At Odysseys Unlimited, small group travel is all we do and all we’ve ever done. Each and every tour itinerary we offer features several small group highlights that would be impossible to do with more conventional larger groups of 35, 40, or more – and our West Africa Discovery tour is no exception.
Akan man weaving a magnificent kente cloth in Kumasi, Ghana
First introduced for the 2025 tour season, West Africa Discovery is a fascinating 16-day adventure that introduces guests to both the rich cultural traditions of the region and the shameful history of the African slave trade. This tour also allows guests to dive deeper into the history and culture of West Africa with a number of small group highlights, from a Togolese cooking class to a traditional Akan naming ceremony. Scroll down to learn more about six small group highlights from West Africa Discovery.
One of the best ways to learn about a new culture is through their cuisine, as guests who have traveled with us to Japan, Vietnam, and many other destinations around the world can attest to. On Day 12, after a full day of touring in Togo’s capital city of Lomé (including visiting the Grand Marché, a vast central market with goods of all kinds), we attend a cooking class at a local venue where we learn about – and prepare – traditional Togolese cuisine before enjoying the fruits of our labor for dinner.
Approximately 15 miles north of Benin’s capital city of Cotonou sits the unique “floating” village of Ganvié. Built on stilts in the middle of Lake Nokoué, Ganvié reigns as the largest lake village on the African continent. Here, colorful huts hover above the surface of the water on teakwood stilts while members of the Tofinou ethnic group adhere to a unique way of life that has not changed much since their ancestors fled here to escape the slave trade in the 18th century: residents paddle between houses in dugout canoes, children row to school and play on sandbars, men fish from docks and boats, and women sell their goods at the “floating market.”
On Day 15, we boat to the “floating” village of Ganvié for a visit while touring in Benin.
On Day 14, we end a full day of Benin touring with a Zangbeto mask dance performance. Traditionally viewed as a way to protect communities against the forces of evil, the Zangbeto’s dance traces its origins back hundreds of years, likely to the Gun people of Benin and Nigeria. The dancers, mysterious “guardians of the night,” play significant roles in their communities, acting as protectors and spiritual mediators; however, their identities are unknown to the public. Wearing large wooden masks and clothed in colorful dyed straw, the Zangbeto rise up to 10 feet in the air during their acrobatic dances, mimicking the movements of a snake as they perform rituals meant to guard the village from malicious spirits and people.
In stark contrast to the somber tone typically associated with funerals in Western culture, Ghanaian funerals tend to be lively events meant to celebrate the life of the deceased – and the colorful, custom-built coffins that are central to Ghanaian funerary traditions perfectly reflect this celebratory attitude. On Day 3 while touring in Accra – Ghana’s capital and largest city – we stop at a workshop that specializes in crafting these “fantasy coffins.” One of these coffins can take the shape of almost any animal or object: a bird, bug, fish, mammal, tool, weapon, vehicle, and anything else one can imagine. Some are even designed to represent ancient proverbs or to evoke religious or magical meanings. The unique, handmade coffins originated in Accra and are now collected and displayed in museums worldwide.
The Akan people have long been a dominant ethnic group in West Africa. In the late 17th century, the largest and most influential of the Akan tribes, the Ashanti Empire, rose to prominence in the region, eventually claiming dominion over large parts of what is now modern-day Ghana and ruling for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. While the Ashanti Empire ultimately fell at the dawn of the 20th century after feuding with the British off-and-on for 75 years, the Ashanti people – and, by extension, the Akan – remain a prominent ethnic group in Ghana today.
We visit with Akan artisans in Ghana on Day 7 to learn about their traditional handicrafts, including clothing and textiles, such as the kente cloth once worn by Ashanti royalty; and wood sculptures, often representing deities and spirits from the Vodun religion.
In traditional Akan communities, having an Akan name bestowed upon you at a naming ceremony is a rite of passage. Akan people receive at least five different names throughout their lifetimes, each of which align with various milestones: birth, adulthood, marriage, eldership, and returning to the land of the ancestors (death).
On Day 7, we are honored by Akan elders as we undergo our own naming ceremony to receive our personalized Akan names.
We hope you’ll join us in discovering this fascinating region on West Africa Discovery in 2026 or beyond!
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