Highway robberies

Hi. I am planning my trip to Ghana for this November. In the updates to the last Bradt guide (and some other references) I have read reports about not so infrequent highway robberies (ambushes of shared taxis, tro-tros or even buses) taking place even in full daylight and on main roads in northern part of Ghana (around Bolgatanga and even Tamale and esp. on the road from Tamale to Wa or Bole, and Bole to Wenchi). I am quite experieced traveller used to keep low profile but being stripped off my passport in the middle of nowhere is not my idea of holiday and so this news makes me rather concerned.

Does anybody have any information about this phenomenon? Should I be really worried and reconsider my travel plans?

I was planning to go along the route Kumasi - Bolga - Tamale - Mole - Bole - Wenchi but thinking now to reroute it at least like this: Kumasi - Bolga - Tamale - Mole - Tamale - Techiman - Wenchi.

Thanks ahead for the replys.

Ghana is a very safe country as far as Africa goes. I would not worry about robberies as they are very rare. My advice would be to just try to only travel during the day as road are rough, ghanians like speeding and a lot of driver dont have lights on their cars or choose not to use them. Happy travels

You would be very unlucky indeed to experience a robbery while travelling. Of much greater danger is road traffic accidents. As stated above try and avoid travelling after dark, this is when it really is dangerious. Many drivers in Ghana seem to lack any sort of imagination when it comes to road safety.

OK guys, thanks a lot for your comments and reassurance. I will stick to the original plan and hope in my luck (and yes, I have seen that habit of driving without lights at night - and also switch them on at the last moment - in other African countries and it was indeed scary).

Anyway, just for the record, let me post here the links to the reports I have mentioned in my original post (both reports come from the same person but her blog seems to be very informative and detailed), namely:
1. Bradt guide update
2. link to the blog page

Also the Ghana government seemed to acknowledge that late problem and promised to deal with it - see e.g. this news .

Happy travelling to everyone.

Even though Ghana is for the most part a very safe place, these things do happen and you are right to be wary.

Two years ago I took a two-week tour of Ghana with a private car and driver and spent a third week visiting friends in Accra. The husband of my Accra friend informed me about the highway robberies and was so concerned that he wrote to the tour company asking them if they could personally guarantee my safety. So it's not just stories.

The good news is, nothing bad happened and I had a great time. There were a lot of police checkpoints where they stopped cars, looking for guns and contraband. As a woman traveling alone, I felt safer in the company of a very experienced male Ghanaian driver who knew where the trouble spots were and how to avoid them. (I frequently traveled alone on public transportation in Togo years ago but was much more familiar with the country, as I lived there for two years, and there were no highway robberies at the time.)

Keep reading these boards, as others will post of their travel experiences and will warn of dangers where warranted. But more than likely, you will be fine. Have a great time!

Hi safuwa, thanks for your reply. I do beieve the risk is low but does exist. When waiting for visa on the Ghanian embassy I have read the Ghanian newspapers and there was an article about another robbery near Techiman.

Anyway, in the meantime I have somewhat reduced my plans as my only reason for planning to go to Wenchi was visiting the Bui Nat. Park and I have found that filling of the new dam there has already started and the Park is thus likely ruined at least for some time. Yet, I still plan to go to Techiman and so I hope we will be lucky and stay away from problems. Still, we will definitely try to avoid travelling after dark.

Bui would have been great. I hope they're not ruining it.

Traveling after dark is risky for many reasons, not just because of robberies (crazy drivers who take even worse chances than usual, animals loose on the road, not able to see potholes). You're smart to avoid it.

There isn't much in Techiman itself, but it's a good base for day trips because there aren't many decent places to stay in the area. Nkoranza is only about 30 minutes from Techiman. There's a monkey sanctuary there that's worth a visit. Make sure you bring peanuts or bananas to tempt them out of the trees. If you forget, there will be someone in the village to buy from. I also got some delicious bofroot there for myself, yum.

The brave ones will take the food right from your hand. There's even a monkey cemetery. I got incredible photos at the Nkoranza monkey sanctuary. It was one of my favorite stops.

Have fun!