Planning a trip to Ghana and wondering what is the best way to stay connected? This is a complete guide for finding the best way to stay connected when you travel to Ghana in 2023. Find out all about local prepaid sim cards, the best e-sim cards for Ghana, where to buy a sim card, best 4G/5G network coverage in Ghana, up to date prices as per August 2023, my recommendations and my experiences, info about buying a sim card at Accra Airport, info about international sim cards and more.
Being a full time world traveler and nomad since 2012, getting connected is the first thing I do when traveling to a new country. Because I am also trying to visit every country in the world I get to a lot of new countries constantly. Therefore on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Kenya, Istanbul, USA, Canada, New York, United Kingdom, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Europe, Asia and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and e-sim card advice for your destination. Bookmark me!
Why buying a sim card for Ghana
First off you want to avoid high roaming charges. Make sure you switch off data roaming on your sim card from home when traveling to Ghana. Just a couple minutes of roaming can easily cost a lot of money.
Second, don’t rely on overseas data plans. These roaming packages are expensive first of all and they also reduce the data speed. Very unreliable!
Third, you want to stay connected when traveling! It makes traveling to Ghana so much easier. Think about getting directions from Google Maps, search for nearby restaurants, stay in touch, solve language barriers, find your hotel back, emergencies, etc.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends an MTN prepaid sim card for Ghana. They have the best 4G/5G network in Ghana and they also have affordable prepaid sim card deals for tourists.
You might think that buying a local prepaid sim card in Ghana is the best way to stay connected, but let me introduce to you e-sim cards for Ghana. You order online and arrange everything within just a couple minutes and e-sim cards for Ghana already start from $5 USD.
you may also like…
Buying a Sim Card for Sao Tome & Principe 
Buying a Sim Card for Cameroon in 2023 
Buying a Sim Card for Burkina Faso in 2023
Another great way of staying connected is a global sim card with data. These travel sim cards work in multiple countries, although slightly more expensive they come with a lot of advantages, especially for frequent travelers. Check out my comparison of the best International sim cards for travelers in 2023.
Best e-sim cards for Ghana
The easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Ghana in 2023 is an e-sim card. Get yourself an e-sim card for Ghana and arrive prepared. Arrange everything online in just a couple clicks and no more visiting a sim card store. Order an e-sim card on the internet, get a QR code, scan it, follow the instructions and you are all set.
Check out the following e-sim card plans for Ghana:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5 USD
- 1 GB data for 15 days = $9 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $11.5 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $17 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $29 USD
Click here to order a Ghana e-sim card directly online.
The above data-only e-sim cards for Ghana from FiFi Mobile are only valid in Ghana and operate on the Vodafone 4G/LTE network in Ghana.
There are also international e-sim cards that work in Ghana. These e-sim cards are much more expensive but they operate in 70 – 130 countries around the world:
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $34.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
Through this link you can order an international e-sim card for traveling in Ghana.
You can also order a physical prepaid sim card for Ghana that will be delivered to your home address before your trip. For example 10 GB data for $49.90 USD. Click here to order an international prepaid sim card for Ghana online or see more offers.
Buying a sim card at Accra International Airport
Unfortunately there is no MTN or Vodafone store at Accra International Airport. However, you can still buy a prepaid sim card for Ghana at Accra Kotoko International Airport in the Smice Digital sim card store on your left hand side when you walk out of the arrival hall exit. They do NOT sell MTN prepaid sim cards, only Vodafone prepaid sim cards for double the price compared to the official stores in the Accra city center.
If you are not in a hurry, I recommend you to go to an official MTN or Vodafone store in the city center of Accra. A good place to go is the Accra Mall. When buying a prepaid sim card in Ghana bring your passport. Your new Ghana sim card will be registered on your name and passport number. A copy of your passport will be taken in the store. You will receive a sim card with a phone number that starts with: +233.
The mobile internet operators in Ghana do NOT provide e-sim cards yet as per August 2023.
Mobile internet operators in Ghana
There are 4 main mobile internet operators in Ghana: Glo, Airtel/Tigo, Vodafone and MTN. All of them sell prepaid sim cards for tourists.
Prices for Ghana prepaid sim cards are cheap, especially for tourists. So for finding the best sim card for Ghana it is not the price that is the most important, but the strength of the 4G/5G network. Therefore in this comparison of the best sim card for Ghana in 2023 Traveltomtom did not take into consideration Airtel/Tigo and Glo. The Airtel/Tigo and Glo network coverage is very limited to Accra only and they don’t even offer 4G yet. So for tourists is not recommended to buy a sim card from Airtel/Tigo and/or from Glo.
Prices Ghana sim cards in 2023
Prices and info are updated as per August 2023 and in Ghanaian Cedi: $1 USD = 11.2 GHS and 10 GHS = $0.89 USD.
Vodafone Ghana
A prepaid Vodafone Ghana sim card is free for tourist and can be bought at any official Vodafone store. They offer the following data plans:
- 2.8 GB data for 30 days = 20 GHS
- 6 GB data for 30 days = 50 GHS – $4.5 USD
- 14 GB data for 30 days = 100 GHS – $9 USD
- 45 GB data for 30 days = 200 GHS
- 130 GB data for 30 days = 300 GHS
- 250 GB data for 30 days = 400 GHS
For more info see the Vodafone Ghana website.
MTN Ghana
A prepaid MTN Ghana sim card can also be ordered for free at any official retail store of MTN Ghana. MTN offers only monthly data plans:
- 1.61 GB data = 20 GHS
- 4.84 GB data = 60 GHS
- 10.64 GB data = 100 GHS
- 15.96 GB data = 150 GHS
See all the MTN prepaid sim card data package deals in the photo above or head to the MTN Ghana website.
Best 4G/5G network in Ghana in 2023
As I mentioned already before the network coverage in Ghana is very important when it comes to finding the best sim card for traveling in Ghana. Choose your sim card for Ghana very carefully because you don’t want to end up with no phone signal. Therefore Traveltomtom compared the Ghana network coverage maps of MTN and Vodafone.
In 2023 the networks of Glo and Airtel/Tigo are not worth considering as they are very limited and do not even offer 4G.
Is there 5G in Ghana?
No, as of August 2023 there is no 5G in Ghana yet. You can already be happy with a 4G signal when traveling in Ghana, see the network coverage maps below.
Vodafone 4G/5G network coverage map
MTN 4G/5G network coverage map
As you can see from the above coverage maps for Ghana there is a very big difference between the network strength of Vodafone and MTN. It is an easy conclusion that MTN has the best 3G/4G/5G network in Ghana in 2023.
Best sim card for Ghana in 2023
After comparing the prices for prepaid sim cards we still couldn’t define the best sim card for Ghana in 2023, but after seeing the network coverage maps in Ghana and compared Vodafone with MTN, it is a very easy conclusion.
you may also like…
Buying a Sim Card for Sao Tome & Principe Buying a Sim Card for Cameroon in 2023 Buying a Sim Card for Burkina Faso in 2023
Although Vodafone is much cheaper than MTN, it is very clear that MTN is the best sim card for Ghana in 2023.
Order a sim card for Ghana online
If buying a prepaid sim card in Ghana sounds like too much hassle you can also order an international prepaid sim card on the internet and get it delivered to your home address before your trip. These pre-activated international sim cards work in Ghana and you are online as soon as the plane lands. Especially for those who are only traveling to Accra this is a great solution.
See the following international sim card deals for Ghana:
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
- 10 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD
Click here to order an international prepaid sim card for Ghana directly online or get more info in the link.
Also a last reminder that if your phone is e-sim compatible you can arrange everything online by ordering an e-sim card for Ghana through this link.
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card for Ghana were helpful for your upcoming trip. May you have any questions please leave me a comment below.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of August 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go. On my Instagram profile you can also find a highlight with all my tips and stories for traveling in Ghana.
View this post on Instagram
Enjoy your trip to Ghana!