Packing list for Ghana, travel insurance for Ghana, and taking your belongings

What to take with you to Ghana: short

Featured items:

• Documents: passport that is valid for at least 6 months. An online and/or offline copy of your passport is always useful.
• Money: it is useful to have enough Ghanaian cedis (GHS) with you for small expenses upon arrival or in case your debit card does not work.
• Care: strong sunscreen and lip balm for the dry season.
• Outdoor and handy items: cap or hat and good sunglasses. Raincoat for the rainy season.
• Clothing: light, loose clothing, especially for the rainy season, that does not get dirty quickly (lots of red dust in Ghana!). Clothing suitable for church visits (shoulders and knees covered) and covering clothing for walks in nature. An extra layer for the early morning and evening. Shoes: sandals/flip-flops for easy days. Comfortable sneakers or hiking shoes for hiking days.
• Medicines and travel kit: a small first aid kit with plasters, painkillers, stomach complaints and ORS (dehydration after a stomach attack is nice). Anti-mosquito repellent.
• Safety: mosquito nets or impregnated mosquito nets or mosquito nets if you stay in accommodations that are not safely equipped for mosquitoes, especially outside the cities.
• Technology and equipment: world plug with type G. A headlamp or flashlight and power bank for possible power outages.
• Women: tampons.

What are some other options for packing as well?

• Reusable water bottle with filter.
• Quick-drying travel towel.
• E-reader or offline entertainment.
• International driving permit, when you want to rent a car.
• Tissues/toilet paper.
• Small gifts to make the children you meet happy.
• Earplugs, because it is rarely really quiet in Ghana (roosters, music, traffic...).

Are there mosquitoes in Ghana?

• There are many mosquitoes everywhere in Ghana and they can transmit nasty diseases.
• The mosquitoes are most active during the early morning and early evening. And of course in the rainy season.
• It is important to protect yourself well against mosquitoes.

Are there sandflies in Ghana?

• Sand flies, which can transmit leishmaniasis (locally called agbamekanu), are present in certain areas of Ghana.
• A well-known area is the Ho district in the Volta region.

Can you buy DEET, or other mosquito repellents, in Ghana?

• Insect repellents are available locally in Ghana, especially in urban areas such as Accra.
• Used brands of insect repellent in Ghana are: Jungle Formula, OFF and Autan.
• Repellents containing DEET are available, but harder to find.

Can you buy a joint or weed in Ghana, or take it with you to Ghana?

• Possession, use and sale of cannabis are illegal in Ghana and can result in severe penalties, including prison sentences of up to 10 years.
• Although legislation was passed in 2023 that allows the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes under strict conditions, recreational use remains strictly prohibited.
• And so does bringing cannabis with you: it is strictly prohibit!