The GVI team provides transfers from Kotoka International airport in Accra to the base. Participants are able to walk the short distance between the base and the project and partner sites. If the distance is further, we provide daily transport. If you’d like to sightsee, visit markets, and enjoy trips and excursions during your free time, you’re welcome to use local taxis. Most participants take one or two weekend excursions per month – alternating between staying in and around Kokrobite and travelling through wider Ghana. This cost is covered by the participant.

While in Ghana, you may find yourself fully engrossed in the program, with little time for long-distance communications with friends and family. Communication can be a little intermittent, so be sure to let your friends and family at home know that you’ll be in touch when possible. While on base, you’ll have daily access to the internet, but power outages can make contact somewhat unreliable. We recommend that you contact your mobile phone operator and subscribe to an international call and data package that will work in Ghana (it can be very difficult to purchase Ghanaian SIM cards).

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided by GVI at the base. Food on our Ghanaian base is a combination of traditional local and international dishes, utilising locally available ingredients that vary throughout the seasons. The base provides a set continental breakfast, lunch and varied dinner that is mostly vegetarian, and combines local Ghanian flavours with staple international classics. Local food is simple, often spicy, and typically consists of fresh fruit, bread, eggs, root vegetables or starchy sourdoughs, served with rice, stews or soup. International dishes include noodles, pastas, salads, wraps and pizza night! Please make GVI aware of any dietary requirements you may have, including food allergies. We can cater to most requirements, although gluten-free options can be limited. During project days, team members help themselves to breakfast and lunch, and all team members take turns to cook dinner and wash the dishes afterwards.

Near the base you’ll find local street food as well as local and international restaurants which you are welcome to enjoy at your own expense. Most dishes range from £2 GBP– £10 GBP ($3 USD–$13 USD).

Ghana enjoys a year-round tropical climate and most of the time it’s hot and humid. During the so-called “rainy season”, which is from April to November, it can rain heavily once or twice per week. Ghana enjoys warm weather and an average of more than five hours of sunshine a day. Average temperatures along the coast are usually in the range of 26ºC – 32ºC (79ºF – 90ºF), but always feel warmer due to the humidity. There are approximately 12 hours of sunlight each day.

Our GVI staff are first-aid trained, and always on hand to assist with any medical concerns. There are community health clinics in Kokrobite, and the nearest emergency medical facilities are around a 15-minute drive from the GVI base.