A year long circuit, not an event with a date
Around 1.5 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra move through the Serengeti ecosystem in a continuous loop driven by rainfall and grazing. There is no start and no finish, which means the useful question is never when the migration happens but where the herds are in the month you are travelling.
Between January and March the herds are on the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area, calving. Roughly 400,000 calves are born in a period of a few weeks, which draws in lion, cheetah, hyena and wild dog. This is arguably the best predator viewing of the entire cycle.
From April the herds begin moving north and west through the central Serengeti. By May and June they are in the Western Corridor, crossing the Grumeti river. From July the front of the migration reaches the northern Serengeti and the Mara river, and crossings continue in waves through roughly October. From November the short rains pull the herds back south, and by December they are returning to the southern plains to begin again.
A river crossing cannot be booked. Herds gather at the bank, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, and may turn away entirely. Being in the right region during the right window gives you a good chance over three or four days. Being there for one night gives you a lottery ticket.
Any operator guaranteeing you will see a crossing is either misunderstanding the animal or misleading you. What a good operator can do is put you in the right part of the park, with enough nights, and get you to the river early.
Seasons shift year to year. Treat these as a guide and confirm with your operator.
Calving in the south. Best predator action of the year.
Grumeti crossings in the Western Corridor.
Mara river crossings in the north. Most dramatic, most crowded, most expensive.
Herds moving south. Green, quieter and much better value.
Three to four nights in the right region, more if crossings are the priority.
Answer a few questions and get a complete day by day plan with a printable route map, matched to a verified Tanzanian operator. Free to plan, no commission on anything you book.