The best sport spots and adventures in Ghana – travel tips, packing lists and first-hand experience from DOMISPORTS.
Western · Surfing · Best time: May–Oct
West Africa's most relaxed surf corner: in Busua you learn in warm water with local surf schools, while Cape Three Points serves longer point waves for the more advanced. The South Atlantic delivers the most consistent swells from May to October. Boardshorts are enough all year. Busua Beach Inn surf lessons — authentic and affordable.
Central · Hiking, Trekking · Best time: Year-round
Rainforest from a bird's-eye view: the canopy walkway hangs from seven bridges high above the forest floor — early in the morning you hear the forest wake before the tour groups arrive. Add guided walks to medicinal plants and forest giants. Engaging, accessible, real. Early at 6am is when the birds are most active.
Volta · Hiking, Trekking · Best time: Year-round
West Africa's highest waterfalls: the lower falls are a 45-minute stroll across nine bridges, while the upper-falls path climbs steeply through mountain forest — four hours that earn their keep. Thousands of fruit bats cling to the cliff face, and you swim in the pool beneath the falls. Upper Falls trail (4h) for the full 80m waterfall.
Northern · Safari, Hiking · Best time: Nov–Apr
Safari on foot instead of by jeep: at Mole, rangers walk you through the bush in the morning, and elephants often stand right at the waterholes below the lodge. Prices are low enough that safari here is no luxury project. In the dry season the wildlife concentrates around the water. Walking safari from ~€5 — one of Africa's cheapest safari experiences.
Volta · Hiking, Cycling · Best time: Year-round
Ghana's green east by Lake Volta: cycle between cocoa villages, hike hill paths overlooking the reservoir and visit the monkey sanctuary at Tafi Atome. Much of it runs on community tourism — your money stays in the villages. Low-key and warm-hearted. Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary — feed monkeys in the reserve.
Greater Accra · Surfing, Swimming · Best time: Nov–Mar
Accra's home break: an exposed beach break that peels both left and right and runs surprisingly consistently. Best on a south swell with a north wind, which is offshore here — that turns the chop into a clean face. Watch the rocks in the lineup; otherwise it's relaxed 25°C water, no wetsuit needed. The north wind of the Harmattan months is offshore here — January gives you the cleanest days.
Greater Accra · Hiking, Climbing, Safari · Best time: Nov–Apr
51 km² of grassland with five separate hills, just under 60 km from Accra — you walk through open savanna and scramble up rock domes with 360° views. Besides hiking there's rock climbing on the crags, and baboons, antelope and zebra cross your path along the way. No high mountains, but the best day-trip workout out of the capital. May to July the tracks inside the reserve get soft — in the dry season any car gets you in.
Oti · Trekking, MTB, Hiking · Best time: Nov–Mar
Ghana's most serious trekking terrain: 360 km² on the Togo border, with seven marked hiking trails and two MTB trails. The classic route follows the southeast ridge to a Breast Mountains summit, and Mount Dzebobo — Ghana's second-highest — sits right here. Little infrastructure, but views all the way to Lake Volta; bring a guide. Seven hiking trails and two MTB trails are signposted — Nkwanta right by the park is your base.
Ashanti · Hiking, Swimming, Horse Riding · Best time: Nov–Mar
A meteorite crater a good 8 km across, filled with water, 30 km southeast of Kumasi — trails run around the crater rim and hand you the lake from above. Down at the shore you swim in calm freshwater over 81 m deep, and Green Ranch runs rides along the bank. No adrenaline, but the best mix of vertical and cool-down in Ghana. Entry at Abono is around 20 GHS — book tours through your lodge, not with the touts at the shore.
Western · Kayaking · Best time: Nov–Mar
You reach this stilt village in the Amansuri swamp forest by water only: 5 km by canoe, a good hour each way, through narrow channels and open reed beds. You go in a shallow dugout, so balance is half the game — it isn't physically taxing. The paddle itself is the reason to come, not the village. About 90 km west of Takoradi — block out the whole day; the canoe alone eats two hours there and back.
East Legon (Shiashie), Accra · Skateboarding, Street skating · Best time: Nov–Apr
A 500 sqm facility in Shiashie in the East Legon area, opened on 15 December 2021 by the Surf Ghana Collective; the layout picks up the Adinkra symbol "Fawohodie". Access is free, gear is provided, and the programme includes open sessions, free lessons and women-only training. Closed on Mondays — Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday 9am to 7pm, Friday and Sunday until 11pm when it is cooler.