Safety in Ghana: what overland travellers should know
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 28 May 2026.
Safety
- Northern regions — Given the insecurity across the Sahel, the Ghanaian authorities have raised the alert level and reinforced security measures. There is an increased risk of attacks in the north of the country, in particular but not only near the Burkina Faso border, and the ministry says to avoid unnecessary travel there and to avoid lingering in the northern areas, where foreigners can be exposed to kidnapping or attack. Maximum caution in the Upper West, Upper East and North East regions.
- Bawku and Walewale — Since October 2024 tensions over a contested traditional chieftaincy have flared again around Bawku, with armed clashes and a curfew in the area from 20:00 to 05:00. During 2025 there were several armed attacks on vehicles near the town of Walewale, on the road between Tamale and Bolgatanga.
- Sawla-Kuna-Talba district — Significant unrest over chieftaincy disputes hit the Sawla-Kuna-Talba district of the Savannah Region, on the Ivorian border, between August and September 2025. The situation appears to have settled, but unnecessary travel in the area is still discouraged.
- Armed robbery — Armed robberies with knives and firearms have taken place in the capital, including in the residential districts where most of the expatriate community lives, against foreigners in their homes, in cars, in taxis or on foot, mostly in the evening and at night. In some of these incidents Europeans who tried to resist were injured or killed.
- Accra and mining areas — Particular care on the beaches of Busua and Kokrobite near Accra, where robbery-motivated assaults have happened, and avoid Accra's poorest districts, among them Nima, Old Fadama and the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump. Violent incidents, some fatal, tied to illegal gold mining have occurred in the mining areas, in particular the Ashanti and Western Regions.
- Curfews — Local unrest — demonstrations, protests, strikes — can flare with little or no warning, and to restore order the police may impose a night curfew whose hours vary. Check the local interior ministry site for the hours and the areas affected.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 28 May 2026. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Ghana before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 28 May 2026. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.