The action takes places across 150,000 square miles of woodlands, hills and open plains; a wilderness that includes not only the Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara game reserve but also the dispersal areas beyond. July to October is the time to catch the migration in the Mara. The rest of the year belongs to Tanzania and the reason is the weather. Rain is the engine that drives the migration, dictating where the herds will be at different times of the year.
We always recommend a seasonal mobile camp which shadows the migration across the Serengeti, covering hundreds of miles and moving every couple of months along a route that the herds have travelled for hundreds of years. The camp operators understand the seasons and game movements well and how best to mirror them with their small nomadic camps. These camps give you the best opportunity for viewing the migration at the time of your safari, although nothing can be guaranteed. The movement of the migration is weather and grazing dependent and can change course at any given time.
Given the number of variables, to have the best opportunity to coincide with the migration you will benefit from expert advice.