Roots and Routes Tours

Arrive in Accra, Ghana. Transfer from the airport to your hotel. Overnight at a hotel in Accra.

After breakfast, depart for a sightseeing tour of Accra, the Capital of Ghana. Experience the city’s highlights during this Accra orientation. The capital of Ghana since 1877, Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region. In addition, it’s the country’s most populous city. Travel through the administrative and economic districts of Accra. Also, see the Artiste Alliance Gallery, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Pan African Culture, the Independence/Black Star Square, and Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.
Learn about important events in Ghana’s history and about the country’s first president who helped lead Ghana to independence. End the day’s tour at the Arts Center, where participants can sharpen their bargaining skills to shop for goods from Ghana and West Africa in an open-air market. Overnight at a hotel in Accra. Meals Included: Breakfast or Dinner.

After breakfast, depart to Cape Coast and drive through the historic Denkyira Kingdom to Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rain forests. Choose between a 2 km nature walk through the rain forest to discover the wide variety of exotic flora and fauna species and the medicinal values they offer or take a walk on the canopy walkway hanging 40 meters above the forest ground.After lunch on your own, embark on a tour of the infamous Forts, Castles, and Slave Dungeons of Ghana. History will unfold the story of the slave trade which the impact is still felt beyond the shores of Africa today. Visit the Cape Coast Castle built by the Swedes in 1653 and was later taken over by the British. Here, you would learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible.

It is an opportunity to be up and close with history – to stand in the dark and stuffy dungeons, imagining the experience and conditions that millions of Africans endured. This castle also houses the West African Historical Museum. Overnight at a hotel in Cape Coast / Elmina. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

Explore Elmina, a fishing village that’s both picturesque and gritty, charming and though-provoking. What better way to appreciate it than to immerse oneself in its main industry – fishing! Meet with local fishermen to learn the intricacies of their trade and the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. Next, meet the fishmongers in the village who will demonstrate the various stages of smoking the fish in earthenware ovens. This is a unique way to experience one of Ghana’s oldest and important trades.After lunch on your own, visit Elmina Castle, also known as St. George’s Castle, which was built by the Portuguese in 1482. Here, learn about the relationship between the western slave traders and the African tribes that participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here participants will witness the dark and stuffy dungeons local people were forced to endure before being sent on a long and perilous passage across the Atlantic. To see the truth of these conditions in person is a powerful reminder of the inhumanity of the slave trade. Overnight at a hotel in Cape Coast / Elmina. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

Join the group for “kasa” (talk time). Kasa provides an opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian culture or simply talk to each other and share impressions of the tour experience. Kasa discussions are led by your tour leader or tour guide. (This activity is optional).

Take a drive through the southern forest zone to Kumasi, the seat of the Ashanti Empire. En route to Kumasi you will stop at Assin Manso, the site of “DonkorNsuo”, the former Slave River and market, the final transit point for a large number of enslaved Africans. This is the final resting place for two ancestors whose mortal remains were returned from the USA and Jamaica and re-interred there.

Continue your drive to Kumasi where you will visit Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain firsthand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom. A regal history that dates back to 1700 is told with relics and artefacts. Enjoy a drive through the city with 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 a hotel in Kumasi. Meals Included: Breakfast and Dinner.

Depart Kumasi to Accra with a stop on the way at Besease shrine, a world heritage site. The Besease Shrine is a traditional fetish shrine near the town of Ejisu. Each of these shrines is a home for a particular spirit, called obosom, that mediates between mortals and the supreme god Nyame. Observe the unique architecture and experience the mode of ancestral worship to the ancient gods. Upon arrival, you will be picked up by your local families and sent to their homes where you will be hosted and pass the night. Overnight with a local family. Meals Included: Breakfast.

This day presents an opportunity to spend the day with your host family to experience the local family setting in West Africa. If this day falls on a weekend, there will be an opportunity to attend a wedding, funeral or gathering of family and friends as well as a church visit on a Sunday. After early dinner, you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel. Overnight at a hotel in Accra. Meals Included: Breakfast or Dinner.

Join the group for “kasa” (talk time). Kasa provides an opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian culture or simply talk to each other and share impressions of the tour experience. Kasa discussions are led by your tour leader or tour guide. (This activity is optional).

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and depart Ho to a beautiful village located on the lower course of the splendid Volta River. You will pay a courtesy call on the chief and elders amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers. The group will participate in a naming ceremony of recognition, where a Ghanaian name is given to participants, and a gift presented as part of celebrating a new identity as a Ghanaian and a member of the local community.

After lunch, return to Accra and relax. Afterwards, you will engage in community outreach. If your visit is on a weekday and school is in session, you will assist the local school by teaching the students for a few hours. Overnight at a hotel in Accra. Meals Included: Breakfast or Dinner.

Spend the remainder of the day packing and doing last minute shopping. Transfer to the airport for check-in and final departure back home.