Home›Experiences›Great Migration
Great Migration Safari from Zanzibar
Where the herds are each month, and which fly-in safari from Zanzibar fits your dates.
The Great Migration is a continuous, year-round movement, not an event with a start and end date. What concentrates between July and October are the river crossings at the Mara in the far north — the spectacle most people picture from documentaries. The calving season on the southern short-grass plains from December to March is just as much the migration.
The herds move in response to rain, and rain moves. No operator can honestly guarantee a river crossing on your dates. Anyone who does is guessing with your money. What we can do is tell you where the herds usually are in the month you are travelling, and which trip fits.
You will notice we say crossing season rather than migration season for July to October. The distinction matters: the migration runs all year, the crossings do not.
The three sectors
Where the herds rotate
The southern plains — Ndutu and Loliondo
Open short-grass country. The herds gather here early in the year to calve, on rich soil with wide sightlines that make predator viewing exceptional.
The central plains — Seronera valley
The year-round heartbeat of the Serengeti. The mega-herds pass through in transition, but resident lion, leopard, elephant and giraffe are here in every month.
The northern sector — Kogatende and the Mara
Wooded hills, kopjes and the river itself. This is the only place the crossings happen, and only between July and October.
Month by month
Where they usually are
Usually, not always. The herds move with the rain and the rain moves. Tell us your dates and we will tell you what is realistic on them.
January
Southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area
Calving season. Huge herds gather on the short-grass plains to drop their calves — roughly 8,000 a day at the peak — which draws lion, cheetah and hyena in concentration.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
February
Southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area
Calving season. Huge herds gather on the short-grass plains to drop their calves — roughly 8,000 a day at the peak — which draws lion, cheetah and hyena in concentration.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
March
Southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area
Calving season. Huge herds gather on the short-grass plains to drop their calves — roughly 8,000 a day at the peak — which draws lion, cheetah and hyena in concentration.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
April
Moving north-west through the central plains toward the Grumeti
The long rains scatter the herds, then pull them together again as they march toward the western channels and permanent water. Lush country, dramatic light, few vehicles.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
May
Moving north-west through the central plains toward the Grumeti
The long rains scatter the herds, then pull them together again as they march toward the western channels and permanent water. Lush country, dramatic light, few vehicles.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
June
Moving north-west through the central plains toward the Grumeti
The long rains scatter the herds, then pull them together again as they march toward the western channels and permanent water. Lush country, dramatic light, few vehicles.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
July Crossing
Northern Serengeti, along the Mara River near Kogatende
The crossings. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra face steep banks, fast water and Nile crocodile. Bookable only through the northern 4-day.
Airstrip: Kogatende Airstrip
August Crossing
Northern Serengeti, along the Mara River near Kogatende
The crossings. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra face steep banks, fast water and Nile crocodile. Bookable only through the northern 4-day.
Airstrip: Kogatende Airstrip
September Crossing
Northern Serengeti, along the Mara River near Kogatende
The crossings. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra face steep banks, fast water and Nile crocodile. Bookable only through the northern 4-day.
Airstrip: Kogatende Airstrip
October Crossing
Northern Serengeti, along the Mara River near Kogatende
The crossings. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra face steep banks, fast water and Nile crocodile. Bookable only through the northern 4-day.
Airstrip: Kogatende Airstrip
November
Eastern and northern woodlands, descending south
The short rains green the plains and the herds move south quickly to prepare for the next calving cycle. Quiet parks and some of the best photographic light of the year.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
December
Eastern and northern woodlands, descending south
The short rains green the plains and the herds move south quickly to prepare for the next calving cycle. Quiet parks and some of the best photographic light of the year.
Airstrip: Seronera Airstrip
Sample itinerary
The northern 4-day, July to October
-
Day 1
Zanzibar to Kogatende
Depart Zanzibar on the morning Flightlink service, flying straight north to Kogatende. Your private guide meets you at the airstrip, with game viewing on the transfer to camp and an afternoon drive toward the Mara River.
-
Day 2
A full day on the river
Tracking the herds along the banks and positioning near active crossing points. This is a patient business — a crossing can build for hours and then not happen. Packed lunch in the field so nobody has to leave at the wrong moment.
-
Day 3
The wider northern Serengeti
A second full day across the northern plains. When the river is quiet the north still holds superb resident game, with a fraction of the vehicles you would see in the central valley.
-
Day 4
Dawn drive and the flight home
A final dawn game drive, breakfast, then the transfer to the airstrip for the return flight to Zanzibar.
Why the booking is gated and the page is not
The northern routing only works between 1 July and 31 October. Outside that window the herds are not on the Mara and the trip cannot be delivered as described, so our checkout refuses those departure dates rather than taking the money for an empty river.
The check runs against your departure date, never the date you book. A booking made in March for an August departure goes through perfectly normally.
The page itself stays up all year, because someone reading this in February planning for August is exactly the traveller worth having.
Questions
What people ask
Can you guarantee I will see a river crossing?
No, and neither can anyone else. Three or four nights in the northern sector buy you several chances to see the herds massing and crossing. Nature decides the timing. An operator who guarantees a crossing on a calendar date is guessing with your money.
What if my dates fall outside July to October?
We will tell you plainly that the herds are not at the Mara then, and we will not sell you a crossing safari. What you would see instead is the Serengeti's resident game — lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe — and, from December to March, the calving season on the southern plains, which is every bit as much the migration. We would point you at the central 3-day or 4-day.
How do we reach the herds in the north?
We fly you from Zanzibar to Kogatende airstrip on a scheduled Flightlink service. Driving from the central Serengeti would be five to six hours of rough road each way, which is most of a safari day gone in each direction.
Are migration safaris shared with other travellers?
Never. Every safari on this site is a private departure — your own vehicle, your own guide, nobody else in the row behind you.
What is included in the price?
Return Flightlink flights, all airport and airstrip transfers, full board accommodation, a private 4x4 with a pop-up roof and a resident guide, all park entry and concession fees, drinking water in the vehicle, and all government taxes.
Tell us your dates
We will tell you what is actually likely
Before you pay us anything, and even if the answer is that your dates suit a different trip.