Can this itinerary be shortened or extended?

Yes. Ten days is our suggested starting point — it’s commonly compressed by two days, or extended with a Zanzibar beach finish once the bush stages are done.

Is the great migration guaranteed on this route?

No operator can guarantee a specific migration event, since the herds move on their own timeline, not ours. Travelling between July and October gives the strongest odds of a Mara river crossing on this particular route.

Is this a good first safari?

Yes — it’s one of our most requested routes for exactly that reason. The pace is comfortable rather than rushed, and the border crossing is handled entirely by us.

What's the best time to do this specific circuit?

July through October, when the migration is typically moving between the Serengeti and the Mara. See our month-by-month guide for the details behind that.

Kenya & Tanzania · Combined safari - Kenya and Tanzania Safari

Overview

Ten days, following the herds across a border

The Great Migration Circuit links the two parks the migration actually moves between — the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania — into one continuous trip, crossing by light aircraft rather than flying home and back out again. It’s built for travellers who want to see both sides of the migration story without sacrificing time in either park.

The route runs Mara first, then Serengeti, then a finish inside the Ngorongoro Crater before you fly out of Kilimanjaro. Ten days is enough to get more than a fly-in-fly-out glimpse of each park — most stages get two to three full days rather than one rushed visit.

This is the version we’d suggest as a starting point; it’s commonly shortened by two days to fit a tighter schedule, or extended with a Zanzibar beach finish once the bush stages are done.

Activities

Some activities which can be added to this circuit — tell us which interest you.

4WD game drives

Guided walking safari

Birdwatching

Hot air ballooning

Maasai cultural visit

Night drive

Photography-focused drives

Private activities

Moments to note

Six standout moments

The parts of this route past travellers mention most, unprompted.

Private game drives in the Mara Triangle

The Mara's richest big-cat territory, in your own vehicle, at your own pace

A sunrise balloon safari

An optional dawn flight over the plains, finished with a bush breakfast below.

III

Crossing a border by light aircraft

Mara to Serengeti in under an hour, with the migration route visible below.

Tracking the herds in the Serengeti

Days spent in the plains that host the migration for most of the year

A dawn descent into Ngorongoro Crater

One of Africa's densest wildlife concentrations, inside an ancient caldera

An optional Maasai village visit

A quiet, unhurried morning before the drive down to Arusha

Day by day

How the days break down

A starting shape: pace, order and length of each stage are all adjustable.

Day

Maasai Mara

Nairobi → Maasai Mara

Touching down where the plains begin.

A short flight from Nairobi puts you on a dirt airstrip in the heart of the Mara by late morning. There's time to settle in before an afternoon game drive, timed so your first sighting comes on the same day you land.

Where you rest

A tented camp on the Mara River · canvas suites raised above the water, with resident hippos audible after dark.

Day

Maasai Mara

A first full day among the herds

Morning and afternoon game drives across the Mara Triangle, the reserve's richest territory for lion and cheetah sightings, in a private vehicle with a guide who knows this ground well.

Where you rest

A tented camp on the Mara River · canvas suites raised above the water, with resident hippos audible after dark.

Day

Maasai Mara

Sunrise from a hot air balloon, or one more day on the ground.

An optional dawn balloon flight over the plains, finished with a champagne bush breakfast on landing — or, if you'd rather stay in the vehicle, further game drives tracking that week's river crossings.

Where you rest

A tented camp on the Mara River · final night in Kenya before the border crossing.

Day

Serengeti

Maasai Mara → Serengeti

Crossing a border without touching a road.

A short light-aircraft transfer over the Sand River border lands you in the northern Serengeti by midday, with an afternoon game drive en route to camp — the migration route visible from the air on the way over.

Where you rest

A tented camp, northern Serengeti · open plains views, positioned for the migration's northern stage.

Day

Serengeti

Into the plains the migration calls home.

A full day following the herds through the plains that host the migration for most of the year, with tracking led by a guide in direct contact with other vehicles in the area.

Where you rest

A tented camp, northern Serengeti · the same camp as the night before

Day

Serengeti

A different corner of the same vast park.

A relocation within the Serengeti to its central plains, trading yesterday's concentration of herds for a different mix of resident wildlife and quieter, more open ground.

Where you rest

A lodge, central Serengeti · positioned closer to the park's year-round resident game.

Day

Ngorongoro

Serengeti → Ngorongoro

Climbing out of the plains and onto the crater rim.

A scenic drive up out of the Serengeti and onto the Ngorongoro Highlands, arriving on the crater rim by late afternoon with the plains you've just left falling away behind you.

Where you rest

A lodge on the Ngorongoro Crater rim · views straight down into the caldera from camp.

Day

Ngorongoro

Ngorongoro Crater

Descending into a lost world

A dawn descent into the crater floor, into one of Africa's densest wildlife concentrations, contained within an ancient volcanic caldera roughly the size of a small city.

Where you rest

A lodge on the Ngorongoro Crater rim · the same lodge as the night before

Day

Arusha

Ngorongoro → Arusha

A quiet morning before the journey home begins.

An optional visit to a nearby Maasai village in the morning, then an unhurried drive down from the highlands to Arusha ahead of tomorrow's departure

Where you rest

A garden lodge near Arusha · a quiet transit night before flying out

Day

Depart

Arusha → Depart, or Zanzibar

Where this trip ends, and where yours could begin.

Fly out from Kilimanjaro International, or connect straight on to a beach extension in Zanzibar if the bush stages have left you wanting a few more days

Where you rest

Overnight in Zanzibar if extending · otherwise a day room near the airport before your evening flight.

Kenya & Tanzania · Combined safari

Ten days, following the herds across a border

At a glance

Activities

Six standout moments

Private game drives in the Mara Triangle

A sunrise balloon safari

Crossing a border by light aircraft

Tracking the herds in the Serengeti

A dawn descent into Ngorongoro Crater

An optional Maasai village visit

How the days break down

Touching down where the plains begin.

A first full day among the herds

Sunrise from a hot air balloon, or one more day on the ground.

Crossing a border without touching a road.

Into the plains the migration calls home.

A different corner of the same vast park.

Climbing out of the plains and onto the crater rim.

Descending into a lost world

A quiet morning before the journey home begins.

Where this trip ends, and where yours could begin.

Key species on this route

The route, in photographs

What's included

What's included

What's not included

Notes about this trip

Make it mine

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Before you enquire

Ask about Kenya & Tanzania · Combined safari