Great Ghana Adventure

Your adventure begins as you depart the US for your journey to Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. Whether you fly on our chaperoned flight with other members of your group, or come on your own, you’ll be greeted on arrival by the smiling faces of your program leaders for the next weeks of road trip adventure!
After settling in at your hotel, you’ll have your first introduction to Ghanaian food and a cultural orientation session. You’ll have earned a good night’s sleep after your long travels.

Today, you’ll tour Accra, the bustling capital of Ghana. You’ll visit the historic James Town Fort and fishing village, and also learn about Ghana’s independence struggle. Ghana only became independent from British colonial rule in 1957.

Today we depart Accra, for a short flight north to Tamale. This Muslim-majority city is the heart of Northern Ghana. Get to know the city by visiting the mosque and the art market to see how Islam has enriched arts and culture in the north.

Today you’ll take lessons from an expert instructor and learn some of the most well-known Ghanaian drumming rhythms like djembe and the talking drum. You’ll have more time to explore the city and get to connect with your fellow travelers.

You’ll spend these two days at Mole National Park, the largest wildlife reserve in Ghana. It’s home to elephants, patas monkeys, baboons, crocodiles, hartebeest, and hundreds of species of birds. You’ll go out on several driving safaris, a walking safari, and visit a local village to see first-hand the way of life of families in Northern Ghana.

You depart Mole National Park to make the long drive to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. It’s not all car time though – we’ll visit Kintampo Falls for a swim and picnic lunch.

We’ll visit the museum at Manhyia Palace, the home of the chief of the Ashantis and learn about the history of the Ashanti people and how they fought and traded with Europeans over gold and slaves. In the afternoon, we’ll head out of Kumasi to visit a few local Ashanti villages where we can learn about the famous local traditional cloth, kente. You’ll even get to try your hand at weaving.

Today we leave Kumasi to go south to Cape Coast. We’ll visit the famous Fort Williams lighthouse, watch the sunset over the Cape Coast, and settle in for a good night of sleep before our service work starts tomorrow.

On these days, we’ll have the chance to work at the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind. We’ll provide the school with welcome help in accomplishing various projects that they need. These could include road improvement, cleaning, painting, or various other activities to make the campus safer and more enriching for students.

Kakum National Park is home to seven rope bridges in the forest canopy that provide impressive viewing of the forest canopy, as well as antelope, monkeys, and countless species of birds. After this, we visit Cape Coast Castle. You’ll learn about the history of the West African slave trade, and see the last place where captive slaves stood in Africa before boarding ships to the Americas. We’ll end the evening with a performance of traditional Ghanaian dance that will take you deep into the culture and music of the local people.

We’ll make our way back to Accra for a quick stop at the Accra Arts Center. Here, you’ll find crafts such as masks, paintings, and weavings from all across Ghana. Maybe you’ll even find the perfect souvenir for someone back home.

At the end of each program, students reflect on their experiences and the issues they engaged with, and talk about how to apply this new understanding to their own worlds. During or after their closing discussion, groups participate in Rustic Ties, a unique and powerful activity that allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.

This evening, we head to the airport to board our overnight flight home. Return home to the sights, sounds, and smells you grew up with, and the loved ones who will greet you at the airport as you say goodbye to your newfound friends. Know that you’re back where you started this journey, but you’ve been changed, and your next journey awaits.