Country Information

The only practical way to travel quickly to Ghana from outside of West Africa is by air. There is no national carrier but airlines with scheduled flights to Accra include British Airways (www.ba.com), Delta Airlines (www.delta.com), Emirates (www.emirates.com), Ethiopia Airways (www.ethiopianairlines.com), Gambia Bird (www.gambiabird.com), KLM (www.klm.com) and Virgin (www.virgin-atlantic.com). Ticket prices to Accra are not significantly affected by season. Flights from the US and Canada tend to be expensive, so North Americans with more time than money may find it cheaper to fly to London, or elsewhere in Europe, and organise a ticket to West Africa from there.

Any departure taxes will be included in the price of your air ticket.

Avoid flying to Ghana on a one-way ticket. For one, you may hit serious problems with airport immigration officials if you don't arrive on a return ticket, And when you decide to return home, you'll find that flights out of Accra are very expensive, so you'll almost certainly end up paying double what you would for a cheap return

Accra Kotoka International Airport (ACC). (www.gacl.com.gh) Accra Kotoka International Airport is situated 10km (6 miles) north of Accra city centre. Tel: <p>0302 776 171.</p>.

Main ports include Takoradi and Tema. Ships run between Tema and Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and South Africa.

A few cruise ships running between Europe and southern Africa will stop off in Ghana, usually in Takoradi, but not for long enough to allow time to explore the country.

Coming by road, it should be emphasised that the Ghanaian embassies in most West African countries, including of its three immediate neighbours, will not normally issue visas to non-residents. This means that you may be barred entry to Ghana unless you bought your visa in advance in your normal country of residence.