes (especially you have to when you travel with hand luggage only) because you can easily get this in Ghana. The usual brands are available, but also take a look at black soap which is a natural soap with many benefits.
Big towels
Most hotels provide towels, so there is no need to bring a lot of them yourself. Nowadays we always bring one fast drying towel. It dries very fast (duh) and is thin so it doesn’t take up so much space. Really worth the investment!
Balloons, candy and toys for children you meet
And then this point. We will inform you more about this issue after your booking, but leave all this kind of things at home. Unless you are going to visit a family you know, we don’t understand why you would do this. It takes a lot of your bag space, so if you want to give people you know something try to buy it in Ghana. That’s how you both support the local economy and surprise people with a gift.
If you are just touring around with us, don’t bring or buy any of this. You won’t do this on a holiday in Europe, so don’t do it in Ghana. It is odd to give children you don’t know candy or balloons (also very bad for the environment).
Never hesitate to ask us if the product you have in mind is useful to bring. And have in mind during a tour there is lots of time to buy things you forgot, or ask your guide to do it if (s)he can’t join one of the activities.