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A large herd of wildebeest running across dry savannah in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, with safari vehicles beyond

Sample journey · 11–13 days

One plain, two countries: the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti

Nairobi, a Maasai Mara conservancy, Kogatende & the central Serengeti

Photo: Harshil Gudka / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

On the map the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti are in two different countries, but in nature they are one ecosystem: the same plains, the same Mara River and the same herds, circling each year after the rain and the grass. Most travellers choose one side. This journey follows the ecosystem across both: first a private conservancy beside the Maasai Mara reserve, where there are fewer vehicles, walks and night drives are allowed, and the land belongs to Maasai families. Then a day of flights across the border and three nights in the northern Serengeti around Kogatende, where from mid-summer into autumn the herds often cross the Mara River.

To finish, the central Serengeti, with its resident animals and granite outcrops. The journey is for experienced travellers and couples who want to see not just one famous moment but the whole phenomenon from both sides. It asks for patience: a river crossing can never be promised, and one day goes to flights and border formalities. The stays are small tented camps and lodges, chosen according to where the herds are most likely to be that year.

The route

The journey

  1. Nairobi
  2. A Maasai Mara conservancy
  3. Arusha
  4. Kogatende (northern Serengeti)
  5. The Mara River
  6. Central Serengeti
  7. Arusha (departure)
  1. A giraffe on the savannah of Nairobi National Park, with the city's towers in the background

    01Days 1–2 · Nairobi

    Giraffes beside the city

    The first night is in a leafy Nairobi suburb, around Karen or Langata, where gardens meet the forest. If your flight arrives early, the afternoon can go to the giraffe centre that protects the rare Rothschild's giraffe, or to the elephant orphanage, where during a short visiting hour the keepers feed the young elephants and explain how they are later returned to the wild. Both are a good introduction to what lies ahead: conservation here isn't an abstraction but daily work. The next morning, a short transfer to Wilson Airport and a light-aircraft flight of about an hour to the Maasai Mara. From above you watch farmland give way to open savannah.

  2. Wildebeest on the open plain, a safari vehicle and a Balanites tree in the Maasai Mara

    02Days 2–6 · A Maasai Mara conservancy

    Plains without the queues

    Four nights at a small camp in one of the private conservancies bordering the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Maasai families lease this land for conservation, and the number of camps and of vehicles at any one sighting is limited, so at a lion pride you're usually alone or nearly so. Walks with Maasai guides, who teach you to read tracks and plants, are allowed here, as are night drives, when genets, hyena and sometimes a leopard appear. When the herds are in the reserve, we spend a day along the Mara River on the Kenyan side, with breakfast on the plains. Evenings are by the fire, and one afternoon is worth giving to a Maasai community, with local guides and on their terms, to see how herds of cattle and wildlife share the same land.

  3. A large herd of wildebeest crossing a river during the migration in the Serengeti

    03Days 6–8 · Across the border to Kogatende

    The long way to the other bank

    There's no flying straight across the border between the Mara and the Serengeti, so day six is a travel day: a light aircraft back towards Nairobi, a short regional flight to Kilimanjaro, where you enter Tanzania, and a night somewhere quiet near Arusha. It's a long day but not a difficult one, and we plan it with time to spare. The next morning, a light aircraft north to the Kogatende airstrip in the northern Serengeti; with stops the flight usually takes about two hours. Kogatende is only a few dozen kilometres from where you were two days earlier, just on the other side of the river. In the afternoon, the first drive: the northern plains roll, with granite outcrops and river courses, and are often much quieter than the Mara side. Three nights here.

  4. Two crocodiles resting on a rocky riverbank as wildebeest cross the water behind them, Serengeti

    04Days 8–10 · The Mara River

    Waiting on the bank

    Two full days at the Mara River. A crossing can't be planned: sometimes the herds gather on the bank for hours, approach the water and pull back again, and sometimes they cross when no one expects it. So we leave early, take lunch with us and decide with the guide which crossing point is worth the wait. When one wildebeest finally leaps, hundreds follow: the water churns, the crocodiles wait, and on the far bank the herds regroup and move on as if nothing had happened. It is spectacular and sometimes brutal. The rules at the crossings are strict: vehicles keep their distance and never block the herds' path. Days without a crossing aren't empty either: hippos live in the river, and lions and elephants are often seen on the northern plains.

  5. A cheetah on a fallen tree trunk in Serengeti National Park

    05Days 10–12 · The central Serengeti

    The ones who stay put

    On day ten, a short flight south to the central Serengeti for the last two nights. Here live the animals that don't follow the herds: lion prides on granite kopjes, leopards in the trees of the Seronera valley, cheetah watching for gazelle from fallen trunks. After the tension of the river this ending is calmer: longer mornings, lunch in camp and, if you like, a hot-air balloon flight over the plains at dawn. It's also a chance to see how different the parts of the Serengeti are, from the rolling northern hills to the wide central plains with their acacias. On the last day, a light aircraft to Arusha and your connection home via Kilimanjaro Airport or, if you wish, on to the Indian Ocean.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    A private conservancy

    Fewer vehicles, walks with Maasai guides and night drives.

  2. 02

    The Mara River from both sides

    First the Kenyan bank, a few days later the Tanzanian one.

  3. 03

    River crossings

    Patient waits near Kogatende, where the herds often cross, if that year's rains and timing allow.

  4. 04

    The cats of the central Serengeti

    Lions on the granite kopjes and leopards in the Seronera valley.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • At a slower pace

    A fourth night on the Mara River improves the odds of a crossing and leaves room for a day in camp.

  • In another season

    Outside the migration months the conservancy is still excellent for cats, and instead of the north you could choose calving season at Ndutu between January and March.

  • For a honeymoon

    Secluded tents above the river, a night under the open sky and a few days on Zanzibar or Pemba to finish.

  • With the highlands

    Before the Serengeti you could add the Ngorongoro Crater and highlands, and the journey naturally grows to two weeks.

Practical considerations

  • The herds are usually in the Maasai Mara and the northern Serengeti roughly between July and October, but their timing and route vary each year, and a river crossing can never be promised.
  • Between Kenya and Tanzania this journey travels by air via Nairobi and Kilimanjaro; routings and schedules change, so we confirm them before you travel and leave time to spare.
  • Light aircraft allow little baggage, usually in a soft bag only; we check the current requirements for travel to both countries before you go.
  • Mornings on the plains are cool and days hot and dusty, so a few light layers in neutral colours are worth packing.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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