Best Time to Visit the Maasai Mara: A Month-by-Month Guide
The short answer
July to October for the wildebeest migration and the river crossings. January to February for excellent big cat viewing with far fewer vehicles. March to May for green landscapes, low rates and the fewest visitors of the year, at the cost of some rain.
The longer answer is that the Maasai Mara holds resident game all year. Lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and plains game do not migrate. What changes is the wildebeest, the weather and the number of other vehicles at a sighting.
July to October: the migration and the crossings
This is the season the Mara is famous for. Somewhere between one and two million wildebeest and zebra move north out of the Serengeti and reach the Mara River, usually from mid-July, and the crossings continue in waves into October.
A crossing cannot be scheduled. The herds gather on the bank, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, and then commit for reasons nobody has fully explained. Guides position and wait. When it happens it is genuinely overwhelming, and when it does not you are still sitting in front of the densest concentration of game in Africa.
This is also peak season. Expect higher rates, camps booked months ahead, and other vehicles at good sightings.
November to December: the short rains
Short afternoon storms, dramatic skies and a landscape turning green again. The migration herds are generally heading south, so the great numbers have gone, but the resident game is excellent and rates drop between the peaks. Late December picks up again over the holidays.
January to February: our quiet favourite
Hot, dry and clear, with grass short enough that cats are easy to spot. The migration is calving in the southern Serengeti rather than in the Mara, so you trade the herds for space. If big cats matter more to you than sheer numbers, this is arguably the best value window in the year.
March to May: the green season
The long rains. It does not rain all day, but it rains most days, and some roads become difficult. In exchange you get the lowest rates of the year, newborn plains game, migrant birds and photographs with skies in them. Some camps close in April and May.
Which month for what
- River crossings: late July to early October
- Big cats with fewest vehicles: January to February
- Photography: January to February for light, March to May for skies
- Lowest cost: April to May
- First safari, want it easy: July to September or January
One honest caveat
Nobody can promise you a crossing, a leopard or a kill. Any operator who does is selling you something they cannot deliver. What we can do is put you in the right place in the right month with a guide who knows the ground, and be straight with you about the odds before you book.
