Serengeti National Park Luxury Safaris

The Serengeti is a year round safari destination with exceptional wildlife viewing in every season.
The best time to see dramatic Migration activity depends on where you travel within the park. From July to October, the northern Serengeti offers river crossings along the Mara River. From January to March, the southern Serengeti hosts the calving season, when more than 400,000 wildebeest are born in a matter of weeks and predator interactions peak.

The green season from November to May brings beautiful skies, rich colours and excellent big cat viewing in the central regions. With resident wildlife spread across the ecosystem, the Serengeti delivers rewarding safaris in every month of the year.

The Serengeti is world-renowned for the Great Wildebeest Migration, but it is also home to outstanding year round wildlife. Guests can expect to see large lion prides, strong cheetah populations, leopard in the central and northern regions, elephant herds, giraffe, buffalo, hyena and an impressive variety of plains game. Calving season attracts large numbers of predators, while river crossings in the north offer some of the most dramatic wildlife moments anywhere in Africa. Over five hundred bird species also make the Serengeti a fantastic destination for birding.

Each region of the Serengeti offers a distinct safari experience. The central Serengeti, known as Seronera, provides excellent year round wildlife viewing and strong leopard sightings. The northern Serengeti is best from July to October for Mara River crossings and exceptional predator activity. The southern Serengeti is ideal from January to March for the calving season, when wildebeest gather on the short-grass plains in vast numbers. Private concessions, such as Grumeti, offer luxury lodges, exclusive experiences and low-vehicle wildlife viewing.

The Serengeti and the Masai Mara form one continuous ecosystem, and wildlife moves freely across the border during the Great Wildebeest Migration. The Serengeti is far larger, covering 1.5 million hectares, and offers more diverse regions including the southern calving plains, the central Seronera valley and the northern Mara River area. It provides year round predator viewing, dramatic landscapes and a wider variety of lodge styles, from luxury mobiles to exclusive concessions such as Grumeti.

The Masai Mara, although smaller, has exceptionally high densities of big cats and is famous for its intimate predator viewing. Its surrounding private conservancies offer lower vehicle numbers, off-road freedom and meaningful community-owned conservation. The Mara is also the best place to see river crossings late in the season, particularly from July to October.

Both destinations offer extraordinary safaris, but the Serengeti provides greater scale and year round variation, while the Masai Mara excels in exclusivity, big cat density and flexible conservancy experiences.

Quick Comparison: Serengeti vs Masai Mara

Serengeti

• Much larger ecosystem with varied regions
• Strong year round big cat viewing
• Best for calving season (January to March)
• Best early-season river crossings (July to August, northern Serengeti)
• Mix of luxury lodges, mobiles and private concessions (e.g., Grumeti)
• Dramatic landscapes and wide-open plains

Masai Mara

• Smaller but extremely wildlife rich
• Higher density of lions, cheetahs and leopards
• Best late-season river crossings (August to October)
• Private conservancies offer exclusivity and low vehicle numbers
• Excellent for first-time safari travellers
• Strong cultural connections with Maasai communities