Destination
The herds are somewhere in the ecosystem every month. NCAA puts the calving herds on the Ndutu plains from late December to April, and Kenya's tourism board puts the Mara River crossings between July and October.
Written by the Africa Bound Tours team in Arusha · checked · 13 sources
Serengeti National Park covers 14,763 km² of short-grass plain, granite kopjes and river woodland in northern Tanzania. It is the main stage for the wildebeest migration. UNESCO counts about two million wildebeest, 900,000 Thomson's gazelles and 300,000 zebras in the wider ecosystem. Come for the herds, and for the lions, hyenas and cheetahs that live off them.
Size, and the fact that the main event moves. Ngorongoro Crater is a fixed bowl with animals in it all year. Tarangire is at its best when the dry season pulls elephants to its river. The Serengeti is far bigger than either, and its herds never stop. UNESCO describes a circular trek of about 1,000 km a year that spans Tanzania and Kenya, where the herds reach the Maasai Mara.
The predators are the other reason to come. UNESCO's figures for the park include about 4,000 lions, 1,000 leopards, 225 cheetahs and 3,500 spotted hyenas. It also lists 2,700 elephants and around 200 black rhinos. More than 500 bird species have been recorded, and the park holds Tanzania's largest ostrich population.
The herds are always somewhere in the ecosystem, so any month can work. What changes is where you should sleep. A 2009 study by Holdo and colleagues found the movement is best explained by rainfall and by the protein in fresh green grass, so the timing shifts from year to year. A fixed month-by-month chart would promise more than the evidence does. Two points on the calendar are well documented:
In between, the route runs from the southern short-grass plains to the northern woodlands of the Mara, as a 2006 study in Ecology describes it. TANAPA names the Grumeti River, the Seronera Valley and the open plains among the habitats that shape the animals' seasonal movements. UNESCO adds that the Mara is the park's only river that flows all year. So we choose the area for your dates rather than reading it off a chart.
By road or by light aircraft. TANAPA says the drive can take seven to eight hours. That's why our road trips break it with a night near Lake Manyara or in Karatu, then cross the Ngorongoro highlands and enter at Naabi Hill. TANAPA names Arusha as the most common starting point, with regular flights to Seronera airstrip. Light aircraft save most of a day on the road.
A few. TANAPA asks visitors to stay in designated areas, keep to speed limits and never feed wildlife. Guides must be certified, and drones are banned without special permission. Entry fees depend on age, residency and vehicle type, and they change. We price every trip from the current TANAPA schedule rather than a figure on a web page.
It's on 18 of our published itineraries. Most go by road and give it two or three nights: two on the 8-day Tanzania Classic, three on the 11-day Tanzania Classic. The usual order is Lake Manyara or Karatu first, then the Serengeti, then Ngorongoro Crater on the way back.
Some trips follow the herds instead. The 11-day Great Migration Safari drives from Ngorongoro to the central Serengeti, then north to the Mara River for three nights, with a balloon flight on day ten. The 6-day Calving Season trip and the 13-day Wet Migration Safari go to Ndutu for the calving. The 15-day flying safari skips the long drive and flies from Arusha to the Western Corridor.
Not sure which suits your dates? Tell us when you can travel and we'll match the route to the herds.
Calving happens on the short-grass plains in the south of the ecosystem, around Ndutu. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority puts the herds on the Ndutu plains from late December, when they arrive from the north, until April. A 2018 study describes their calving as highly synchronised. NCAA also rates Ndutu among the best places in the conservation area to see predators. Ndutu itself sits just outside the park, inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Kenya's tourism board puts the most dramatic crossings between July and October, when the herds cross the Mara River into the Maasai Mara. UNESCO notes the Mara is the park's only river that flows all year. The herds follow rain and fresh grass, so no date is guaranteed. Our 11-day Great Migration Safari spends three nights in the north to give you the best chance.
TANAPA says the drive can take seven to eight hours, so we usually spend a night near Lake Manyara or in Karatu on the way. TANAPA says Arusha is the most common starting point, with regular flights to Seronera airstrip. Flying saves most of a day on the road, and our 15-day flying safari lands in the Western Corridor.
Yes. The herds are somewhere in the ecosystem every month, and UNESCO's counts for the park include about 4,000 lions, 1,000 leopards and 3,500 spotted hyenas. TANAPA lists grassland, riverine forest, swamp, woodland and kopjes, so the scenery changes as you move. We pick the area of the park to match your month.
We plan two nights as a minimum and three where the trip allows. The drive in from Lake Manyara or Karatu takes most of a day, so two nights gives you one full day of game drives. Going all the way north takes longer: our 11-day Great Migration Safari spends four nights in the central and northern Serengeti.
TANAPA asks you to stay in designated areas, keep to speed limits and never feed the animals. Guides must be certified, and drones are prohibited without special permission. TANAPA also advises travelling with a guide or operator, carrying plenty of water and wearing neutral colours. Entry fees vary by age, residency and vehicle, and they change, so check the current schedule.
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From US$4,410 per person (2 sharing, Comfort level), Apr–May 2027
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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.
