We’ve travelled a lot as a couple and we’ve got a pretty solid process for it. Pick a location, pay for flights and accommodation, pack light, as in–hand luggage only light. And spend as little as possible if we can. It’s a process that has worked for us quite well, but it didn’t quite work on our trip to Ghana.

For starters, my mother and her friend accompanied us which meant we didn’t have to sort out accommodation or activities. Also, Ghana isn’t one of those countries you can hop on a plane and just fly to if you’re from the UK, you have to get a visa from the Ghana high commission (£60). Get a bunch of vaccinations including yellow fever (£50). And take anti-malaria medication around two weeks before your flight (£27). Not forgetting sun cream, mosquito repellent and before you know it, you’ve spent £150 per person on top of the cost of the flight.

The British Airways flight we took was a leg up from our typical easyJet/Ryanair flights. They allowed for two 23kg suitcases as well as two sets of hand luggage per person. One person’s allowance was more than enough for both of us, but other people had plans for that extra space. My dad paid for our tickets so it was only fair that we allowed him to take a few things with our extra space. My mum and her friend travelling with us added a few things as well.

Boti falls

Our first tourist stop around four hours from Accra. This place is famous for its twin waterfalls located at the bottom of Kwame Nkrumah’s house. Unfortunately for us the waterfall had but almost dried out, apparently the best time to see them is between July and August, we visited in May. So instead we did something else.

Our tour guide Kennedy took us on a hike nearby and showed us some sights as we walked past them. One, a large footprint on a rock that was said to have been made by the giants of old. We walked past a rocky wall almost cavelike, with loads of holes in it. We were told these were old banks, people would place their gold inside for safe keeping. We later passed another was a rock in the shape of an umbrella (or mushroom). It was such an unusual natural sight and the views of mountains around it were breathtaking. Our final sight was a three-headed palm tree with a so-called, ‘fertility rock’ at its base. Most palm trees have one head, but this was the only one with three, it’s told that if you sit on the rock you’re more likely to have twins or triplets.

Aburi botanical gardens

This was one of my favourite tourist attractions in Ghana. Aburi is about two hours drive from Accra and is up on a hill so much cooler than the capital. The gardens itself was huge and apparently would have taken a few days to see everything, so our tour guide only showed us the highlights.

We first saw a row of cedar trees brought from Lebanon, apparently, these were the exact same trees Solomon used to build his temple. Unfortunately, these trees were being attacked by parasite trees, ones that attack from above and hollow out a tree. In fact, many of the trees in the botanical gardens were being taken over by the parasites which were a sad sight to behold.

We saw some hibiscus plants, nutmeg trees, smelt some cinnamon barks and saw an amazing work of art called, 'the tree if life’. A tree carved by someone called Micheal who took 5 years to do it. It started with people struggling at the bottom of the tree at its roots with animals in the middle and people climbing to the top. The top had kinds and people who had made the climb successfully, it was such an interesting thing to behold and I’m glad we saw it in person, as well as seeing the person who made it.

Black star square

This place was pretty underwhelming. It was a large square with seats all around it and a large arch that lead to the sea. We were told that this part of Accra gets busy during the Ghana independence day celebrations.

The square also has a statue of a soldier near its entrance behind a bowl which looks like it is used for a flame. The roundabout in front of the square gave a good view of Accra, with the independence Arc similar to the Arc de Triumph in Paris.

Kwame Nkrumah museum

One of the few museums in the capital of Ghana. It consists of the burial place of Ghana’s first president and his wife which is surrounded by a large park, and a small museum with pictures and certain belongings of Kwame Nkrumah, we started our tour there. Our tour guide gave a great description of what each item was from his desk to his casket, and also gave clear explanations of most of the pictures on the wall.

We were not allowed to take pictures whilst in the museum but we were allowed to outside. We were told about his grave that it was designed like a tree that was cut short to represent his unfinished work. There was a large sculpture of Kwame pointing forwards above the place where he proclaimed Ghana’s independence as well as a few smaller sculptures blowing trumpets and playing drums to represent the funeral ceremony.

All in all, it was a very educational trip and was to be the first of many things we learnt about Ghana’s history.

Arts centre

This is the part of Ghana that reminded us most of the markets in Marrakech. It was an indoor market with people selling all sorts of things from bracelets, to fabrics, to wooden carved items. All the sellers tried every trick in the book to get your attention. Offering you free items, invading your personal space to explain how great their items were, and of course, tourist get the inflated price so this isn’t somewhere to come to if you don’t like bartering.

What’s more, people continued selling you things outside of the market as you tried to walk away. At one point there was a crowd of four people around us who wouldn’t take no for an answer. We had to slam the door to our car and start driving before they gave up.