Just beyond the town of Aburi, the Aburi Botanical Gardens provide a welcome getaway from the bustle of Accra. The gardens are well maintained and teem with a variety of exotic plant life from around the world. Two tall and well-named 'monkey pot' trees from Brazil are supposedly able to trap our tree-swinging ancestors - not that Aburi has too many wild monkeys to worry about. The oldest tree is an approximately 150-year-old kapok facing the park's beautiful headquarters building. It's the only one the British didn't cut down when they were planting the gardens, which opened in 1890. The gardens are perched on a ridge 32km (20mi) north of Accra. Tro-tro are available from Tema Station in Accra, and there are several places to stay and eat in nearby Aburi.

West of Accra in the town of Kokrobite, the AAMAL is the place to go for free concerts on weekends or to learn a few of those funky drum rhythms you keep grooving to. The school is run by a local master drummer and his German wife, and the classes can be private or by group. The AAMAL has a good seafood restaurant and a hotel, though if you're keen to lose all your worldly possessions, you're welcome to sack out on the beach. There is no direct transport to Kokrobite, but you can hire a tro-tro or bush taxi from Accra to take you the 22km (14mi) to the Kokrobite turnoff and then walk or hitch the remaining 8km (5mi).

The colourful communities of Dixcove and Busua have been 'in' spots for beach lovers and budget travellers for years. Busua is tiny, with only one hotel and no restaurant, but a 25 minute walk west brings you to Dixcove, with a vibrant port and a renovated fort. Swimmers prefer Busua, with its long white-sand beach, while surfers enjoy some of the coast's best waves on the beaches of Dixcove. Fort Metal Cross (1691) is another fortress-turned-slave storage barn, which - while not as haunting as some others - has its fair share of horror stories to pass on.The two towns are widely renowned for their lobsters, and you can find out why down by the waterfront and at the local markets. Local villagers are your best bet for finding a meal - especially cooked lobster - usually at a very reasonable cost. Dixcove, the southernmost town in Ghana, is about 200km (125mi) west of Accra and can be reached by a combination of tro-tro or taxi and walking or hitching.