Serengeti Safari: Packages, Prices & Best Time to Go

Overview

Say the word “safari” to almost anyone and, whether they know it or not, they’re picturing the Serengeti. The name itself comes from the Maasai word siringet, the place where the land runs on forever, and standing on its plains for the first time is the closest most people ever come to feeling the size of that word. There is no fence, no ridge, no edge in sight, just grassland rolling out to a horizon that keeps its distance no matter how far you drive toward it.

A Serengeti safari rewards patience as much as timing. This is the stage for the Great Migration, over a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra moving in a single, restless circuit that never actually stops, only shifts from one corner of the ecosystem to another through the year. But the migration is the headline, not the whole story. Resident lions, leopards and cheetahs hold territory here in numbers few other reserves can match, which means a Serengeti safari delivers in any month you choose to come.

The park itself is vast enough to hold several distinct experiences inside one boundary. Seronera in the centre stays reliable year-round and is famous for its leopards. The Western Corridor comes alive as the herds push through toward the Grumeti River in the dry season. The south, bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, turns into a nursery each year as calving season fills the short grass plains with new life and the predators that follow it. Which sector anchors your trip depends entirely on when you travel and what you most want to see- exactly what we work through with you before anything is booked.

Why Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti earns its reputation honestly. It isn’t just the biggest name in East African safari; it’s the reason the region became one at all. At close to 15,000 square kilometres, it’s roughly ten times the size of the Masai Mara across the border, and that scale is exactly what lets over a million wildebeest move through it without the ecosystem ever feeling crowded.

The Largest Lion Population Left on Earth

Prides studied continuously since the 1960s, the longest-running lion research project in the world.
Big Enough to Hold the Whole Migration

Ten times the size of the Masai Mara, room enough for the herds to move without the ecosystem feeling crowded.
A Migration You Can Follow Nearly Year Round

Calving in the south, river crossings in the west, then the north as the dry season deepens.
The Landscape That Defined the Word "Safari"

Open plains and granite kopjes, the scenery every other safari destination gets compared to.

What you’ll likely see

Key species at Serengeti National Park

What past travellers have consistently seen on a Serengeti safari, in and out of migration season.

Lion

90% chance

Wildebeest

90% chance

Zebra

90% chance

Elephant

85% chance

Giraffe

80% chance

Buffalo

80% chance

Hippo

75% chance

Cheetah

70% chance

Spotted Hyena

65% chance

Leopard

56% chance

Signature itinerary

10 Days Masai Mara, Serengeti and Zanzibar Beach

Tanzania's Endless Plains, at the Centre of It All

Day 01

Out of Nairobi by road, into a game drive by evening.

The drive out of Nairobi has a way of announcing itself, the city thins…

Day 02

A full day, and the plains stop being scenery.

There's a point, usually somewhere in the second morning drive, where the Mara stops…

Day 03

The river sector, and a last golden hour in Kenya

A different stretch of the reserve for this last full day, one that takes…

Day 04

A morning drive, then crossover to Tanzania

Most people flying between the Mara and the Serengeti never register that they've crossed…

Day 05

The horizon does most of the talking here.

The Mara has density, the Serengeti has scale, and the difference is obvious within…

See the full itinerary

Starting points

Safaris to Serengeti National Park

A few of our Serengeti safari packages, adjusted to your dates, pace and camp choice before anything is confirmed

Tanzania

7 Days Mara River Crossing Safari

Seven days chasing the Mara River crossings in Northern Serengeti, closing with a full day inside…

Tanzania

3 Days Serengeti Safari

A three-day introduction to the Serengeti, Africa's highest lion density and the plains that named the…

Tanzania

7 Days Serengeti & Zanzibar Beach

Three nights in the Serengeti, three more on Zanzibar's beaches, savannah and shoreline in a single…

Tanzania

4 Days Great Migration Calving Safari

Four days on the Ndutu calving grounds, with a full day inside Ngorongoro Crater, mid-December through…

Tanzania

7 Days Ndutu, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater Safari

Seven days across Ndutu, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, three landscapes, one continuous circuit.

Getting there

Reaching Serengeti National Park

Most Serengeti safari itineraries fly in for at least one leg, though the overland route through Ngorongoro is part of the experience for many travellers.

By air from Arusha Scheduled light-aircraft flights run daily from Arusha and Kilimanjaro International Airport into the park's own airstrips, typically 45 minutes to just over an hour depending on the sector.
By road from Arusha Around 8 hours direct via Karatu, or a shorter 3 to 4 hours to Seronera if you route through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which most itineraries do anyway.
Nearest airstrips Seronera, Kogatende, Grumeti and Lobo, matched to whichever sector your camp sits in.

When to go

Best time to visit Serengeti National Park

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Best months

December – March Calving season on the southern plains, half a million wildebeest calves born within a few weeks and the predator action that follows is some of the most concentrated anywhere in Africa.
April – June The long rains settle in, thinning crowds and dropping rates while the herds begin their push north through the Western Corridor toward the Grumeti River.
July – October The migration reaches the north and the Mara River crossings that made the Serengeti famous worldwide, shared with the Masai Mara just across the border. The busiest window of the year.

Responsible travel

Responsible Travel in Serengeti

The Serengeti's boundary is a line on a map more than a wall against pressure, and much of what keeps this ecosystem intact happens in the reserves and communities that surround it, not just inside the park itself.

Park Fees Reinvested Across Tanzania's Parks

Entry fees collected here go through Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), which reinvests park revenue into ranger operations, anti-poaching patrols and infrastructure across its full network.
The Grumeti Fund's Anti-Poaching Work

In the Western Corridor, the Grumeti Fund runs ranger patrols and canine anti-poaching units alongside community programmes, protecting the migration route as it passes through vulnerable ground.
The World's Longest-Running Lion Study

Researchers have tracked the same lion prides around Seronera continuously since the 1960s, one of the longest unbroken wildlife studies anywhere.
A Ring of Reserves Extends the Ecosystem's Reach

Game reserves bordering the park, including Ikorongo, Grumeti and Maswa, extend protected habitat well beyond the Serengeti's own boundary.

Common questions

Serengeti National Park, answered

It depends on what you want to see. December to March brings calving season and its predator action in the south, June and July follow the herds through the Western Corridor, and July through October delivers the famous Mara River crossings in the north. A Serengeti safari genuinely has a reason to visit in almost any month.

It depends on the season, which sector of the park you base yourself in, and how many nights you spend there, so there isn’t one number that fits every trip. Tell us your dates and priorities and we’ll put together a tailored quote rather than a generic estimate.

Three to four nights lets you settle into one sector properly rather than rushing between them. Given the park’s size, many of our Serengeti safari packages spend time in two different areas, pairing the reliable game viewing around Seronera with whichever sector matches the migration’s position that month.

Yes, and most itineraries do. Ngorongoro Crater is the classic pairing given how close it sits to the park’s southern boundary, and a Serengeti safari combines naturally with the Masai Mara across the border in Kenya, or with a flight onward to Zanzibar for a beach finish.

Serengeti National Park

The Largest Lion Population Left on Earth

Big Enough to Hold the Whole Migration

A Migration You Can Follow Nearly Year Round

The Landscape That Defined the Word "Safari"

Key species at Serengeti National Park

10 Days Masai Mara, Serengeti and Zanzibar Beach

Safaris to Serengeti National Park

7 Days Mara River Crossing Safari

3 Days Serengeti Safari

7 Days Serengeti & Zanzibar Beach

4 Days Great Migration Calving Safari

7 Days Ndutu, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater Safari

Reaching Serengeti National Park

Best time to visit Serengeti National Park

Responsible Travel in Serengeti

Park Fees Reinvested Across Tanzania's Parks

The Grumeti Fund's Anti-Poaching Work

The World's Longest-Running Lion Study

A Ring of Reserves Extends the Ecosystem's Reach

Serengeti National Park, answered

Let’s plan your Serengeti National Park safari