The main event
Three sectors, one name
Booking the name rather than the sector is the costliest error available in Tanzania.
Southern — Ndutu and the short-grass plains
Roughly December to March, with calving from about February.
Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest give birth over a few weeks on short grass, and the predator activity that follows is the most concentrated wildlife event on the continent. It is less famous than the river crossings and, for many people, better — because it happens over weeks rather than in unpredictable minutes.
Many camps in this sector are mobile, moving with the herds. That is a feature rather than a compromise: a mobile camp goes where the animals are, and a fixed one cannot.
Central — Seronera
All year.
Resident game regardless of where the migration is: lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant and everything else that does not move seasonally. It is the most reliable base if your dates fall awkwardly between the southern and northern windows.
It is also the busiest sector, which is the trade. The game is excellent and you will not have it to yourself.
Northern — Kogatende and the Mara River
Roughly July to October.
The river crossings, from the Tanzanian bank. The same event people fly to Kenya for, with fewer vehicles and a longer flight to reach it.
About crossings, plainly
They happen when the herds decide. Animals gather at a bank for hours and then do not cross; or cross somewhere nobody was waiting; or cross three times in an afternoon.
Several days in the right sector improve the odds considerably. A single day is a lottery ticket. Nobody can promise one, and we will not.
The question that prevents the mistake
Ask any specialist, including ours: *"We travel in [month] — which sector should we be in, and is the camp you have proposed actually there?"*
A good answer names the sector and explains why. A weak answer describes the camp. You will know within a sentence which you have.
How many nights
Three minimum in any sector, four if crossings are the goal. Two nights is one full day, and one full day in the northern Serengeti in August is not enough to be unlucky with.
More from our Tanzania guides
Specialist guides across our Tanzania network
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