Let me tell you something most safari websites will not. The Great Migration is not a schedule. You cannot open a calendar, point to a date, and say "the herds will be here." It does not work like that. The migration follows the rain. And the rain follows its own rules. So the single most important thing I can give you in this guide is honesty about what actually happens on the ground, month by month, based on years of watching these animals move across this incredible landscape.
Too many travellers arrive in the Serengeti expecting a spectacle on demand. The ones who leave transformed are the ones who understood the rhythm before they booked. That is what this guide is for.
Here is where the herds actually are as I write this in mid-June 2026. The bulk of them are across the central Serengeti and have started the push north. The larger columns are tracking northwest through the Western Corridor toward the Grumeti River, while others move up through the central corridor. All of them are heading for the northern Serengeti and the Mara River, where the major crossings come later in the season. If you are planning to travel in the next few weeks, the Grumeti crossings are the realistic window right now. They run roughly through July. The Mara River crossings begin from late July and continue into October. I update this note through the season as the herds move, so what you are reading is current.
January to February: The Calving Season
In January and February the herds are concentrated on the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area, and what the traveller sees is the calving in full flow. Around 8,000 calves are born every single day during a two to three week window, usually peaking in early February. This is my personal favourite time in the Serengeti, and most people have never even heard of it. You read that right. Eight thousand new lives every day.
The predator action is constant. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals all know what this season means. They converge on these plains because thousands of vulnerable newborns are stumbling to their feet for the first time. The photography during calving season is some of the best you will ever get anywhere in Africa because the terrain is flat, the light is golden, and the animals are everywhere. And the crowds? A fraction of what you will see during the river crossings later in the year.
Ndutu area lodges and mobile camps give you the closest access to the calving grounds. Ndutu Safari Lodge, Lemala Ndutu, and several seasonal mobile camps put you right in the middle of the action. But you need to book early. The best camps during calving season fill up by September the year before.
March to April: The Long Rains Begin
In March and April the herds drift northward from the southern plains into the central Serengeti as the long rains begin, and the traveller finds them spreading across the Seronera valley. March can still offer excellent game viewing around Ndutu and the Kusini area because the herds have not fully moved yet. By April, the rains pick up and the herds spread out across the central Seronera valley.
Here is something most operators will not tell you. April is Tanzania's quietest tourism month and some lodges drop their rates significantly. If you are okay with afternoon showers, and honestly you should be because mornings are usually clear and the light is extraordinary, this is one of the best value months to visit. The landscape goes from golden brown to vivid green almost overnight. The birdlife hits its absolute peak with migrant species arriving from Europe and Asia. It is a completely different Serengeti and it is beautiful.
May to June: The Western Corridor
In May and June the herds move north and northwest off the central plains, and the traveller follows them toward the Grumeti River. The larger columns push through the Western Corridor toward the Grumeti while others track up through the central corridor, and the first major river crossings of the year happen here at the Grumeti, not the Mara. The Grumeti crossings come around June and July. They are smaller in scale than the Mara crossings but just as intense, and the Nile crocodiles in this river are some of the largest in all of Africa.
June is the month I love recommending for the Grumeti. The crossings here happen at a handful of points along the river inside the Western Corridor, and the timing is genuinely unpredictable, driven by grass and water rather than any calendar. To give yourself a fair chance of watching one, allow at least two or three nights based in or near the corridor rather than passing through in a single day. I position guests in camps with quick access to the active stretch of river, so we can move the moment the herds start to build on the bank. June also gives you the tail end of the rains giving way to dry skies and outstanding general game drives, because the resident wildlife in the western Serengeti is strong year round, especially the lion prides and the hippo pools along the Grumeti.
The Western Corridor is significantly less crowded than the northern Serengeti during crossing season. If you want to witness migration drama without twenty other vehicles around you, June in the Grumeti concession is your answer.
July to August: The Mara River Crossings
In July and August the herds reach the northern Serengeti and the Mara River, and this is the stretch most people picture when they think of the Great Migration. Two million animals funnel toward the river, gather on the banks in vast congregations, and then erupt across the water in a chaos of hooves, spray, and crocodile ambushes. It is exactly as dramatic as it sounds. And nothing, absolutely nothing, prepares you for the sound of it in person.
The major crossings run from late July, when the herds first reach the river in number, and they continue through August and into October. The main crossing points sit along the Mara River in the far northern Serengeti, around Kogatende and the Lamai Wedge. A crossing can happen several times in a single day or not at all for three days straight, because the animals are reading water, grass, and pressure on the bank that none of us can predict. To realistically see one, allow at least three nights in the north rather than a single overnight. The way we work is to base you within reach of the active crossing points and have our guides on the river early, reading where the herds are massing, so that when a column commits to the water you are already in position. Patience is essential, and there are never guarantees on exact timing.
July and August are peak season. That means higher prices and more vehicles at popular crossing points. This is exactly where having a local operator like us makes all the difference. We know which crossing points attract fewer vehicles. We know which camps offer private concession access. And we read the herds' movements in real time rather than relying on last week's reports from a desk somewhere far away.
September to October: Mara and the Return
In September and October the herds are split between the northern Serengeti and Kenya's Masai Mara, with large portions having already crossed the Mara River. The major crossings continue through September and into October, so this is still a genuine crossing window rather than the end of one. You also start to see something fascinating called reverse crossings, where herds that already crossed into Kenya turn around and head back south into Tanzania as conditions shift.
October is one of those months that experienced safari travellers love. The herds begin fragmenting. Some animals are still in the northern Serengeti. Some are in the Mara. And the first groups are already drifting south again. The game viewing remains outstanding and October sits in a pricing sweet spot between peak season and green season rates. If you have flexibility on your dates, October is a month I often recommend.
November to December: Heading Home
In November and December the herds move back south through the eastern Serengeti, and the traveller follows them toward the calving grounds. The short rains arrive in November and pull the herds down out of the north. By December, the migration is in full southbound flow, heading toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the southern Serengeti plains where the whole cycle will begin again with calving in January.
December safaris have a magic of their own. The combination of migration movement, lush green landscapes, newborn animals from non migratory species, and the festive season atmosphere at the camps creates something really special. Some of our most memorable client safaris have been December departures and I think more people should consider it.
How to Plan Your Migration Safari
The single most important decision is not which month to travel. It is who designs your itinerary. The migration covers an ecosystem of roughly 30,000 square kilometres. Being in the Serengeti does not automatically mean you will see the migration. You need to be in the right part of the Serengeti, at the right time, with a guide who understands daily herd movements and has real time ground intelligence. Most migration itineraries also pair with a few days in Tarangire National Park as the gateway from Arusha, where the elephant herds along the river complement the migration without competing for attention with the Serengeti.
At Westway Safaris, we design every migration itinerary around current conditions, not a fixed template. We are based in Arusha, the gateway city to the northern Tanzania safari circuit, and our ground network includes guides, camp managers, and pilots across the ecosystem who feed us daily positioning updates. When you travel with us, you are not following a brochure. You are following the herds.
The best migration safari is not the most expensive one. It is the one designed by someone who was tracking the herds yesterday, not someone reading about them from an office in London.
If you already have dates in mind or want to know what this costs for your specific trip, send your details on WhatsApp and I will respond with a personalised answer within a few hours.
What Does a Migration Safari Cost?
Migration safaris typically range from $560 to $1,500 per person per day depending on the level of accommodation. A well designed 5 to 7 day itinerary with mid range to luxury lodges generally costs between $3,000 and $8,000 per person all inclusive. That covers accommodation, meals, game drives, park fees, and internal transfers.
The key variables that affect pricing are the season (July and August are peak), the accommodation tier (mobile tented camps versus permanent luxury lodges), and whether you include fly in transfers or travel by road. We always provide transparent, itemised quotes with no hidden fees. What you see is what you pay.
| Month | Where the Herds Are | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Jan to Feb | Southern Serengeti / Ndutu | Calving season, predator action, fewer crowds |
| Mar to Apr | Central Serengeti | Rains, green season value, incredible birdlife |
| May to Jun | Western Corridor / Grumeti | Grumeti River crossings, transition to dry season |
| Jul to Aug | Northern Serengeti / Mara River | Peak crossings, dramatic action, highest demand |
| Sep to Oct | Northern Serengeti / Masai Mara | Continued crossings, reverse crossings, pricing sweet spot |
| Nov to Dec | Eastern / Southern Serengeti | Return south, short rains, green landscapes |
Frequently Asked Questions
July through October offers the most dramatic action, including the famous Mara River crossings. However, the calving season in January-February in southern Serengeti is equally spectacular and far less crowded.
As of mid-June 2026, the bulk of the herds are across the central Serengeti and pushing north. The larger columns are moving northwest through the Western Corridor toward the Grumeti River, where crossings run through July. They then continue to the northern Serengeti and the Mara River, where the major crossings run from late July into October.
Migration safaris typically range from $560 to $1,500 per person per day depending on the level of accommodation. A well-designed 5-7 day itinerary with mid-range to luxury lodges generally costs between $3,000 and $8,000 per person.
