The month is bigger than the parties
Detty December gets the coverage, but most people in Ghana spend December the way most people spend December anywhere: with family, at church, eating too much and travelling to see relatives. The concert calendar is a layer on top of that, not the thing itself.
If you are travelling with children, with older parents, or you simply have no interest in standing in a stadium until 3am, December is still an excellent month to be in Ghana. The weather is dry and hot, the country is at its most sociable, and the heritage sites outside Accra are quieter than you would expect, because the December crowd is mostly in the capital.
Go to the coast, not the city
Cape Coast and Elmina are a three-hour drive from Accra and they hold the most consequential historic sites in the country. Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle sit twenty minutes apart and are best seen on separate days rather than rushed together. The tour at both is emotionally heavy, and guides do not soften it, which is the point.
Go early. The castle tours fill up from mid-morning in December, and the first tour of the day is smaller, cooler and gives you more time with the guide. Stay in Cape Coast or Elmina rather than day-tripping from Accra, because the drive back in the dark on that road is not worth it.
- Cape Coast Castle: allow two to three hours including the tour.
- Elmina Castle: a separate day, twenty minutes west.
- Fort St Jago: a short climb above Elmina with the best view of the town.
Forest, hills and water within reach of Accra
Kakum National Park, about an hour and a half from Cape Coast, runs the canopy walkway above the forest floor. It is a rainforest experience rather than a wildlife park, so go for the height and the trees rather than expecting elephants. The bridges sway, and the drop is steep, which is worth knowing if anyone in your group is uneasy with heights. The forest walk underneath is a good alternative.
Closer to Accra, Aburi Botanical Gardens in the Eastern Hills is a cool, quiet half day, and the drive up through the hills is half the reason to go. On the coast, Bojo Beach at Bortianor is reached by a short boat crossing and is calmer and cleaner than the central Accra beaches.
Accra itself, without the nightlife
Jamestown is the oldest part of the city and the most rewarding to walk, with the lighthouse, the fishing harbour and the lanes around it. Go in the morning with a local guide. The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Independence Square are a straightforward half day together and the museum is better than its reputation.
For food, the markets do the work. Makola in the centre and the Osu food market in the evening are both worth an hour, and eating your way through them costs very little. If you want a table, the restaurants in East Legon and Osu cover everything from Ghanaian home cooking to Lebanese and Indian, and almost all of them are family-friendly before 9pm.
Practical notes for a calmer December
Book accommodation early even for the quiet version, because the whole city is full. Avoid travelling between cities on 23 and 24 December and again on 1 and 2 January, when the roads are at their worst. Church on Christmas morning is genuinely worth attending if you are invited, and you will be invited.
On New Year's Eve, the watch-night services are the option most visitors never consider. They run from around 9pm until after midnight, they are loud, joyful and entirely sober, and they are one of the few things in Accra that night where you will be the only tourist in the room.