The wet season, honestly

The Serengeti in the rains: the honest case for going

The Serengeti has two wet seasons, and one of them is the best time of year to be here. The short rains of November and December bring the herds back south to calve, while the long rains of March to May bring the lowest prices, the emptiest tracks and the muddiest roads. This page sets out what you gain and what you give up.

If you only want the answer

Yes, with the right expectations. The rains of December to February are prime time in the south, because the herds calve on the wet short-grass plains, peaking in mid-February. The long rains from March to May are the real green season: April averages 144 mm over 18 days in the model, several seasonal camps close, roads turn heavy, and in exchange you get the lowest lodge rates of the year and a conservation fee cut to US$70.80 from 15 March to 15 May. Base yourself at Seronera, where resident lions, leopards and cheetahs stay all year, and fly in rather than drive.

The window that actually exists

The wet months fall into three parts. The short rains of November and December green the plains and draw the herds south. January and February are a drier spell between the two rains, still with about 90 mm a month in short storms, and they are the calving season. The long rains from March to May are the true green season, when the herds move north-west through the centre and the camps that follow them close.

The park itself never shuts: TANAPA publishes no closure dates, and its conservation-fee calendar even rewards the long rains with a lower fee. What changes is which camps are open, how far you can drive in a day, and whether the herds are where you are.

Month	Average max	Rainfall	Rain days	Status
November	29.1°C	99 mm	15	Open; short rains, herds moving south, low rates
December	26.7°C	144 mm	20	Open; southern camps reopen 1 December, festive peak from 20 December
January	28.0°C	87 mm	15	Open; herds on the southern plains
February	28.8°C	90 mm	14	Open; calving peak in mid-February
March	29.0°C	128 mm	16	Open; lower park fee from 15 March, Ndutu camps close 31 March
April	27.4°C	144 mm	18	Open; wettest month, most seasonal camps closed
May	28.0°C	42 mm	7	Open; rains ease, normal fee from 16 May

Climate figures are Open-Meteo normals for 1991 to 2020 at a point about 25 km west of Seronera, retrieved 5 Oct 2026. Monthly rainfall is approximate: measured rainfall is higher in the north and north-west, and the model's May is probably too dry. Measured night temperatures are 13 to 16°C, cooler than the model's 17°C.

What closes and what stays open

No single office tells you which camps are open in the rains. Read across the lodges' own stated seasons and a clear pattern appears: the permanent lodges and camps of the centre and west stay open all year, and the mobile and northern camps close for April and May, some also for November.

Camp	Green-season status
Seronera Rest House and public campsites (TANAPA), Serengeti Serena, Seronera Wildlife Lodge, Four Seasons, Mbuzi Mawe, Kirawira Serena	Open all year
Asilia Dunia and Namiri Plains, Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp and Pioneer Camp	Open all year, with green-season rates in April and May
Lahia Tented Lodge and Mara Mara Tented Lodge (TWC)	Open all year
Serengeti Kati Kati (TWC, central)	Open all year except April
Lemala Ewanjan	Low season March to May; confirm April with the camp
Asilia Sayari Camp	Closed April and May
Asilia Olakira, Lemala Mara and Ndutu, Nasikia mobile camp	Closed April, May and November
Asilia Ubuntu Migration Camp	Closed mid-March to May and mid-November to mid-December
Ndutu Safari Lodge, Lake Masek Tented Lodge (both in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area)	Open all year, outside the park

Open dates are each property's own stated season, read 6 Oct 2026. Where a camp publishes no April rate but does not say it closes, we say so and suggest you ask.

Calving: the wet-season event the Serengeti is famous for

The single biggest reason to come in the rains is calving. TANAPA's crossing guideline says more than 250,000 wildebeest calves are born each year, four-fifths of them within a few weeks on the short-grass plains around mid-February, at 8,000 to 12,000 births a day. The plains between Naabi Hill and the Ngorongoro highlands fill with herds, and lions, cheetahs and hyaenas follow. TAWIRI's census of 28 to 31 March 2023 still found most of the wildebeest on the southern plains.

Know where you are sleeping. Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek, the classic calving bases, are in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where NCAA charges US$70.80 entry and US$59 concession per adult per night instead of TANAPA's fees. Inside the park, the southern plains around Naabi, the Gol and Simba kopjes and Kusini are calving country too, and camps such as Asilia's Ubuntu set up there from mid-December to mid-March.

The value case: March to May

The long rains are the cheapest time of year by a distance. Elewana's Serengeti Migration Camp charges US$584 per person in its green season of 1 April to 31 May 2026, against US$1,081 in high season. Asilia's Dunia Camp in the centre starts at US$560 in April and May 2026, against US$1,200 from June to September. Lemala Ewanjan is on its low rate of US$305 from 1 March to 31 May 2027.

The park fee drops too. From 15 March to 15 May TANAPA's conservation fee is US$60 plus VAT (US$70.80) per adult per 24 hours instead of US$82.60, and the concession fee for lodge guests stays at its low rate of US$50 plus VAT (US$59) from October to June. On a four-night stay for two, the lower conservation fee alone saves about US$95.

Birds in the rains

TANAPA puts the park's bird list at more than 500 species, and the rains are when it fills out. From about November to April, Palearctic migrants such as European bee-eaters, storks and harriers are present, and resident birds breed in full plumage. Look for the plains specials too: Fischer's lovebird, rufous-tailed weaver and grey-breasted spurfowl.

Road honesty

Nobody publishes a list of which tracks close after a storm. What is clear is that the black-cotton soils of the Western Corridor and of the south around Ndutu turn sticky after rain and can become impassable, and that April is the worst month. The UK Foreign Office warns that park dirt roads can become hazardous or impassable after heavy rain and that a 4x4 may be essential.

In practice, fly in during the long rains. Coastal Aviation flies daily from Arusha to Seronera, and the transfer from the airstrip is short compared with eight hours on the road from Arusha. If you do come by road, ask your guide each morning which loops are open rather than assuming, and allow for a transfer taking twice as long as planned.

Who should wait for the dry season

Anyone set on a Mara River crossing. Those happen in the north from about July to October, and the northern camps are closed in April and May.
Travellers who want the Western Corridor at its best. The herds are there from about May to July.
Self-drivers without experience of black-cotton mud. March to May and November to December are when tracks in the west and south become impassable.
Anyone on a fixed road itinerary with tight transfers. A wet day can cost you half a day of driving.
First-time visitors who want the widest choice of camps. Several of the best-known mobile camps are simply closed in April and May.

If you do come: the short checklist

Base yourself at Seronera, where resident cats are reliable all year and most camps stay open.
Fly in to Seronera rather than drive in April; road transfers in the rains take far longer.
Take antimalarials. Malaria risk is high in the whole park all year and highest in and after the rains, November to May.
Pack a dry bag for cameras and a light rain jacket; storms are often short and heavy.
If calving is the point, book December to March and check whether your camp is in the park or at Ndutu in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, because the fees differ.