Two days is enough to meet Accra properly, if you stop trying to see everything. The city is large, the traffic is real, and the best moments, a sunset at Labadi, a cool morning in the Aburi hills, a quiet walk through Jamestown, depend on timing. This plan is built around a car and a professional driver, so you spend your energy on the places rather than on the roads.
Accra rewards people who plan around traffic. A trip across town that looks like twenty minutes on a map can take an hour at the wrong time of day, and the Ring Road, Independence Avenue and the routes into Osu and Labadi all have busy windows. A two-day weekend packs in history, markets, food and the coast. Every hour you spend behind the wheel is an hour you are not looking around, so handing the driving to someone who knows the city is the real luxury here.
Every CarRentalGH hire includes a professional driver, so the day is planned around you rather than around the roads. The driver handles the junctions, finds a sensible place to park near each stop, and knows which routes tend to move at which hours. You never have to decide whether to brave a roundabout or search for a space beside a crowded market.
Before you arrive, decide three things: where you are staying, whether day two is the hills or the sea, and what car suits your group. A Toyota Corolla from GH₵800 per day is comfortable for two to four people travelling light. A RAV4 from GH₵1,200 per day gives you more room, a higher seat and space for bigger bags. Tell us your plan when you book and we will shape the hire around it.
A few habits make any Accra weekend easier:
Pre-book a car with a driver or a Kotoka airport pickup — fixed price, agreed before you land.
Start early, ideally by 8:00, before the heat and the morning traffic build up. Your first stop is Black Star Square, the ceremonial space in the middle of the city, where the Black Star Gate was built to mark Ghana's independence. Go in the early light, when the crowds are thinner, and give yourself a few minutes to take in the scale of the place. It looks bigger in person than in any photograph.
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park is a short distance away and holds the mausoleum of Ghana's first president, set among gardens. Dress respectfully, as you would for any national memorial, and check the visiting arrangements before you set out, since access and opening arrangements can change. Allow about an hour and a half for the park, including a slow walk through the grounds and time to read the displays.
Your driver can drop you at the entrance and then find a shady spot close by, so you are not circling the area looking for parking in the sun. If the morning is already getting hot, ask for a short break in the car before the next stop. Small pauses are what keep a packed weekend enjoyable rather than exhausting.
Lunch comes first, and it does not need to be fancy. Ghanaian food is best eaten where people in the neighbourhood eat it. Ask your driver for a local spot near Jamestown, where you can try waakye, jollof, kenkey with fried fish, or fried plantain with grilled chicken. A proper local lunch usually takes about an hour, and it lets the heat ease before the walking starts.
Jamestown is the old fishing quarter below Ussher Fort, with painted houses, narrow lanes and an old lighthouse rising above the rooftops. Walk slowly, greet people, and watch the boats coming in along the shore. A local guide, if you can find a good one, adds a lot, because the stories behind the streets are what make the visit. Plan about ninety minutes and wear shoes you can walk in on uneven ground.
Makola Market is the city's great working market: loud, crowded and full of colour. Go with a short list and a little time to spare. Parking near the market is difficult, so your driver will usually drop you at the nearest safe point and wait close by. Keep valuables in a front pocket or a zipped bag, and bargain politely. A smile and a friendly greeting go a long way.
The Arts Centre is a short drive away and is the craft market to go to for wood carvings, kente and batik cloth, beadwork and painted fabrics. Prices are negotiable, and the best finds are often the pieces you would never see at home. Decide on a budget before you start, so the shopping stays fun rather than tiring.
Late afternoon is the time to head east to Labadi Beach. The public beach has open sky, a lively but relaxed crowd, and a view over the Gulf of Guinea that makes the sunset worth the trip. Stroll along the sand, watch the fishing canoes come in, and let the day slow down. Aim to arrive about 45 minutes before sunset, because the drive can take longer than the map suggests and the sun drops quickly once it nears the horizon.
Finish the evening in Osu. Oxford Street is the heart of it, with restaurants, bars and a mix of Ghanaian and international food. Book a table if you can, especially at the weekend. This is where a driver makes the biggest difference: nobody in your group has to drive home, you can enjoy a drink without a second thought, and your driver collects you at a time you agreed beforehand.
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Day two is where you choose your pace. Both options are within easy reach of Accra and both work well with a car and driver, so pick the one that suits your group rather than trying to fit both into a single morning.
Option A: Aburi Botanical Gardens in the hills. Aburi sits in the hills northeast of the city, and the air is noticeably cooler and fresher than the centre. The drive takes roughly one to one and a half hours each way depending on traffic, so leave by 7:30 or 8:00. The gardens are shaded and green, with paths for a slow walk, and the views across the hills are the real reason to go. Allow two to three hours on site, then have lunch in the town before heading back down, which also helps you miss the worst of the afternoon traffic.
Option B: a relaxed beach day at Kokrobite or Bojo Beach. If you want the sea rather than the hills, head west along the coast to Kokrobite, a laid-back fishing beach where the pace is slow and the sea is the main event. Bojo Beach is close by. Allow around 45 minutes to an hour each way, and aim to leave the city before 9:00. Spend the morning on the sand, have a seafood lunch, and take a long rest in the shade. With a driver, nobody is carrying wet towels across a car park or worrying about the return journey in the heat.
Choose Aburi if your group wants greenery, walking and cooler air. Choose the beach if you want a swim, good food and a slower pace. Either way, keep the afternoon light.
Whichever option you chose, bring the afternoon back into the city for the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture. Du Bois, the American scholar and campaigner, spent his last years in Ghana and is buried in the centre's grounds. It is quiet and reflective, and it makes a good counterweight to the busier stops of the weekend. Allow about an hour, and check opening times before you go.
If you still have energy for shopping and did not get to the Arts Centre on day one, it is a good place for last-minute gifts. Keep your budget in mind, as you did on day one, and let your driver know if you want a stop on the way back.
End the weekend with dinner. A seafood meal in Labadi or Osu makes a fitting finish, or try a Ghanaian dinner of fufu or banku with soup if you have not yet tasted it. Ask your driver for a restaurant that suits your group and your timing. Plan to be back at your hotel before the evening rush, or agree a pick-up time with the driver so the last part of the weekend is as relaxed as the first.
A weekend plan only works if the details are settled before you arrive. Tell us your dates, your group size, your pick-up point and whether you want the hills or the beach on day two. If you are landing at Kotoka Airport, an airport transfer starts from GH₵450, so you can go straight from the arrivals hall to your hotel without stopping to arrange a ride.
Be realistic about timing. Accra's busiest hours are the early morning and the early evening, and Friday afternoons and market days can be heavy in the centre. Build the day around those windows rather than against them. A plan with three well-chosen stops and one generous lunch will always feel better than a plan that tries to cover everything.
Payment is simple. You can pay by Mobile Money, bank transfer or cash. Bookings are made by WhatsApp or email, and there is no payment taken on the website, so you always know exactly how and where your money is going.
Planning a weekend in Accra? Send your dates, group size and day-two choice to CarRentalGH on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503, or email info@carrentalgh.com, and we will send your weekend quote. Pay by Mobile Money, bank transfer or cash.