Best Time to Visit the Serengeti
Which part of the park to be in, month by month. The Serengeti is large enough that the answer changes by region as well as by season.
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The usual advice, "come in the dry season", is true for Tanzania generally and not very useful for the Serengeti specifically. The park is large enough that the better question is which part of it to be in, and that changes through the year.
The short answer
- Calving and dense predator action: the southern plains and Ndutu, early in the year.
- River crossings: the north, later in the dry season.
- Dependable game viewing whatever your dates: the centre, any month.
- Fewest vehicles: the west, or the north outside the crossing window.
Early in the year
The herds are usually on the short-grass plains in the south and around Ndutu, and this is calving season. An enormous number of calves are born in a compressed window, and the predators concentrate accordingly. Cheetah in particular do well on this flat, open ground.
This is arguably the best time of the whole cycle for wildlife behaviour, and it's quieter than the crossing season. Off-road driving is permitted on the Ngorongoro Conservation Area side around Ndutu, which matters if you're photographing.
The long rains
The herds begin drifting northwest through the central park. The columns can be spectacular, but this is the wettest stretch of the year, some camps close, and it's the least predictable period to plan around. Prices are at their lowest and the park is at its emptiest, which suits some travellers very well.
Mid-year
The herds push into the Western Corridor and meet the Grumeti River. Crossings here are smaller than the Mara crossings and watched by far fewer vehicles. Meanwhile the central park is drying out and game is concentrating around permanent water.
The second half of the dry season
The famous window. Herds are usually in the north, crossing the Mara River, sometimes repeatedly and in both directions depending on grazing. This is also peak season across the whole country. The north is busy, and accommodation inside the park is booked months ahead.
If you are coming for the crossings, give yourself at least three nights in the north. One night is a lottery ticket.
Toward the end of the year
With the short rains the herds turn south again across the eastern plains. The park greens up, migrant birds arrive, and visitor numbers drop before the year-end peak. A good compromise window if you want reasonable weather without peak crowds.
The caveat that matters
All of the above follows rainfall, and rainfall varies year to year. The herds don't read calendars, and no operator can promise you a river crossing on a particular date. We can tell you where the herds have actually been in recent weeks, not where a chart says they should be.
If your dates are fixed
Stay central. Seronera holds resident game in every month of the year, and a fixed-date trip built around the centre is far more robust than one built around catching the migration in a specific place.
