Experiencing Ghana In 48 hrs - My Top 7 Things To Do In Accra

Figuring out things to do in Accra and places to visit during our trip to Ghana ideally should have been one of the first things on our list, after the budget of course. We looked up a few places, yes. Also spent some time scrolling through Instagram, following hashtags with the word “Ghana” or “Accra” in them and reaching out to people we knew via social media in Ghana but it was nothing too in-depth.

We left a lot of things to “We’ll figure it out when we get there”. For one, we went at a time where there was literally nothing happening in the Ghana Social scene and then we had just a few days to spend – Actually just 2 days because we spent the first day practically on the road on the longest road trip ever (Read about that here).

Most of the people we reached out to didn’t pull through but we just had to utilize our time to the fullest and figure out things to do in Accra by ourselves, so we got our books, made a short list and decided to go explore Ghana.

How did it go?

Better than I expected actually! We did the first five things on this list in a day and it was such an experience feeling all touristy and navigating an unknown place alone. Definitely an experience!

Enough talk though. Here’s a quick list of places we visited with the 48hrs we had to spare and a few things to do in Accra if you ever visit and have a short time to spend. P.S – Picture heavy post below!

How To spend 48 hrs in Ghana - Check Out These 7 Things To Do With 48hrs In Accra Click To Tweet

1. Shop At Makola Market

Makola Market was our first stop! I was hoping to find a few souvenirs to bring back and Alex wanted to get kente fabric, so we got the receptionist at the hotel we stayed to get us an uber and off we went.

Makola market is a major market in Accra, a bit like Balogun Market in Lagos but less congested. I was super impressed to find that all that name calling and people dragging you around wasn’t going to be a problem because Ghanaians seem to be way more civilized than Nigerians. We spent a while walking around the market, taking in the scene and trying not to get scammed before leaving with a few things to take back. We had to close our eyes at some point and just run away from the market because there was a lot to buy and we didn’t want to be tempted.

2. Explore Jamestown.

After we left the market, we got a straight bike at the Makola junction straight to Jamestown which was just a short distance away. James Town is one of Accra’s oldest neighborhoods with lots of colonial style buildings, graffiti walls and a rich cultural history. Definitely, a must visit place if you ever go to Accra.

Jamestown Lighthouse

Our main reason for visiting Jamestown was to see the Jamestown light house and maybe climb to the top of it, but we ended up just taking pictures of it. I hear it’s an amazing view at the top so I regret not doing that. We met a man who volunteered to show us around and also told us about the fishing village (Which we had no idea of prior to meeting him)

Fishing Village, Jamestown

The Jamestown fishing village reminded me a bit of Makoko, I’ve never been to Makoko but the whole fishing settlement and boats thing just made me think of Makoko. It was really interesting interacting with the locals, seeing how they fish and make their livelihood off fishing and exploring the fishing village. It also helped that the boats make for a good picture props too, so I had to take a shot (or two) for the gram.

3. See The Independence Square

The independence square was one place we kept seeing in pictures of Ghana on Instagram so we had to go check it out too! From the light house, we took another quick straight bike down to the independence square. Notice how linkable all these places are? Made our day out exploring super easy as they were all easy to connect.

The Independence square, also known as Black Star Square, has two monuments: the Independence Arch and the Black Star Gate (the one pictured above). We met a bunch of people having a shoot there and they ruined our chances of taking our own cool shots.

Thinking Of Visiting Ghana? Read This Travel Guide For A Quick List Of Top Places To Visit Click To Tweet

4. Take A Walk in Osu – Oxford Street

Osu is a suburb of Accra, close to the center of the city and it is like the Victoria Island of Accra (In my opinion). All the hubs, restaurants, cool places, cafes, boutiques, night clubs seems to be located here. Especially on Oxford street. We didn’t know this at the time of our visit though. Our main attraction to Osu was the Urbano hotel with the “I love Accra” sign which is another spot that kept popping up on Instagram so we just had to go mark register too.

5. Brunch At Cafe Kwae

We ended our first day out exploring at Cafe Kwae and had some Ice cream and cake while checking out their hot bartenders. Don’t judge me. I found Cafe Kwae via Instagram also and it looked like somewhere I’d love to be.

It’s a really cool place to chill and chat with friends. I totally loved the ~~bartenders~~ vibe here although it felt a bit uppity though because everyone seemed so prim and proper lol

6. Get Your Culture Fix At The Arts And Crafts Center.

The next day was way slower than the first one. For some reason, I particularly didn’t feel gingered to get up and do things. We had planned to visit the beach and while going through a magazine we saw at the hotel, we found the arts and crafts center, hailed a cab and were on our jolly way.

The arts and crafts center reminded me of the one here in Lagos (Reviewed on the blog here) but a lot bigger with way more interesting people and things to buy. We met two guys who walked us around and showed us the beach front at the back of the arts center.

7. Unwind at The Republic Bar.

We thought we weren’t going to get to experience Ghana nightlife but A friend came to our rescue and took us to this uber cool bar in Osu. I LOVED it here! I’m a huge fan of “artsy” places and the republic bar was killing it! Asides from the good vibes here and dope drinks, they also have live music performances too. Ending our night here definitely made up for my sadness at not visiting the beach or cape coast.

+ 1 : Try Ghana Jollof

Of course, no visit to Ghana is complete without trying the local dishes, most especially Ghana Jollof! We also wanted to put an end to this whole Nigerian vs Ghana Jollof thing so we went in search of Jollof rice and found one to try at an eatery called Peter Pan in Dzorwulu (The area we lodged in). Well, let’s just say, I’m gonna be sticking with my Nigerian Jollof on this one.

Ever tried Ghana Jollof Rice? Which do you think wins the jollof war?

We really really wanted to try out all the street foods Ghana has to offer but because there was no one to guide us, we ended up mot finding any. Sadly

Ghana Jollof VS Nigerian Jollof? Tried Both And Here's What I Think! Click To Tweet

I definitely would love to go to Ghana again, hopefully sometime in the coming year. At this point, I also have to apologize for taking too long to put this post up, it’s been in my drafts for a while now but my work schedule suddenly became way more hectic so I haven’t been able to blog as frequently as I would have loved to.

Ever been to Ghana? Where did you visit and if you live in Ghana, what are your top things to do in Accra or Ghana as a whole?

Let me know your thoughts please – even if it’s just to tell me how nice my pictures are haha.

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