One piece of information which is likely to please all beach lovers is that, quite unusually, rainfall in Ghana is actually lower in coastal areas than it is as one progresses inland.  However, even this drier coastal area is subject to the rainy seasons which, if you’re searching for the sun, might be best avoided. The first of these rainy seasons is at its worst around May or June, with the second being worst around October.

However, if you’ve not headed for the coast, and have instead ventured further north inland, you will find that there is only one rainy season beginning around May/June time.  Accra, one of the main tourist destinations of the Ghanaian coast, still sees around five hours of sunshine each day during the rainy season, but this increases up to around 8 hours during the drier periods.

Ghana is located so close to the equator that its only fluctuations in season come with the shifts between these wet and dry seasons which makes Britain’s seasonal weather patterns seem all the more erratic! The optimum time for visiting, climatically speaking, would be the December to February dry season, where temperatures are around the 80’s and 90’s; if you decide to visit in the other dry season from July to August, then you may well find it even hotter, with temperatures, even in the former dry season, only dropping into the 70’s during the night.

If you prefer to use your umbrella to keep off rain rather than employing it as a parasol to keep off the sun then around April and June is when you will find the country at its wettest.  But don’t worry,

if you’re in Accra or Kumasi, you will be anywhere between 69 and 293 metres above sea-level so you should be safe despite the rainfall! The popular eastern coastal regions are the ones which are favoured by the much drier and warmer weather, it is the South-Western regions which tend to be higher in humidity and thus higher in rainfall; the north is more frequently dry and hot. Those who know about the San Andreas winds which blow through L.A, which make it so warm around Christmas time, may be interested to learn of Ghana’s own Harmattan wind, which can be found throughout January and February bringing its dryness from the North-East. Certainly better than the gales which England gets!