A thoughtful guide to the Great Migration

Around two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle move through the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem in a continuous circuit. They are following rainfall and fresh grazing, which means the migration is always happening somewhere. The question is never whether you will see it, but where it will be when you travel.

The circuit, month by month

These are patterns, not promises. An unusual rainy season can shift everything by several weeks.

1. **December to March — the southern Serengeti and Ndutu.** The herds spread across short-grass plains rich in the minerals that nursing mothers need. Calving peaks in February, when several hundred thousand calves are born within a few weeks. Predator activity is intense.
2. **April to May — moving north and west.** The herds break into columns and drift towards the central and western Serengeti as the long rains arrive.
3. **June to July — the Grumeti and the western corridor.** The first significant river crossings of the year happen here, with crocodile and large numbers of animals funnelled into a narrow channel.
4. **July to October — the northern Serengeti and the Maasai Mara.** The Mara River crossings that most people picture happen along this stretch, in both Tanzania and Kenya.
5. **November — the return south.** Short rains green the southern plains and the herds begin the journey back.

About river crossings

A crossing is unpredictable in a way that is easy to underestimate. Herds gather at a bank, build up over hours or days, and may still turn away. Some crossings last ten minutes. Some never happen at that site at all.

Nobody can guarantee you a river crossing. What a good plan can do is put you in the right place, with enough nights, and with a guide who reads the build-up rather than chasing rumours.

In practice that means three or four nights minimum in the crossing areas during the season, a private vehicle so your day is not cut short by other guests' schedules, and an early start.

Calving season is the quieter alternative

February in the southern Serengeti is, for many of our guests, the more moving experience. The plains are full of newborns, the predator action is constant and immediate, and there are far fewer vehicles than at a July crossing. If your interest is wildlife behaviour rather than a single iconic image, this is the season we most often recommend.

Kenya, Tanzania, or both?

Between roughly July and October you can watch the same event from either country. Tanzania's northern Serengeti is remoter and quieter; Kenya's Maasai Mara and the conservancies around it are easier to reach and pair naturally with Amboseli or the coast.

Combining both is possible, and we regularly arrange it, but it needs enough nights on each side to be worth the border crossing and the transfers.

Practical planning notes

• Camps in the crossing areas book out ten to twelve months ahead for the peak season.
• Mobile camps that move with the herds are often the best-placed option, and they need the earliest commitment of all.
• Conservancies neighbouring the Maasai Mara cap vehicle numbers, so sightings are calmer even in the busiest weeks.
• Build in flexibility. If the herds move, a well-planned itinerary can move with them.

Tell us the dates you have available and we will tell you where the herds are likely to be, and what a realistic week around them looks like.