We begun our trip to Ghana in Accra the country's smelly, hot and chaotic capital.Staying in a lovely guesthouse in The Darkuman suburb took away some of our stress! From Accra the STC bus company runs an hourly service to Kumasi which has the largest market in West Africa.Its a good idea to find a guide or you could spend hours wandering around getting lost! The Roman Hill area is the best route into the bead zone.

From Kumasi you can easily get to Koforidua where a Bead Market is held.Koforidua has a very nice hotel The Capital View and its possible to arrange to visit the market at Agomanya held on a Wednesday and Saturday, although you may wish to stay somewhere a bit more peaceful nearer the town.We found the Traycourt Leisure Center made the ideal base with its shady gardens full of butterflies and bird song.It's also easy to visit The Volta River and Dam from here.

At the end of your trip you may feel brave enough to visit the huge Makola Market in Accra where there are reputed to be many bead sellers.Again it may be best to hire a guide so as not to waste time

Hotels and guest houses we stayed in

Accra Crystal Hostel email crystalhostel@hotmail.com CHEAP Koforidua Capital View, Old Estate MODERATE Kpong Traycourt Leisure Center - has a good bar and restaurant open 24 hours and its easy to get transport from Kpong about 5 mins away.CHEAP Kumasi Cozy Lodge just outside town and very quiet with a good bar attached. 01527030 MODERATE

A twin room costs from £5 - £30 a night