10 Day Traditional Religious Festival Tour

Day 1                          AKWAABA-WELCOME
Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from airport to your hotel. Depending on time of arrival, you will be welcomed with cultural drumming and dancing.  Welcome drink and orientation. Overnight at hotel in Accra.

Day 2                          ACCRA CITY TOUR
Depart Elmina after an enjoyable breakfast on your beach front resort.  Drive east through scenic fishing villages to Accra. After check in at your hotel, enjoy a sightseeing city tour of Accra, the capital city of Ghana.  This 132-year-old city has a blend of colonial and modern architecture that summarize her history. Visit the W. E. B. Dubois Center for Pan African Culture, Independence/Black Star Square and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. After lunch on your own at Ghanaian Restaurant, you will end your tour at the Arts Centre where you will have the opportunity to use your bargaining skills  has a variety of crafts and artifacts from Ghana and West Africa, an opportunity to use your bargaining skills.  Overnight at hotel in Accra, Ghana

DAY 3                         KAKUM NATIONAL PARK / CAPE COAST CASTLE

Breakfast at hotel. Depart for a drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of the West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests.  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 which hangs suspended at 60 meters above the forest ground. You may choose to have lunch at Hans Cottage Botel while watching the resident crocodiles and busy weaver birds (optional). After lunch, visit the renowned Cape Coast Castle built by the Swedes in 1653 and later taken over by the British. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum. As you take this tour you will see history unfolding the story of the slave trade; which has impacted millions at home and abroad.   Overnight at hotel in Elmina.

DAY 4                        ASANTEMAN (Ashanti Empire)
After breakfast check out and depart your hotel for a scenic drive through the forest zone to Kumasi, seat of the Ashanti Empire to explore the legends of the famous Ashantis, whose legacies are still evident today.  Upon arrival visit Manhyia Palace Museum, the home and office of former Asante’s kings. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artifacts. Visit Fort St. George built by Nana Osei Tutu Kwamena in 1820 with the assistance from the Dutch and now serving as the Military Museum. Later, enjoy a drive through the city to see the many monuments dedicated to the memory of the great Ashanti people.  End the day’s tour at the National Cultural Center which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of the brass makers, potters and batik makers.  Overnight at hotel in Kumasi.

DAY 5                         ASHANTI CRAFT VILLAGES
This day is devoted to visiting the three famous craft villages. Depart to Ahwiaa, the wood carvers’ village, Ntonso, the home of Adinkra and Bonwire, the Kente weaving village.  You will have an opportunity to see how African crafts are made and to buy directly from the artisans who make them. Later, drive through the forest zone to Accra. Overnight at hotel in Accra.

Day 6                           ACCRA - COTONOU
Breakfast at hotel.   Depart Accra for a scenic drive along the coast to Cotonou.  Stop over at Lome for lunch on your own. Continue the journey to Cotonou.  Check in and spend the remainder of the day at leisure. Overnight at hotel in Cotonou.

Day 7               COTONOU – OUIDAH (VOODOO FESTIVAL)
 Depart for a visit to Ouidah, the cradle of African Traditional Religion.  Join the local people of Ouidah as the nation (Benin) celebrates Voodoo Festival. This religious holiday serves the purpose of honoring victims of slavery with solemn ceremonies of remembrance and wreathes laid at monuments of slavery. Elders, priests and priestesses perform ceremonies and make offering to the gods seeking bountiful harvest and humbly asking for protection from evil influences.  It is a joyous occasion accompanied by colorful costumes and much singing, dancing and drumming.  Tour the temple dedicated to the sacred Python, which is believed to give vitality and protection; you will also pay a visit to the sacred forest which houses many shrines dedicated to various deities. Visit the historical Museum of Ouidah located in an old Portuguese fort built in 1721. This Museum portrays Benin's role in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Later, visit the Port of No Return; a monument built by the Benin Government to commemorate the Africans that were taken from the Dahomey Empire during the Slave Trade. Return to Cotonou for overnight.

Day 8                        COTONOU - GANVIE - ABOMEY

After breakfast, make a sensational visit to Ganvie (the village on water), commonly referred to as the Venice of West Africa. Witness first hand, the people of Ganvie carrying out their daily routine as vendors in dugout canoes pile high with wares, transacting commerce with one another and with tourists. You will enjoy shopping on the floating market and taking a relaxing canoe ride on the waterways of this exotic 300-year-old village.  Later, depart Cotonou for a drive 144 km north to Abomey, the historical capital of the great kingdom of Dahomey. Visit the Royal Palace and its museum with relics that tell the story of this great kingdom that survived for several centuries. Return to Cotonou for overnight.

Day 9                            COTONOU– ACCRA
After breakfast, depart Cotonou for Accra via Lome. Stop over at Lome for lunch on your own and then continue to Accra.  Overnight at hotel in Accra.

DAY 10                       DAY AT LEISURE / DEPARTURE
Day at leisure and final preparation towards your journey back home.   Early evening transfer to airport for check-in. Departure back home. 

** DISCLAIMER: Cost will vary depending on group size. Contact a member of the team at travelafrica@landtours.com to get a customized quote. The Cost of package will increase if hotels and transportation cost increases. Quote will be reviewed 3 months before your tour begins; and you will be notified accordingly .

** Please note: Landtours Ghana Ltd. is not an organizer of the Traditional Religious Festival, and is not responsible for any possible changes in dates, venue, or entry fee. We will inform our registered participants of changes, if any, as they occur. We reserve the right to modify the tour itinerary if change becomes necessary, we will offer and provide a comparable tour itinerary, within the constraints imposed by local conditions. Registered participants will be able to opt out at this time.