7 Days Kenya and Tanzania Wildebeest Migration Safari

Drive from Nairobi to Masai Mara National Reserve

Your seven-day safari begins with an early morning pickup from your hotel or another confirmed location in Nairobi. Meet your safari driver guide, receive a short briefing and begin the journey west towards Masai Mara National Reserve. The drive takes you through Kenya's countryside and the Great Rift Valley region before continuing towards Narok and the Mara ecosystem.

Allow approximately 5 to 7 hours or longer for the journey, depending on where you start in Nairobi, traffic, the road leading to your camp and stops along the way. The changing landscape is part of the experience, with open valleys, small towns, grazing land and rolling hills giving way to the famous grasslands of the Masai Mara.

On arrival, transfer to your selected lodge or tented camp and check in. Depending on your arrival time and the property's location, spend the late afternoon relaxing or enjoying the immediate surroundings. A proper game drive should only be scheduled if enough daylight remains and the necessary reserve access arrangements are in place.

Dinner and overnight in the Masai Mara. Your guide will confirm the next morning's early departure and plans for a full day of wildlife viewing.

Mid-range: Sentrim Mara Lodge

Luxury: Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Meals: Dinner

Full-Day Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration and Big Five Safari

Wake early for breakfast before setting out with your driver guide and a packed lunch for a full day exploring Masai Mara National Reserve. The cooler morning hours are often rewarding for predator activity, so keep your eyes open for lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyenas as you travel through the open grassland and scattered acacia woodland.

The Mara supports a remarkable variety of wildlife throughout the year. Your guide will search for elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, topis, gazelles, antelopes and other animals. Black rhinos also inhabit the wider ecosystem, although they are much less frequently encountered than many other large mammals.

During the migration season, particularly between July and October, large herds of wildebeest and zebras may spread across the Masai Mara in search of suitable grazing. If the herds are gathering around the Mara River, your guide may visit the appropriate viewpoints to watch their movements. The animals sometimes approach the water, pause or retreat before crossing at another point, so patience is essential.

The Mara River is also home to Nile crocodiles and hippos. Even if no crossing takes place, the river and surrounding plains offer excellent opportunities to observe wildlife behaviour, predator-prey interactions and the changing landscapes of the reserve.

Enjoy your packed lunch at a designated picnic area before continuing with the afternoon game drive. A Maasai community visit may be arranged separately if sufficient time is available, although a full-day wildlife programme should not be shortened unnecessarily simply to fit in another activity.

Return to your lodge or camp for dinner and overnight, ready for the long transfer into Tanzania the following morning.

Accommodation: Same selected Masai Mara lodge as Day 1

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Cross from Masai Mara into Tanzania via Isebania-Sirari

After a very early breakfast, check out of your lodge and begin the overland journey towards Tanzania. The Masai Mara and Serengeti form part of the same great wildlife ecosystem, but there is no direct tourist border crossing between the two national parks. Your route therefore travels west towards the official Isebania-Sirari border crossing.

Depending on your lodge's location, the journey first takes you out of the Mara reserve or surrounding conservancy and across the western Kenyan countryside. Your guide will coordinate the route with the border opening arrangements and the Tanzania safari team. Allow a full travel day, since the overland connection may require around 9 to 12 hours or longer in total, particularly when continuing towards Northern Serengeti.

At Isebania, complete the necessary exit formalities for Kenya. Continue through the Sirari entry point on the Tanzanian side, complete immigration and customs procedures, and meet the Tanzania driver guide and vehicle arranged for the next section of the safari. Travellers must carry the correct entry documents for both countries, as Tanzania is not covered by the East Africa Tourist Visa.

Continue towards Serengeti National Park using the confirmed entrance gate and road route. The final journey to your camp depends on its exact location and must be planned around daylight, park access times and road conditions. A few wildlife sightings may be possible along the permitted park roads, but this day should be treated primarily as a cross-border transfer, not a full game drive.

The route is intended to position you for migration viewing in Northern Serengeti on the following day. If your selected camp is too far to reach safely by road, the itinerary will need a pre-arranged flight connection, different overnight location or additional travel day. These arrangements should be settled before confirming the booking.

On arrival at your camp, check in and enjoy dinner after the journey.

Accommodation options: Mara River Camp or Mara Heritage Camp

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Full-Day Northern Serengeti Great Migration and Mara River Safari

After an early breakfast, meet your Tanzania driver guide and head into Northern Serengeti with a packed lunch. This part of the park is particularly rewarding when wildebeest and zebras are moving through the Mara River ecosystem, usually between July and October. The surrounding grasslands and riverine woodland also support resident wildlife throughout the year.

Your guide will follow recent herd activity and choose routes based on where the animals are feeding, resting or approaching the river. During the migration season, immense concentrations of wildebeest and zebras may gather along the riverbanks. Some herds cross into Kenya, while others move back into Tanzania as grazing conditions change.

A river crossing is a natural event and cannot be guaranteed. Herds sometimes gather beside the water for hours without moving, and they may suddenly turn away or cross somewhere else. Your guide will balance time spent watching migration activity with opportunities to explore other productive wildlife areas.

Look for lions, cheetahs, leopards, spotted hyenas, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, Nile crocodiles and numerous antelope species. The mixture of river valleys, open grasslands and rocky sections gives Northern Serengeti a different character from the Masai Mara.

Enjoy a picnic lunch during the game drive before continuing your wildlife viewing in the afternoon. Return to your camp for dinner and overnight. For this migration-focused day, accommodation close to Northern Serengeti's Mara River area is preferable to a lodge far away in Central Serengeti.

Accommodation: Northern Serengeti camp, with Mara River Camp or Mara Heritage Camp considered only after confirming the actual location

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Game Drive from Northern to Central Serengeti and Explore the Seronera Plains

After breakfast, check out of your Northern Serengeti camp and begin the journey south towards Central Serengeti. This is a game-viewing transfer through Serengeti National Park, rather than a short road journey, so leave early and carry a packed lunch.

As you travel, the rolling northern landscapes gradually open into broader savannah, acacia woodland and the impressive granite rock formations known as kopjes. Allow approximately 4 to 6 hours or longer for the drive, depending on the camp locations, chosen routes, road conditions and wildlife stops.

The Central Serengeti, especially the Seronera area, is well known for excellent resident wildlife viewing. Lions may be seen resting around the kopjes or moving through the open grasslands, while leopards favour suitable riverine woodland. Cheetahs often use the more open plains, where they can watch herds of gazelles and other prey.

Your guide will also search for elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, spotted hyenas, jackals, antelopes and birds. Depending on the movement of the migration and the time of year, you may encounter additional wildebeest herds travelling through the central plains.

Enjoy your picnic lunch along the route and continue with an afternoon game drive around the most accessible wildlife areas near your camp. The day's driving distance means the wildlife programme must remain flexible, with enough time to reach your accommodation before the evening.

A hot air balloon safari can be considered as a separately arranged activity, but it requires an appropriate overnight location and an early morning departure. It should not be promised as part of this day's schedule while transferring from Northern to Central Serengeti.

Arrive at your central lodge or camp for dinner and overnight.

Mid-range: Osinon Camps and Lodges, Central Serengeti

Luxury: Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Central Serengeti

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater for a Wildlife Safari

Wake very early for breakfast and begin the journey southeast from Central Serengeti towards Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This is another substantial travel day, passing through the open Serengeti plains and the highland landscapes surrounding Ngorongoro. Depending on your camp's location, allow approximately 4 to 5 hours or longer to reach the crater entrance area.

The scenery changes considerably as you approach the crater highlands, with rolling grasslands, Maasai pastoral landscapes and patches of montane forest replacing the open plains of Serengeti. Your driver guide will coordinate the road transfer, conservation area entry formalities and permitted crater access arrangements.

Once you reach the crater rim, descend approximately 600 metres into Ngorongoro Crater. The caldera covers around 260 square kilometres and contains grasslands, woodland, swamps and seasonal water sources that support an exceptional concentration of wildlife.

During your crater game drive, search for lions, Cape buffaloes, elephants, zebras, wildebeest, spotted hyenas, gazelles, warthogs and other animals. Ngorongoro is also an important refuge for endangered black rhinos, although sightings are never guaranteed and the animals may remain far from the roads.

Your guide may explore suitable routes through the grasslands and wetland areas. Hippos can be found in some of the crater's pools, while Lake Magadi may attract flamingos and other waterbirds when water conditions are favourable. Enjoy your packed lunch at a designated picnic area if your arrival and permitted viewing time allow.

Because you are travelling from Central Serengeti on the same morning, this schedule allows for a shorter crater safari rather than an uninterrupted full-day game drive. A genuinely full-day crater experience is more practical with an overnight stay near Ngorongoro before descending.

Later, ascend the crater wall and continue towards your accommodation in Karatu or the Ngorongoro highlands. A Maasai cultural visit can be arranged separately only if sufficient time remains.

Budget to mid-range: Hhando Coffee Lodge

Mid-range: Karatu Tented Camp

Luxury: Ngorongoro Oldeani Mountain Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Drive from Ngorongoro or Karatu to Arusha for Departure

After breakfast, check out of your lodge and begin the return journey towards Arusha. The drive takes you through northern Tanzania's highland countryside, passing the Karatu area, small towns and farming communities before continuing towards the safari hub of Arusha.

Allow approximately 3 to 4 hours for the journey from the wider Ngorongoro and Karatu region to Arusha, depending on your lodge's actual location, traffic and road conditions. If your onward flight departs from Kilimanjaro International Airport, allow additional time for the journey beyond Arusha.

Your driver guide will organise the transfer around your confirmed onward arrangements. Depending on the departure time, you may stop for refreshments or lunch before continuing to your hotel, Arusha Airport or Kilimanjaro International Airport.

This marks the end of your 7 Days Kenya and Tanzania Wildebeest Migration Safari, after exploring the Masai Mara, Northern and Central Serengeti and the wildlife-rich Ngorongoro Crater.

Meals: Breakfast