Maasai Mara and Serengeti Great Migration Safari

A Masai Mara and Serengeti safari follows the Great Migration itself, one continuous herd crossing a border that means nothing to a wildebeest but changes almost everything about how you plan your trip.

Seeing both sides in one journey lets you match the migration’s actual position that month, rather than gambling on a single park and hoping the herds cooperate with your travel dates.

This Masai Mara and Serengeti safari guide covers the full route, honest pricing, and the border crossing logistics that make this trip different from a single country safari.

Highlights

• Follows the actual Great Migration route across Kenya and Tanzania
• Best odds of a river crossing sighting on either side, season dependent
• Private 4×4 Land Cruiser throughout, with a border crossing vehicle swap
• Three accommodation tiers, budget, mid range and luxury
• One overland border crossing at Sand River or Isebania, or a fly option
• Suits travelers who want the fullest possible migration story, not just one park

Day by day plan

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to the Masai Mara

   You leave Nairobi mid morning, arriving in the Mara by early afternoon in time for your first game drive and a first look at where the herds currently sit that week.

2. Day 2

   Full Day in the Masai Mara

   A full day of game drives across the reserve, timed around the migration’s current position and any river crossing activity reported at the Mara or Talek rivers that week.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to the Serengeti

   An overland border crossing, usually via the Sand River or Isebania route, with a vehicle and driver guide swap at the border since Kenyan and Tanzanian operators run separate permits either side of the line.

4. Day 4

   Full Day in the Serengeti

   A full day exploring the Serengeti’s vast plains, following the migration’s Tanzanian leg, with different scenery and open horizon game viewing that contrasts well with the Mara’s thicker acacia country.

5. Day 5

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   A shorter drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, descending into the crater the following morning for concentrated Big Five game viewing in one of Africa’s most photographed landscapes.

6. Day 6

   Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive

   A full morning game drive inside the crater floor itself, then an afternoon at leisure or a Maasai village visit before your final night on this Masai Mara and Serengeti safari.

7. Day 7

   Return to Nairobi

   A flight back from the Serengeti or Arusha area to Nairobi, or a return overland crossing if your schedule allows the extra driving day.

7 Day Masai Mara and Serengeti Safari, USD per person sharing

• Jul to Oct peak migration season rates shown, all park fees and one border crossing included
• Jan to Mar Ndutu calving season shifts the route toward southern Serengeti, priced similarly
• A fly option between the Mara and Serengeti adds about USD 400 to 550 per person
• Tanzania park fees (Serengeti, Ngorongoro) are higher than Kenya’s and are itemised in your quote
• Rates are always confirmed in writing on WhatsApp before any deposit is paid, and can shift slightly with seasonal camp availability on both sides of the shared border region between the two countries

Get my exact price on WhatsApp

Is the Migration in the Mara or the Serengeti in My Travel Month

The herds move on a broad but not perfectly fixed cycle, roughly Serengeti Jan to Jun, crossing into the Mara Jul to Oct, then back south again Nov to Dec, though exact timing shifts year to year with rainfall.

A Masai Mara and Serengeti safari sidesteps the guesswork built into a single country trip, since your route follows wherever the migration actually sits that month rather than betting everything on one park.

Can I See a River Crossing on Both Sides

Not usually on the same short trip, since crossings cluster around the Mara and Talek rivers Jul to Oct and around the Grumeti and Mara river’s Tanzanian stretch at slightly different points in the cycle.

Your driver guides on both legs of the Masai Mara and Serengeti safari track herd movement daily and position you at the most likely crossing points for your specific travel week, though no operator can ever guarantee the exact moment.

How Much Is a Mara and Serengeti Migration Safari

A 7 day Masai Mara and Serengeti safari starts from about USD 2,350 per person for 6 travelers in budget camps, rising to about USD 4,950 per person for 2 travelers in luxury camps.

Mid range, the tier most of our clients choose, runs from USD 2,890 to USD 3,450 per person depending on group size. See our Maasai Mara fly in safari page if you would rather cut road time on the Kenyan leg.

Is It Better to Fly or Drive Between the Mara and Serengeti

Driving crosses the actual border overland, genuinely part of the experience for many travelers, but adds a full travel day and a vehicle swap partway through your Masai Mara and Serengeti safari.

Flying between the two, usually via Kilimanjaro or Arusha, saves most of a day and suits travelers on a tighter schedule, at an additional cost of roughly USD 400 to 550 per person each way.

Follow the Migration Safari: Planning Around Herd Movement

A genuine follow the migration safari means booking flexible enough dates that your guides can adjust the route slightly if herds move earlier or later than the seasonal average that particular year.

We track migration reports from both sides of the border in the weeks before your trip and confirm final camp placement accordingly, rather than locking a fixed route months in advance regardless of where the herds actually are.

Great Migration Kenya Tanzania Safari: Border Crossing Logistics

The border crossing itself takes 1 to 2 hours including paperwork, with your Kenyan vehicle and driver guide handing over to a Tanzanian counterpart on the other side, standard practice since permits do not cross the border.

Bring your passport, valid Tanzania visa or eTA, and any required vaccination certificate, since border officials do check these before allowing entry on a great migration Kenya Tanzania safari.

Luggage is generally transferred directly between vehicles at the crossing point, so you rarely need to handle your own bags beyond a quick walk across the border post itself while paperwork is processed and stamped.

Masai Mara and Serengeti Safari from Nairobi: Getting Started

Every Masai Mara and Serengeti safari from Nairobi we run starts with the same first day, an early to mid morning departure and arrival at your first Mara camp by early afternoon.

See our Tanzania safaris from Nairobi page if you would rather start directly in Tanzania and add the Mara as a shorter extension instead.

Vehicle, Guides and Pace on This Route

You keep one driver guide for the Kenyan leg and a second for the Tanzanian leg, both experienced specifically in migration tracking, which matters far more here than on a single park trip.

• Pop up roof vehicles on both sides of the border
• Local specialist guides for each country’s specific terrain
• Flexible daily timing around reported herd movement
• Charging points and a cooler box for water in most vehicles

What to Pack for This Safari

Pack for two countries and a border crossing, so keep your Tanzania visa, passport and any required documents easily accessible rather than buried at the bottom of your main bag.

• Neutral coloured clothing for 6 to 7 days, most camps offer laundry
• Passport, Tanzania visa or eTA and yellow fever certificate if required
• Binoculars, useful across both the Mara and Serengeti’s open plains
• See our full what to pack for a Kenya safari checklist for everything else

Comparing This Route with a Single Country Safari

If budget or time is tight, a single country trip such as our Maasai Mara migration safari or 7 day Kenya and Tanzania budget camping safari still delivers strong migration viewing at a lower overall cost.

A Masai Mara and Serengeti safari suits travelers specifically wanting the fuller cross border story, rather than simply the best single park sighting available that week, and it suits repeat visitors particularly well once a first Kenya only trip has already covered the basics.

Best Time for a Masai Mara and Serengeti Safari

Jul to Oct gives the best odds of Mara side river crossings, while Jan to Mar suits the Ndutu calving season further south in the Serengeti, a genuinely different but equally compelling migration chapter.

See our great migration calendar for the month by month detail behind these two windows before you lock in your dates.

Extending to Zanzibar or Kilimanjaro Afterward

Many guests extend a Masai Mara and Serengeti safari with a few nights at the coast, flying from the Serengeti area to Zanzibar rather than backtracking through Nairobi first.

See our Kenya safari and Zanzibar page and our Mount Kenya climbing packages page if a mountain add on interests you instead of a beach finish.

Booking Your Masai Mara and Serengeti Safari

Tell us your travel dates and group size on WhatsApp and we will send a private quote across all three tiers, road or fly combination, within a day.

This route books out early for the Jul to Oct peak, so a Masai Mara and Serengeti safari for those months is best confirmed 4 to 6 months ahead, earlier still for luxury camps on the Tanzanian side.

How to book your Masai Mara and Serengeti safari

Booking your Masai Mara and Serengeti safari with us takes about five minutes of your time. The rest is our job. Here is exactly what happens, step by step, so there are no surprises along the way.

1. Send your dates. Message us on WhatsApp with your travel dates, how many people are coming and the ages of any children. Tell us if you have a budget in mind. We plan with it, not around it.
2. Get a written quote. We reply with a clear price per person, what it includes and what it does not. No hidden park fees and no vague extras. If a cheaper camp or a shorter route makes more sense, we say so.
3. Tweak it until it fits. Change a camp, add a night or swap a park. Ask as many questions as you like. Changes cost nothing until you confirm.
4. Confirm with a deposit. A deposit holds your vehicle, guide and rooms. You get a written confirmation with every detail and the date the balance is due.
5. Travel day. Your driver guide meets you at your hotel or the airport with a name board. You have their number and ours for the whole trip.

What every trip with us includes

Every Masai Mara and Serengeti safari plan we put together comes with the basics done properly. You ride in a safari vehicle with a pop up roof, with a professional driver guide who knows the parks. Water is in the cooler box, and park fees are sorted in advance so you do not stand in a queue at the gate.

We also stay reachable. If something changes on the road, a flat tyre, a closed route or a sudden storm, we sort it and keep you posted on WhatsApp.

Paying safely

We share payment details in writing only, and every payment gets a receipt. The payment options and the balance date sit on your written quote, so nothing is left to memory or a phone call.

Why book with a Nairobi team

We live here. We drive these roads all year, we know which camps are honest about their photos, and we know when a park is too busy to enjoy. That local knowledge is what turns a good Masai Mara and Serengeti safari into a great one. Our Google rating sits at 5.0 from 46 reviews, and we plan to keep it that way.

Ready when you are. Send us a message and we will put a plan together for you shortly.

Questions people ask

Official information: Tanzania National Parks.

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