Food and Drinks:

Coco Lounge

Coco Lounge is a restaurant tucked into the corner of a mall in Accra. The restaurant features a unique interior, with lighting displays that always inspire pictures. While Coco Lounge is a bit expensive for Ghanaian standards, it is quite reasonably priced for international standards. You can expect to pay between $15-25 for a meal, including drinks. What makes this restaurant really great though is the wide variety of food they offer. Ranging from burgers, to quesadillas, to pasta and pizza, everything comes out wonderfully. Lastly, this is a great place for birthdays and celebrations! When asked, the waiters and waitresses dance and put on quite a show for any party!

Photo provided by the Coco Lounge Facebook Page.

Vida E Caffe

For anyone who loves cafe culture, and a comforting coffee shop to do work in, there are very few options in Accra. Luckily, one of the main chain cafe’s that can be found in Accra is Vida E Caffe. The stores, owned by a Portuguese company, can be found all over the city, including less than 10 minutes away from the NYU Accra residence hall. Patrons can enjoy a wide range of music, comfortable atmosphere, and delicious coffee while working or just hanging out with their friends. The service staff is always friendly, greeting every customer as they walk in and serving food and coffee with incredibly promptness. As far as price range goes, a coffee averages at about $2.5, with snacks ranging from $3-4.

Tandoor

If you’re looking for good Indian food, a small restaurant nestled in the suburbs of the Labone, the neighborhood which is also host to the NYU residence hall and campus. The atmosphere is the epitome of cozy, with outdoor and indoor seating available. Low hanging lights decorate the bungalow style patio, while the indoor seating is surrounded by bright colors. There is a wide variety of food, with different styles of Indian food available. For those who love Indian food but are worried about heat levels, there are still options! Price ranges for this restaurant vary based on whether you are ordering a single dish for each person, or planning to share a family style meal. One entree is approximately 10 USD, but a family style meal (with rice, naan, and several dishes) usually comes to about 20 USD.

The Republic

The Republic is a local, go-to bar for both young Ghanaians and ex-pats. Located just next to the Oxford Mall in the Osu area of town, The Republic offers live music, dancing, snacks, and several different specialty drinks. There is karaoke once a week, along with trivia nights and many other events, there is always something you can expect. This bar routinely ranks as one of the best places to visit on guides for Accra.

The Fokn Bois performing at The Republic.

Afrikiko

While The Republic is a good mix of Ghanaian and ex-pats, Afrikiko is the best place to go for a more typical Ghanaian bar experience. People of all ages will come, listen to modern Ghanaian music, and dance the night away. This is not dancing as you’d find in Shanghai or New York clubs, but it is much more festive and energetic. The outdoor bar serves food too, meaning that you could definitely spend quite a bit of time there. Afrikiko is definitely worth checking out at least once, but with weekly events like Salsa Night, it is easy to keep coming back.

City Exploration:

The Artist Alliance Gallery

Accra’s premiere art gallery, the Artist Alliance Gallery, hosts a wide range of styles and themes from Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian artists alike. The gallery ranges from modern art, contemporary art, art with a political message, and also sells a significant amount of traditional Ghanaian art. While there, you can see examples of traditional masks, fabrics, and statues. Most notably is the striking example of Ghanaian funeral caskets that welcome customers on the first floor. These caskets are huge models, some of shoes, one of a castle, and even a car. While this style of funeral arrangement may not be as popular now, the caskets are immortalized in museums and this gallery alike. Kwame Nkrumah MausoleumThe Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum is located in the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. This huge structure is dedicated to the life, and death, of the first president of Ghana. Touring the park, museum, and mausoleum only takes about an hour, but provides a good background to the political complexities of Ghana.

Makola Markets

One of the first things anyone arriving in Ghana notices is the huge amount of vibrant fabrics worn by nearly everyone. Ghanaians wear these fabrics in traditional styles, but also with more contemporary styles of clothing. For anyone who is interested in having some more authentic Ghanaian clothing, the Makola Markets is the perfect place to start. Fabric in every color and combination can be found, for incredibly low prices. A yard of fabric can range from $2-4, and some of the market sellers are willing to bargain. From there, it is fairly cheap to have a shirt, pants, skirt, or dress made custom for you.

Chale Wote Festival

Since 2011, James Town Accra has hosted the Chale Wote Festival in early August each year. This festival has every possible element of art that can be found in Accra. You can look forward to a huge stage with music performances, including more typical Ghanaian music as well as rap and hip-hop. Along the streets of James Town there is also performance art, spoken word, street art, and so much more. This event is an absolute must, if you are there in August. More info on the festival can be found here.

Photo by Kevin Pham

Outside of Accra:

Hiking and Outdoor Exploration

For anyone that wants to hike and explore the nature that is in Ghana, a small company has all of your needs covered. Bravehearts Expeditions provides transportation, guides, and food, for their trips -- all at extremely reasonable prices. They can arrange private tours for a small group (a bit more expensive) or you can join a prearranged expedition (much cheaper). They do everything from one-day hiking and abseiling trips, to multi-day hiking and camping trips which include crossing the Togolese border. The owner and director of Bravehearts is always willing to answer questions, help plan trips, and provide resources for anyone interested in the outdoors. For more information, and a way to contact and reserve spots on expeditions, check out their website here.

NYU Accra student Christine Alexander abseiling outside of Accra. (Photo by Christine Alexander)

NYU Accra student Olivia Boyce on a hiking and abseiling expedition outside of Accra. (Photo by Christine Alexander)

Traveling In and Around Ghana:

Traveling outside of Accra is super cheap, but even without taking any extra trips there are still plenty of opportunities to see Ghana. NYU Accra takes its students on several different trips, to very different parts of Ghana. During the Elmina trip, students get to spend some time on the beach, in a forest, and are exposed to a tour of the Elmina Slave Castle. Up north, in Tamale, students tour historical and religious sites of the Northern Region. In the Volta region, students spend some time in a more rural village interacting with the families and communities. For people who do want to travel more, there are plenty of opportunities. A trotro/bus to Togo, a neighboring French country, costs roughly $5. The visa can be bought either upon arrival, or purchased in advance at the Embassy in Accra. I would suggest buying your visa in advance, as the border is often times quite chaotic. The main thing to remember when traveling around Ghana is that it will be chaotic, as the transportation systems are not standardized. That being said, day trips and weekend trips are all incredibly affordable for anyone on a budget. This article was written by Claire Schapira. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Given under photos. All other photos by Claire Schapira.