Best time to visit Serengeti National Park

Serengeti weather: two rainy seasons, and what the model gets wrong

The Serengeti has two rainy seasons and one long dry one. The short rains fall in November and December, a drier but unreliable spell follows in January and February, the long rains run from March to May, and June to October is dry. The climate model for a point about 25 km west of Seronera gives 803 mm a year, with April and December the wettest months at 144 mm each and July the driest at 2 mm.

Two corrections to the model matter. Measured rainfall rises from about 550 mm a year in the south-east to about 1,050 mm in the north-west, so the north is wetter than Seronera, not drier as the model suggests. And measured nights average 13 to 16°C, colder on the open plains and at Lobo, while the model gives about 17°C. Days stay at 27 to 28°C all year, a little warmer in September and October. Monthly rainfall on this site is approximate.

When is the migration in each part of the Serengeti?

TANAPA's park page gives June to October for the migration and January to February for calving. TAWIRI's March 2023 census found most wildebeest on the southern short-grass plains. The camps' own calendars confirm the pattern: Lemala prices its Ndutu camp from 1 December to 31 March and its Mara camp from 1 June to 31 October, and Asilia's Olakira camp sits at Ndutu from December to March and in the north from June to October.

Remember that most of the calving area around Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek lies in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, just south of the park boundary, where NCAA fees apply. Inside the park, the southern plains around Naabi and the Gol and Simba kopjes, and the Kusini area, are where to be from December to March.

Lodge rates by season: what three lodges charge

Every operator draws its own season lines, but the pattern holds. Peak prices run from July to September or October, when the herds are in the north, plus the Christmas and New Year fortnight. The cheapest window across all operators is the long rains from March to May, when several seasonal camps close; November to mid-December is the second cheap window. The rates below are per person sharing per night, as published on each lodge's own site, and none of them includes park or concession fees.

The park fees have their own seasons. TANAPA's conservation fee is US$70 plus 18% VAT (US$82.60) per adult per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March, and US$60 plus VAT (US$70.80) from 15 March to 15 May. Inside the park, lodge guests also pay a concession fee of US$60 plus VAT per night from July to September and US$50 plus VAT from October to June. These are the 2023/24 rates, which TANAPA's system still applies for 2026/27.

Rates read on the lodges' own sites on 6 Oct 2026. Lemala and Elewana full board excludes game drives, which most guests take with their own operator's guide and vehicle.

How busy is the Serengeti, and when?

TANAPA publishes no monthly visitor numbers. Its tariff page names July to October and December to February as the peak visitor periods and advises booking park fees online in those months to avoid queues at the gates. That matches the lodges' rate seasons.

Crowds concentrate where the herds are. In August the Mara River crossing points in the north are the busiest places in the park, which is why TANAPA limits the number of vehicles at each designated crossing point. In February the pressure is around Naabi and Ndutu, while the north and the Western Corridor are very quiet. April and May are the emptiest months everywhere, and November is quiet too.

Roads by season

The park's roads are gravel and earth. In the dry season, June to October, they are firm but dusty, and the Naabi Hill to Seronera road is notorious for its washboard corrugations. After rain, the black-cotton soils of the Western Corridor and the south around Ndutu turn sticky and can become impassable, and some tracks close.

April is the worst month for roads, and flying into a park airstrip is the sensible choice then. The UK Foreign Office warns that dirt roads in Tanzania's national parks can become hazardous or impassable after heavy rain and that a 4x4 may be essential. If you are on a road safari in March to May or November to December, build spare time into every transfer.

The verdict, season by season

• Late January and February: prime for calving and predators on the southern plains. Stay in the south or at Ndutu; skip it if you want the north, which is out of season.
• March: good value in the first half, increasingly wet, with the lower TANAPA fee from 15 March.
• April and May: the cheapest months and the emptiest park. Choose them if you accept rain, closed camps and muddy roads, base yourself at Seronera and fly in.
• June: the best all-round month for many travellers, dry, with the herds in the Western Corridor and mid-season rates.
• July to September: prime for the river crossings in the north, at peak rates and with the year's biggest crowds in August. Book well ahead.
• October: very good value, hot, with crossings still possible early in the month and the herds moving south through Lobo.
• November and early December: green, quiet and cheap, good for birds and for seeing the herds on the move, but unpredictable.
• The Christmas fortnight: festive peak rates from 20 December, with the herds back in the south. Book early.

Sources

• Open-Meteo climate normals 1991 to 2020 (retrieved 5 Oct 2026)
• TAWIRI, Serengeti Ecosystem aerial census report 2010, citing measured rainfall (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• TAWIRI, Annual Performance Report 2022/2023 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• TANAPA, Serengeti National Park page (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• TANAPA, Mara River Migration Crossings Guideline, revised 2024 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• TANAPA tariffs 2023/24 and tariff page (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• Lemala Camps & Lodges, rates 2026 to 2027 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• Elewana, Serengeti Migration Camp rates and seasons 2026 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• Asilia, Sayari Camp (checked 6 Oct 2026)
• UK FCDO travel advice, Tanzania (checked 6 Oct 2026)