Destination
Kenya's tourism board puts the main Mara River crossings between July and October; the Big Five live in the reserve all year, and WMO averages for nearby Narok show April as the wettest month and July the driest.
Written by the Africa Bound Tours team in Arusha · checked · 14 sources
The Maasai Mara National Reserve is open grassland in south-western Kenya, on the Tanzanian border, at the northern end of the Serengeti ecosystem. From July to October the migration herds cross the Mara River into it. If you want river crossings and a Kenya leg on the same trip, this is where you go.
Narok County, not the Kenya Wildlife Service. Kenya's biodiversity clearing house lists it as a national reserve, designated in 1961 and managed by the Narok County Government, and the county sells park entry tickets through its own online service. Its size depends on who you ask: UNESCO gives 1,672 km², the Kenyan clearing house about 1,510 km².
The reserve isn't the whole Mara. The wider landscape also has community conservancies, where local landowners combine livestock grazing with wildlife tourism, as recent research in the Mara describes.
It's the same ecosystem split by a border. UNESCO describes over a million wildebeest walking a circular route of about 1,000 km a year across Kenya and Tanzania, with no barriers in the way, and Kenya's records put the shared Mara–Serengeti ecosystem at some 25,000 km². The Serengeti is the larger share. The Mara River links the two: UNESCO notes it's the only river in the Serengeti that flows all year.
The practical difference is paperwork. Kenya needs its own travel authorisation, and coming back into Tanzania means Tanzanian entry rules again.
Kenya's tourism board puts the most dramatic part of the migration from July to October, when the herds cross the Mara River into the reserve. The herds move all year after water and grass, so dates shift. The crossings are dangerous for the animals. A 2017 study in PNAS found mass drownings of more than 100 wildebeest in at least 13 of 15 years, with an average of 6,250 carcasses entering the river each year.
Outside those months the Big Five are still here. WMO averages for nearby Narok show March to May as the wettest stretch, peaking at 135.4 mm in April, and July as the driest month at 16.6 mm.
Every visitor to Kenya, children included, needs an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) before travelling. Apply only on Kenya's official eTA site. It says applications usually take three days and advises applying at least two weeks ahead. A standard eTA allows one entry, and two of our trips can re-enter Kenya at the end, so ask us which type fits your route. Tanzanian citizens are exempt for up to 180 days.
Heading into Tanzania, UK government advice says you need a Tanzanian visa and must buy Tanzania's inbound travel insurance at your first port of entry. Fees and rules change on both sides, so check close to departure.
Want a different balance between Kenya and Tanzania? Tell us on plan your trip.
Kenya's tourism board puts the most dramatic part of the migration between July and October, when the herds cross the Mara River into the reserve. The herds move all year in search of water and fresh grass, so exact dates shift from year to year. Our itineraries treat the crossings as a possibility in season, never a promise.
Yes, unless you're exempt. Kenya requires every visitor, children included, to hold an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation before travelling. Apply on the official site, etakenya.go.ke, at least two weeks ahead; processing usually takes three days. A standard eTA allows one entry, so tell us if your route leaves Kenya and comes back.
No. It's a national reserve, designated in 1961 and managed by the Narok County Government rather than the Kenya Wildlife Service. The wider Mara also has community conservancies, where local landowners combine livestock grazing with wildlife tourism. Park entry tickets are sold through Narok County's own online service.
Yes, and three of our itineraries do. One drives from the Mara to the Tanzanian border and on to the western Serengeti. One crosses at Namanga after Amboseli. One flies from Nairobi to Lake Manyara. The two parks are one ecosystem, so you see migration country from both sides of the border.
Our itineraries spend two or three nights. Two nights gives you one full day of game drives between the drives in and out. Three nights adds a second full day, which our 16-Day Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar trip uses for a balloon flight. In the crossing months, extra time gives you more chances to be at the river when the herds arrive.
WMO long-term averages for Narok, the nearest station, show April as the wettest month at 135.4 mm and July the driest at 16.6 mm. March to May is the wettest stretch overall. Days are mild rather than hot, with average highs at Narok of about 22°C in July and 27°C in February.
15days
Private · Kenya
The ultimate 15-day journey through East Africa's most iconic wildlife country. Beginning in Nairobi, the road leads to the world-famous Masai Mara, the peaceful shores of Lake Naivasha and elephant-rich Amboseli beneath Mount Kilimanjaro.
From US$8,760 per person (2 sharing), Apr–May
16days
Private · Kenya
16days
Small group · Kenya · Beach
Sixteen days across East Africa's greatest hits — city, rift lakes, savannah and spice island.
Park · Northern circuit
Conservation area · Northern circuit
Conservation area · Northern circuit
Park · Northern circuit
Arusha 3.37° S · 36.68° E
Who is coming, roughly when, and what you would love to see. Someone from our Arusha team reads every request and replies with ideas and a first itinerary.
