This trip went a bit differently than expected. When I arrived, I discovered that the second bed in our "double room" was a mattress on a box spring on the floor. After looking at the hotel's website, I saw that the hotel did not offer rooms with two beds (which is what I booked). So, this was a makeshift arrangement. We were told that the bus would make several trips to & from the Afrofuture concert to pick up & drop off. The bus was nowhere to be found when we wanted to leave so we had to take Uber/Bolt to get back to the hotel. An apology was given the next day and refunds for our Uber/Bolt were promised but I have yet to receive it. The communication from the trip organizer was not good. Each day's itinerary was usually posted the night before. This meant we sometimes went to sleep not knowing the plans for the next day until we woke up in the middle of the night or the next morning. This caused delays in leaving out for the activities. We had a polo picnic event scheduled which we were told was cancelled late the night before. Trip group members inquired about a refund for this event & began posting things we might do in its place (in the group WhatsApp). The ability to comment was then restricted to Admin only. We were scheduled to have a New Year’s Eve celebration dinner. It was switched to a lunch at the beach and the staff at the chosen restaurant was overwhelmed by our group. I received my lunch hours later because it was somehow overlooked and didn't get a chance to eat it until after we returned to the hotel. The activities that we did get to experience were great. What was not so great was that not much time was set aside to eat on the days we did activities. I found myself scrambling to eat between events or having to wait until we finished the activities & were taken somewhere. There were also several instances where we were quoted a price for things by the trip organizer but when we went directly to the source to pay, the price was much less than what the organizer originally quoted. I would definitely go back to Ghana as the country is amazing, and I met many great people. I would not however do another trip with Green Book Travel.

We had a fantastic time. Queen Kennedy is well respected throughout Ghana and she provided an total cultural , spiritual and historical experience to last a lifetime. And for that, I'm an eternally grateful.

Let me start by saying we felt the trip overall was Epic! We were so happy we made it to Ghana and that we had the experience with each other & most of the people in the group. We gonna make the best of the situation! We know nothing is perfect & issues will arise. Still, we don’t regret this trip or the experience in the least. Here are some of our issues with the trip. Our main thing is communication needs to be better. they need to overcommunicate and repeat A LOT, especially for the slow ones ( 1st times to Africa or international travel). People probably were so focused on the visa, vax, and insurance req's they probably didn't pay attention to the other things mentioned. 1. they need to over-communicate and set expectations for the type of trip this is. they should explain the amount of independence you may need to have. it might be good to state it's not 100% a fully guided tour. and it's NOT luxury. Advertising that Ghana's party Nightlife will be part of the experience. Indicate this is a trip for 21 & older not families & young children. 2. There were too many last-minute updates for things they could control. ie the donation situation, seamstress arrival, etc. We were told the seamstress was arriving last minute ( we had just returned from an excursion & were trying to get ready for the evening party. The donation time was announced late at night when most people were sleeping and missed the donation drop-off time. Some people also wanted to attend the donation event as well) 3. Do not provide the next day's agenda in the middle of the night when ppl are sleeping and can't read it, or 1 hour before the departure. ( provide the next day's agenda before we depart the bus so everyone hears it early & today.... not in delayed text or word of mouth from other guests) * Provide the next agenda and times while we are all together ( on the bus or event) before we depart and go our separate ways for the evening Update the add-on amenities better Ordering a video and photographer doesn't mean a personal one. Explain the photographer will capture group activities on top of those who paid for the service will get additional personalized video & photo shoots. The photographer should be made aware in advance of those who paid extra and provide that personal photo experience at each excursion to them The social fabric add-on was also not well explained. The $50 only covers a class in fabric. Not purchasing the fabric or paying the seamstress. I felt that the educational fabric portion wasn't beneficial and not worth $50. Honestly, Kennedy should provide that session for free to better educate those who plan to by fabric and get an outfit made. We purchased fabric on our 1st full day, yet we didn't meet our seamstress and took measurements until 3-4 days later. Then we left for Cape Coast. Upon our return from a sweaty excursion, the seamstress was back for a fitting. We had to rush, clean up, and try on. I know the seamstress travels far. However, the customer needs more time for sizing and adjusting. We should at least have our 1st fitting before we leave for Cape Coast. Maybe Kennedy needs to work we a seamstress that's closer?? Also regarding VIP at Afro Future.... We were under the impression that liquor was included. 1 of the ladies said you should before offering VIP anything to the group to do their research. Post the actual web page link on the WhatsApp Chat so everyone knows what they are purchasing. After attending the event & looking at the AfroFuture Official page under their event page to buy the actual tickets it does not mention anything about unlimited alcohol for VIP entrance. So not sure where free drinks came from. I went into the IG page too and none of the posts I looked at said the VIP entrance included the alcohol. All you needed to do was to go to the official page of the event and post the link or screenshot of the two ticket choices. With each misstep or miscommunication, you lost the trust of the people in the group. Regarding the polo picnic... the communication about it was poorly executed. There is no way an event of that caliber (venue, horses, jockeys, vendors, fashion show models, etc) could be surprisingly postponed or canceled the day before or the day of. Kennedy communicated the cancellation to our group too close to Go Time. That wasn’t a good look at all. While we were happy for the day of rest & enjoyed a turn up at the pool for Carmen's b'day we all had special outs just for the polo picnic and were very disappointed. I understand why people were upset and asking if they were getting a refund. People were under the impression that the cost to attend was in their $3000 price tag. Kennedy needs to communicate that better upfront. After 2 days of late-night partying at Afro future... u should provide a guess with an off day. A day of leisure. Especially with new Year eve around the corner. Down time between ( even half day) would be good. We aren't 20-something. Now while we enjoyed the party at the polo club Several guests did not like the loud music and party atmosphere ( this goes back to having an older mature group). Now me and crew had a ball. Not sure how to better communicate to the masses that this is a turn-up party. I understand the prompter and party vibe in Ghana is different. Some. of the older. women thought the music was too loud they didn't have a seat...etc The fact that it was on the beach..etc I don't know how this party could be explained. However, it goes back to setting a party expectation up front. I don't believe everyone likes to party on the same level. We suggest Kennedy needs an assistant... badly. not just a linguist. Her connections were all pretty good - Miss Edna was a great resource, the money men coming to us, the seamstress, etc. but Kennedy seems like she can get overwhelmed and understandably so. it is a lot for her to manage on her own. for example, someone who is solely tasked with communicating with the group. Someone that goes in advance and purchases bulk tkts or arranges seats at the beach restaurant. So when the group arrives it's all set up and we just walk in or sit down. It felt like these things were being done on the fly or when we arrived. * Size of the tour - I know in 2022 it was a smaller group of 10. However, the group tripled in size and I felt Kennedy was equipped to manage that large group. Maybe the green book should set a limit on the size to 10 or less .. So it remains manageable. Ok at the welcome dinner when we all 1st came together. An icebreaker game to allow everyone to introduce themselves. Tell Where they are from would have been nice. Most of us stayed in our clicks and accidentally started learning about each other. I felt we were always running late. This group was large and some women took a while to shower and get ready. We needed better and stricter time management. A little tough love, leave some one once they will learn he hard way.

We thank Queen Zosimli for putting our birthright trip together; it was absolutely unforgettable. Her tips and guidance on how to obtain visas, what to pack, etc. were very helpful. We had a wonderful time visiting the Ebony Life Place. The live Jazz session with the Four Brothers brought back memories of the 50s, 60s and 70s. The African Shrine where we heard, for the first time, some of the popular Afrobeats. And relate to the political discourse. We had the privilege to exercise our bargaining skills at the local Arts and Craft market. The highlight was our welcome home ceremony at the Yoruba Palace of the Wawu of Badagry. Also, a big thank you to Neema, Jibola and Baba for their hard work pulling this trip off.

I enjoyed the food, the beach and meeting new friends to travel with.