Migration Safaris – where safari began
The word "safari" is Swahili for "journey", and nowhere lives up to it like East Africa. Each year, more than 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle sweep across the Serengeti and Masai Mara, following the rains in the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth.
What to expect
A luxury migration safari takes you beyond the crowded main reserves into remote private concessions, where you share this ancient drama with only a handful of others.
Planning the trip
The herds follow the rains, so timing shapes where you'll stay. The finest camps are in private concessions reached by light aircraft, and they often book up a year ahead.
Endless plains, endless skies
Golden grasslands stretch to the horizon, broken by granite kopjes and flat-topped acacias. In the distance, Kilimanjaro's snow-capped summit makes the scale feel almost impossible.
A wildlife spectacle of epic proportions
It's dusty, noisy and dramatic: thundering herds of wildebeest and zebra pour across the plains, while crocodiles and big cats lie in wait at the river crossings.
Luxury under canvas
Between drives, you'll return to spacious tented camps with en-suite bathrooms and private decks, often just minutes from the action. Personal butler services ensure you never have to ask for anything.
Exclusive lodges
Celebrated, design-led lodges sit within vast private reserves, offering personal attention, fine dining and private guiding. Exclusive-use villas are ideal for families and private groups.
Catch all the action
Private concessions aren't bound by park gate times, so you can head out before dawn and stay out after dark, when much of the action happens.
Authentic encounters with the Maasai
Walk with Maasai guides as they read tracks and share survival skills, or visit a village to learn about daily life and survival on the plains.
Lantern-lit dinners & sleep-outs
Lantern-lit dinners, outdoor breakfasts and picnics on the open plains are highlights in themselves. Some camps also offer a night on a star bed, falling asleep to the sounds of Africa.
Little explorers
Many camps run junior ranger programmes where children learn to track animals, identify birds and make plaster casts of footprints, alongside family-friendly game drives with a private guide.
Where could your Migration Safari take you?
The herds move in a year-round loop between Tanzania and Kenya, so your destination depends on when you travel.
Tanzania
The Serengeti hosts the herds for most of the year. Calving on the southern plains runs from around January to March, and dramatic river crossings in the north take place from around July to October. Nearby, the Ngorongoro Crater shelters lion, elephant and rare black rhino within its ancient volcanic walls. Tarangire National Park adds large elephant herds and towering baobabs to a classic northern circuit.
Kenya
The herds usually arrive in the Masai Mara from around July to October. The private conservancies bordering the reserve offer the same spectacle with a fraction of the vehicles. North of the Mara, Laikipia's private conservancies are known for rhino, rare Grévy's zebra and reticulated giraffe. Amboseli, meanwhile, is famous for its large elephant herds wandering beneath Kilimanjaro.
Zanzibar
The exotic spice islands of Zanzibar lie just off the coast of Tanzania, a short flight from the Serengeti. After the dust of the plains, you can sink your toes into powder-white sand, swim in warm turquoise water and wander the atmospheric streets of Stone Town.
More to experience
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Hot-air Ballooning
At sunrise, you'll drift silently over the plains following the herds below, then land for a champagne breakfast in the bush.
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Walking Safaris
Explore the landscape on foot and discover the smaller details of the wilderness.
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Calving Seaon
In the southern Serengeti early in the year, thousands of calves are born each day, drawing predators and creating extraordinary wildlife drama.
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Game Drives
Head out with an experienced guide to track wildlife and discover the wilderness.
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Ngorongoro Crater
Often called Africa's Garden of Eden, this vast collapsed volcano holds around 25,000 animals within its walls, from black-maned lions and old tuskers to rare black rhino and flocks of pink flamingos.
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Elephants Beneath Kilimanjaro
In Kenya's Amboseli, large elephant herds wander the plains with Africa's highest mountain rising behind them.
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Tarangire's Giants
Tanzania's Tarangire National Park is known for its large elephant herds and ancient baobab trees, and can be an easy addition to a northern circuit.
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Barefoot Beaches
Zanzibar's white sand, turquoise lagoons and coral reefs are the perfect place to swim, snorkel and unwind after the dust of the plains.
LET US HELP YOU SHAPE YOUR SAFARI
We are Desert & Delta experts
Timing is everything here, with the Delta and the desert peaking in different seasons and camps linked by light aircraft. Our consultants know these regions first-hand and have long-standing relationships with Botswana's and Namibia's finest camps. Tell us when you'd like to travel, and we'll create the right combination for you.
We’ll bring the right places and experiences together to create a journey that works for you.