How to Get Around Ghana Part 6: Private Car Rentals and Hires

This is the 6^th segment on How to Get Around Ghana. We have already covered 5 other ways of traveling in Ghana they are:

• Part 1: Walking Around Ghana

• Part 2: Biking Around Ghana

• Part 3: Taking Taxis

• Part 4: Taking the Trotro

• Part 5: Buses

Many people are very interested in renting a car during their trip to Ghana. This method of transportation is the most familiar to tourists from western countries visiting Ghana. It offers the most independence and can be the most convenient and timely way to travel in Ghana. But as people look into car rental in Ghana they soon find out it is not as simple as calling up budget, or enterprise rental car. Finding a rental agency is the first major hurdle, none of the companies online list rates or fares for doing this, there is also very little information on their sites. The other major obstacle is that for the most part cars are not for rent for people looking to drive them themselves.

The majority of car rental or hire firms in Ghana only rent a vehicle with a driver. This really seems to bum out the people dead set on showing up in Ghana and driving themselves around. But you must ask yourself do you really want to be responsible for driving in Ghana? The rules of the road are very different than most countries in the developed world and can be quite frightening sometimes to people from outside of Ghana. There are also very few road signs or good maps of how to get around. Then there is the issue of liability, insurance and driver’s license. All of these issues contribute to why cars are not rented out to travelers without a driver. There is a couple of places where it may be possible to rent a car to drive yourself in Ghana but you will need to give a very high deposit for any potential damage or accidents and work out some insurance issues. It is also required that you have an international driver’s license to drive in Ghana.

Hiring a car with a driver can have its advantages that may be overlooked by those travelers only considering their budget. Travel in Ghana can be quite taxing and it is nice to have someone that is concerned only with the driving and getting you to where you need to be safely; allowing you to rest and enjoy the surroundings. Local knowledge of the roads and some of the languages is also very important to finding where you need to go; with few road signs or detailed maps, even the best driver will need to stop and ask for directions from time to time. You will also then essentially have your own guide who can be a resource with dealing with any issues that come up on your trip, working with hotels, negotiating prices at the market, answering cultural questions, and dealing with police at road blocks and the list goes on and on. Traveling by trotro or bus can be quite slow especially if you need to get to more rural areas which require waiting for multiple trotros and each one of them needs to fill up before setting off, which can easily suck up days of travel time. Hiring a car you can get around the country much more quickly allowing more time to relax in the places you want to be rather than sitting in a stationary hot trotro. When thinking about this you will be glad to be cruising down the bumpy roads in your own transportation with air-conditioning and the driver to take care of the hard work.

The major disadvantage with hiring a car with a driver is that it will be more expensive than those budget car rental rates you are used to in developed countries. There are a couple of very legitimate reasons for this expense that are important to think about and acknowledge. The cost of a car in Ghana is typically similar or more than the cost of a car in the developing world. Most of the cars for hire are newer models and are imported specifically to the country for that purpose and thus are more expensive to begin with. Maintaining a car in Ghana is more expensive, including getting the parts, and the increased need for maintenance because of the rough roads and the high standards needed for cars used by international travelers and people in country on business. Then a part of the price goes to paying the driver and providing the driver a stipend especially for overnight travel where he/she will also need to eat and sleep. All of these things add up to make it the most expensive travel method in Ghana.

There are typically a couple of choices for the type of vehicle to hire in Ghana. Green Bug Adventures offers car hire with driver for Saloon Cars (sedans like BMW, Mercedes, Toyota Corollas and the like), Toyota Hilux Pickups, Toyota Land Cruisers, Mini bus, and a larger charger bus. If traveling the main areas in the south of the country, Volta Region, and up to Kumasi a saloon car is more than adequate and the least expensive method. But if you have plans to go to the north and get off the beaten path especially in the rainy season you will need a 4 x 4 like the Toyota Hilux if your group is small or the Toyota Land cruiser if you needing more room.

We offer the following car hire options with driver; you will also need to pay for fuel as you go:

• Salon car: In Accra $85/day plus fuel. Outside Accra $120/day plus fuel.

• Toyota Hilux Pickup: In Accra $85/day plus fuel. Outside Accra $120/day plus fuel.

• Toyota Land Cruiser: In Accra $130/day plus fuel. Outside Accra $150/day plus fuel.

• Toyota Mini Bus 15 seats: In Accra $130/day plus fuel. Outside Accra $150/day plus fuel.

• Toyota Coaster Bus 30 seats: In Accra $215/day plus fuel. Outside Accra $250/day plus fuel.

Please give us a call or send us and email if you would like some help with your travel plans in Ghana.