Elmina castle is a must-do, especially for Westerners. Don't be turned off by the aggressive sellers approaching you as you arrive. Ignore them and keep walking. Once at the entrance, it is calm and friendly. Our guide was very knowledgable, answered unexpected questions well, was friendly and warm. The tour of course walks you through the dark history of this slave trading castle. Hard to hear at times, but a necessary education to fully understand the history and how it impacts generations to come. There is an opportunity near the end to offer libations to the ancestors and give money to sponsor a wreath in their honor. At the end I highly recommend shopping at the 2 (maybe 3?) small shops. We did not negotiate prices here, and it was still much less than the shopping we did later in Accra. And these shops do not have highly assertive salesmen. There is a small "museum" as well, but it was just educational boards to read and we didn't find it of much interest following the great tour.

This castle is a strangely European piece of architecture reflecting the Portuguese, Swedes, Danes, Dutch and British that successively exploited this piece of Africa. It is amazingly well preserved with a Portuguese chapel dominating a claustrophobic, whitewashed courtyard. It is minor miracle these places survived to give one of few pieces of evidence for the transatlantic slave trade. Essential to visit alongside the Cape Coastal Castle nearby.

Elmina Castle, in Ghana, was built by the Portuguese to protect the gold trade in 1482. Although the castle had different ownership over time, from the Portuguese, to the Dutch, and finally the British, it became a major center for the transatlantic slave trade. In the center of the Castle was the Catholic Church. Elmina Castle, like other castles on the gold coast, were used to hold captured/ kidnapped enslaved Africans before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas as a new workforce. At this Castle, I was able to see the "Door of No Return" where my ancestors left their homeland to never return again. Our tour guide was outstanding!

This was my second visit to Elmina Castle. I think my one gripe is that they need to have organised tours at set times. There is more than one guide so if two groups happen to cross each other at the same time it can be difficult to hear what is being said. I also think that group sizes should be limited to a certain number. I was disappointed with the toilet facilities. This is a place that is extensively visited and there is no need to have toilets which are substandard. Great guide and very informative.