Travel Photo: Ghana Coast in the Anloga Region at Atorkor
Travel Photos: Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
Supposedly, about 12 MILLION people visit the Giza Pyramids every single year. Wow, that’s a lot of tourists — and I was one of them the other day on my way from Nairobi to Accra.
Holiday Inn Apparently Stands for Luxury in Ghana. No Joke.
After arriving in Accra from Nairobi, we paid $18 for a single budget hotel room a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport. However, we drove past Holiday Inn and learned that if you are a high roller, you could stay at the Holiday Inn for upwards of $350 a night; the most expensive hotel in Accra supposedly.
Seriously, WTF is that all about? I guess Holiday Inn being a luxury in Ghana is no different than McDonald’s being viewed as a luxury brand in Europe whereas in the United States it hovers near the very bottom of the luxury brand hierarchy just above WalMart.
Getting a Visa into Ghana Upon Arrival
Getting a Ghana visa upon arrival can be done, but be ready to answer the question “Why did you not get a visa prior to arrival?” My answer was “I didn’t have time”, which I admit was just a lame excuse for being lazy and not going to the Ghana embassy in Nairobi. The Visa cost $150 (as of October 2010). I’d recommend bringing American dollars with you to cover it, but if necessary, you can use the ATM machine at the airport upon arrival to withdraw Ghanaian Citi and exchange that for dollars. However, you might be out of luck if you have Mastercard and not Visa — in all of Ghana (there is an “row of ATMs in the mall”, but not a single Mastercard). In addition to 150 US dollars, bring a letter from an organization or individual sponsor living in Ghana explaining the reason for your visit, a copy of your flight itinerary out of Ghana, and a copy of your bank statement in order to prove you have available funds just to be safe. We didn’t get asked for our bank statements during the visa process, but better safe than sorry.
Travel Photo: Black Rhino in Kenya
Cheap Flights Out of Ghana
In short, there aren’t any — at least from my research when trying to find a ticket out of Accra near the end of November. So if you manage to make it into Ghana, make sure that you budget a fair amount ($1,000+) for a plane ticket out of Accra – it likely won’t be cheap unless you know peeps in the travel industry that can get you discounted airfare. Based on my research, it’ll cost you upwards of $1,000 to get anywhere from Accra – whether that be Nairobi, Madrid, or Washington DC doesn’t much matter.
United has a non stop route to Washington DC, which is likely to be your best option for those flying to the states. The other cheapest flights I saw seem to be through Cairo or Istanbul.
Travel Photos: Hells Gate National Park, Kenya
Travel Photo: Sphinx in Giza, Egypt
What’s with the Crazy Airfare Between African Countries?
When I was looking at flights from Accra to South Africa a week or so ago (which I ultimately couldn’t currently afford), I came to realize that airfare within Africa is insanely expensive. Like crazy expensive. Basically to get anywhere from Accra (where I am right now) is roughly $1,000 – whether that be to Nairobi, Madrid, or Washington DC doesn’t matter. Getting to South Africa was even worse at $1350. I’d make a big bet that if Africa as a whole took some steps to make flights between African nations more affordable (when will there be a “Southwest Airlines of Africa”), then they’d see a substantial boost in overall tourism – particularly from budget travelers who often spend all their money in Europe and Southeast Asia. Almost everyone I talk to wants to venture to Africa, but the transportation costs to and from are the primary reason for someone not pulling the trigger on a trip. Either that or, and they won’t usually say this, but they are just not ready to deal with the inconveniences of the non-Westernized world & to see the way the majority of the world lives on a daily basis. Regardless, I think cheaper airfare within Africa could lure half of those budget travelers currently on the fence about visiting Africa — by enabling budget travelers to afford to visit multiple countries in a single trip over the course of a few months rather than being limited to a single country for $2,000 in airfare.