The East Africa question

Serengeti or Masai Mara: which should you choose in 2026?

Name: Serengeti National Park
Address: Tanzania

The Serengeti and the Masai Mara are two halves of one ecosystem, split by the Tanzania and Kenya border and by a crossing that has been shut to tourists since 1977. The same herds use both. Our network runs independent guides to each, so this comparison has no side to sell.

If you only want the answer

Choose the Serengeti if you want the migration in any month, space, and the calving on the southern plains: it is 14,763 km² and costs $82.60 per adult per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March (TANAPA, 2026/27), but it lies 6 to 7 hours by road from Arusha or a $259 flight away. Choose the Masai Mara if your dates fall between July and October and you want a short trip: it is about 1,510 km², 228 km of tarmac from Nairobi, and costs $100 a day from January to June and $200 from July to December (Narok County Finance Act 2023). To combine them, fly: there is no open road border between the two.

Best for big game SerengetiBest for birding SerengetiBest for walking SerengetiBest for self-drive SerengetiBest for families Masai MaraBest for a first safari SerengetiBest for wilderness Serengeti

Tap a row label to see the reasoning behind a rating.

Only show differences

Compare	Serengeti14,763 km² (UNESCO, TANAPA)	Masai Maraabout 1,510 km² (WDPA); 1,530 to 1,560 km² in the county plan
	5Jul to Oct and Dec to Feb	5Jul to Oct; August busiest
	5Jul to Oct and Dec to FebWildebeest: 1,571,960 (TAWIRI, March 2023), now disputed; Lion prides monitored: 21 prides, 205 lions in the central study area, 2022/23; Elephants: More than 7,000 in the park, 2020	5Jul to Oct; August busiestLions: About 465 older than a year, 2024; Elephants: 2,702 in the ecosystem, June 2024; Resident cheetahs: 12 adults in 2024, 28 in 2023
Elephant	Likely	Guaranteed
Lion	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
Leopard	Likely	Likely
Buffalo	Likely	Guaranteed
Wild dog	Rare	Rare
Cheetah	Likely	Likely
Hippo	Likely	Guaranteed
Giraffe	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
	4500 speciesAbout 500 bird species listed on the wildlife page.	Not published
	3Walking	3Self-drive
	3bestTANAPA lists guided walks at $20 for one to four hours or $25 beyond, plus VAT, but they are booked through your camp with an armed ranger, children under 12 are not provided for and TANAPA publishes no list of walking areas.	2The 2023 to 2032 management plan bans walking safaris anywhere in the reserve; guided walks are standard only in the conservancies outside it, at Kicheche's camps and on Angama's escarpment.
	2Night drives are not allowed inside the park, where driving stops at 6 pm and the TANAPA tariff has no night-drive line for the Serengeti; Klein's Camp, Mapito Safari Camp and Ikoma Tented Camp run them just outside the boundary.	2Night game drives are banned in the reserve and the Triangle; they run only in the conservancies, such as Kicheche Valley in Naboisho, and no conservancy publishes its own rules.
	1No boat activity is offered; hippos are watched from the vehicle at the Retima pool, the Grumeti and the Mara River, and at the crossing points you stay inside the vehicle.	1No boat activity exists, swimming in rivers inside protected areas is illegal and the Mara and Talek rivers hold crocodiles and hippos; the Mara Bridge hippo pool walk was closed in September 2025.
	3Legal with a high-clearance 4x4 but rare and discouraged by TANAPA: about 254 km and 6 to 7 h from Arusha, the Ngorongoro permit paid on the way in and again on the way out, Karatu the last reliable fuel, and public campsites at Seronera and Lobo that need no booking.	3Tarmac runs all the way from Nairobi to Sekenani Gate, 228 km, and the Triangle admits any 4x4, but a June 2024 memo banned private vehicles for game drives on the Narok side, with 2026 enforcement unclear, and fuel inside is sold only at camps.
	$30cheapest bed	$40cheapest bed
	$83bestInternational adult per day ({'name': "TANAPA tariff 2023/24 and TANAPA's tariff data for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (checked 6 Oct 2026)", 'url': 'https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/uploads/publications/en-1688147569-TARIFFS%20Design%20202324.pdf'}, 2026-10-06).	$200International adult per day ({'name': 'Narok County Finance Act 2023 (No. 3 of 2023), First Schedule: Maasai Mara National Reserve Park Fees and Charges (read 6 Oct 2026)', 'url': 'https://narok.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Narok-County-Finance-Act-2023-UPL_compressed.pdf'}, 2026-10-06).
	$30bestLowest listed rate per person per night across 63 places; 5 are budget tier.	$40Lowest listed rate per person per night across 78 places; 7 are budget tier.
	$584bestMedian of 18 priced places; top end $1,100.	$700Median of 38 priced places; top end $2,708.
	2Cheapest listed bed $30, 5 of 63 places in the budget tier, park fee $83 a day.	2Cheapest listed bed $40, 7 of 78 places in the budget tier, park fee $200 a day.
	$3,198.80mid-range	$1,582camping
	$1,227.20bestBudget one: self-drive camping, the cheapest way to sleep in the park	$1,582Budget one: self-drive camping in the Mara Triangle
	$3,198.80Budget two: a mid-range camp in the Seronera Valley	Not published
	$7,497.60Budget three: fly in to a top-end camp	$5,020bestBudget two: a mid-range camp on the Talek, flying in
	Seronera airstripnearest airport	Keekoroknearest airport
	Seronera airstrip, 1 h 10 from Arusha via Manyara; Arusha to Naabi Hill Gate about 254 km, 6 to 7 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages.	Keekorok, Ol Kiombo, Musiara and Mara Serena strips, 30 to 80 min from Nairobi Wilson; Nairobi 5 to 6 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages.
	A high-clearance 4x4 is the normFrom the getting-there page.	4x4 inside the reserveFrom the getting-there page.
	Jul to Oct and Dec to Febpeak game viewing	Jul to Oct; August busiestpeak game viewing
	Jul to Oct and Dec to FebFrom the best-time page.	Jul to Oct; August busiestFrom the best-time page.
	Park open all year; several seasonal camps close Mar to MayFrom the best-time page.	Open all year; long rains Mar to May, with camps closed in April and MayFrom the best-time page.
	High all yearmalaria	High all yearmalaria
	High all year, whole park (NaTHNaC)From the health page.	High all year, tablets advised (NaTHNaC)From the health page.
	PresentConfirmed by a 2016 study near Seronera; mainly in the wooded areas, the Western Corridor, the north and around Seronera, rather than on the open short-grass plains.	PresentA 2021 study trapped 1,167 tsetse at 10 sites in the reserve, with no human-disease trypanosomes found; a painful daytime bite, so wear neutral colours.
	October, 31.2°C mean maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page.	Not published
	Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, about 300 km from Seronera or about 1.5 h by scheduled flightAir evacuation: AMREF Maisha Tourist plan from $50.	Narok County Referral Hospital, about 87 km from Sekenani; serious cases flown to NairobiAir evacuation: AMREF Flying Doctors, up to USD 5,000 without cover.
	5First safari	5First safari
	3Highs of about 27 to 31°C, short flights and lodges such as Four Seasons, with a Discovery Centre, and Dunia, which takes children from five, help; but malaria risk is high all year, tsetse is present, walks are effectively 12-plus and the nearest hospital with intensive care is in Arusha, about 300 km from Seronera.	4bestChildren 8 and under enter free and many camps have family tents, Angama welcoming children of all ages; but malaria risk is high all year and the nearest public hospital is Narok, about 87 km from Sekenani, so serious cases are flown to Nairobi.
	5Lion, giraffe and zebra are guaranteed and elephant, buffalo, hippo, leopard and cheetah likely over two days of drives, with daily flights from Arusha to Seronera in about 1 h 10.	5Lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, zebra and spotted hyaena are guaranteed in two or three days and cheetah and leopard likely, with three airlines flying daily from Nairobi Wilson in 30 to 80 minutes.
	3bestA 14,763 km² park where the north and the Western Corridor are very quiet in February and April and May are the emptiest months, but Seronera is the busiest area and in August TANAPA caps the vehicles at each Mara River crossing point.	2The Mara Conservancy recorded June 2025 sightings with more than 200 vehicles and August is the busiest month; conservancies set lower vehicle limits for those who stay outside the reserve.

Compare all of Tanzania's parks on the comparison page. The article below goes into the detail.

One ecosystem, two very different parks

The Serengeti is Tanzania's national park, run by TANAPA: 14,763 km² of short-grass plains, kopjes, the woodland of the Western Corridor and the Mara River country in the north. The Masai Mara is a county reserve in Kenya, owned and run by Narok County, about 1,510 km², with the Mara Triangle managed for the county by the Mara Conservancy. The Serengeti is nearly ten times the size.

The wildebeest do not care about the border. TAWIRI's March 2023 count put the migratory herd at about 1.57 million wildebeest, and they spend most of the year in Tanzania: on the southern plains from about December to April, in the centre and the Western Corridor from May to July, and in the north, crossing the Mara River and spilling into Kenya, from July to October. The Masai Mara gets the herds for those dry-season months; the Serengeti has them somewhere all year.

So the choice turns on which month you travel, how long you have, and whether you start from Nairobi or Arusha.

Serengeti and Masai Mara side by side

	Serengeti	Masai Mara
Size	14,763 km² (TANAPA, UNESCO)	About 1,510 km²
Authority	TANAPA, Tanzania	Narok County, Kenya; Mara Conservancy in the Triangle
Entry, non-resident adult	$70 + 18% VAT = $82.60 per 24 h (16 May to 14 Mar); $70.80 (15 Mar to 15 May)	$100 per day (Jan to Jun); $200 per day (Jul to Dec)
Cheapest legal night inside	Public campsite $35.40 + entry = $118 per adult (peak)	Triangle public campsite $40 + entry = $140 or $240 per adult
Road from the gateway city	Arusha to Naabi Hill Gate, about 254 km, 6 to 7 h, via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area	Nairobi to Sekenani Gate, 228 km of tarmac, 5 to 6 h with stops
Extra fees on the road in	Ngorongoro permit $70.80 per adult, each way	None on the Narok road
Scheduled flight, one way	Arusha to Seronera $259 + $28 tax (Coastal); $182 (Auric)	Wilson to the Mara $260 before taxes (Safarilink); $200 + $20 (Mombasa Air Safari)
Migration	In the park all year, in a different area each season	Usually July to October
Walking	Guided walks with a TANAPA ranger, $20 to $25, through some camps	Not allowed in the reserve; conservancies only
Night drives	Not allowed in the park; only in concessions outside	Not allowed in the reserve; conservancies only
Balloon flight	$599 per person in 2026, $660 from 1 Jan 2027, park fees extra	About $430 to $500 per adult
Annual rainfall	803 mm (Open-Meteo, park centre)	About 1,000 mm (gauges)
Malaria	High risk all year (NaTHNaC)	High risk all year (NaTHNaC)

Serengeti figures from the TANAPA 2026/27 tariff data and the 2023/24 tariff PDF, the NCAA tariff page, Coastal and Auric timetables and Serengeti Balloon Safaris, all read 6 October 2026. Masai Mara figures from the published pages of visitmasaimarapark.com (Narok County Finance Act 2023, 2026 airline fares). Confirm before you book.

What each park costs: $82.60 against $100 or $200

On the gate fee alone, the Serengeti is cheaper all year. A non-resident adult pays $82.60 per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March and $70.80 from 15 March to 15 May; the Masai Mara charges $100 a day from January to June and $200 from July to December. The two systems also count time differently: the Serengeti sells 24-hour permits with multiple entries, while a Mara day runs from 06:00 to 18:00 whatever time you enter.

The Serengeti's extras narrow the gap. Every guest in a lodge or camp inside the park pays a TANAPA concession fee of $70.80 a night from July to September and $59 from October to June, usually added to the lodge bill, and a road safari from Arusha pays the Ngorongoro permit of $70.80 per adult on the way in and again on the way out. In August, a lodge guest in the Serengeti pays $153.40 a night in TANAPA fees against the Mara's $200 day ticket; in March the Serengeti costs $141.60 against the Mara's $100.

For campers the Serengeti is cheaper all year: $118 per adult per night on a public campsite in peak season, against $140 in the Mara from January to June and $240 from July to December. Choose on the season, then compare the lodge rates, which outweigh either set of fees.

Wildlife: a year of migration against four months of it

Both parks give you lion with near certainty: 97 percent of travellers in Expert Africa's Serengeti statistics saw one, and 99 percent in the Mara figures our Mara guide uses. The Serengeti has far more of almost everything, because it is ten times larger: more than 7,000 elephants and about 60,000 buffalo in the park (TAWIRI, 2020), against 2,702 elephants and 8,878 buffalo counted across the whole Mara ecosystem in 2024. The Mara is smaller and denser, which is why elephant, buffalo, giraffe and hippo come close to certain there.

Cheetah is the clearest difference. The Serengeti's open plains hold a population studied since 1974, and 69 percent of travellers see one; Namiri Plains in the east is the classic cheetah area. In the Mara, 78 to 86 percent of travellers see a cheetah, but only 12 resident adults were counted in 2024. Leopard runs at 76 percent in the Serengeti and 63 to 77 percent in the Mara. Wild dog takes luck in both, at 7 percent.

The migration decides most trips. From December to March the herds calve on the southern plains, much of it around Ndutu just inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with TANAPA giving 8,000 to 12,000 births a day in mid-February; the Mara has nothing comparable then. From July to October both parks share the Mara River crossings, the Serengeti from Kogatende and Lamai, the Mara from the Triangle and the Narok side.

Species	Serengeti	Masai Mara
Lion	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
Elephant	Likely	Guaranteed
Buffalo	Likely	Guaranteed
Giraffe	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
Hippo	Likely	Guaranteed
Leopard	Likely	Likely
Cheetah	Likely	Likely
Wild dog	Luck	Luck

Verdicts from our wildlife pages for both parks. Sighting percentages are operators' aggregated traveller statistics for each park; the samples differ, so treat small gaps as noise.

Getting there, and how crowded each park feels

The Masai Mara is the easier park to reach. Nairobi to Sekenani Gate is 228 km, tarmac all the way through Narok, about 3.5 hours of driving and 5 to 6 hours with stops, and Safarilink, Airkenya and Mombasa Air Safari fly from Wilson Airport to the Mara strips in 30 to 80 minutes. A two-night Mara trip from Nairobi is realistic.

The Serengeti takes longer. Arusha to Naabi Hill Gate is about 254 km and 6 to 7 hours, through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Seronera is 49 km further; most road safaris spend a night in Karatu on the way. Coastal Aviation flies Arusha to Seronera in about 1 hour 10 minutes and to Kogatende in about 2 hours 20 minutes. Plan three nights at least, more if you want two areas of the park.

Crowding follows the herds. August is the busiest month in both parks, concentrated at the Mara River crossing points, where TANAPA's 2024 guideline sets a maximum number of vehicles per crossing site on the Tanzanian side.

Where you sleep in each park

TANAPA's own register lists 160 named facilities inside the Serengeti, among them 10 lodge entries (some not yet open), 26 permanent tented camps and 110 seasonal campsites allocated to mobile camps. Prices start at TANAPA's Seronera rest house and public campsites, both $30 plus VAT per person; among full-board camps, Lemala Ewanjan in the Seronera Valley starts at $305 per person sharing in low season, with park fees, guide and vehicle extra. At the top, Sayari on the Mara River charges $2,250 per person from July to October 2026, and Wilderness Usawa, one of very few rates that includes park fees, $1,540.

The Masai Mara has 22 places to stay inside the reserve, from Triangle campsites at $40 per adult to Governors' Camp at $453 per person in April and May 2026, and many more in the conservancies around it, where walking and night drives are allowed. Check whether a camp is really inside either park: in the Serengeti, the Ndutu, Grumeti and Klein's lodges are not; in the Mara, several camps that claim it stand outside.

The verdict: Serengeti or Masai Mara?

Choose by month first, then by time and starting point.

Choose the Serengeti if you travel from December to June: the calving on the southern plains and the Western Corridor passage happen there, and the Mara has no migration then.
Choose the Serengeti if you want space, cheetah country on the open plains, or guided walks inside the park, and if you have four nights or more.
Choose the Serengeti if you are already doing northern Tanzania: Tarangire, Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater sit on the road in.
Choose the Masai Mara if your dates fall between July and October and you have two or three nights: the crossings are a short drive or flight from Nairobi, and elephant, buffalo and hippo are near certain.
Choose the Masai Mara if you start in Nairobi or are combining with Kenya's coast or north, and want tarmac to the gate.
Skip the Mara from January to June if the migration is the point; skip the Serengeti on a short trip if you would spend half of it on the road from Arusha.

How to combine the Serengeti and the Masai Mara in one trip

Fly. The Bologonja and Sand River crossing between the northern Serengeti and the Mara has been closed to tourist traffic since 1977, so the road route goes round the west through the Isebania and Sirari border posts. On the Kenyan side Narok is 251 km and about 3 hours from Isebania, and Kenyan guides put the drive from the Mara to the border at 6 to 7 hours; on the Tanzanian side no source routes the leg from Sirari to the Serengeti's gates, and the vehicle must change at the border because Kenyan safari vehicles may not operate in Tanzanian parks. Count on at least a full day.

By air the link is daily for most of the year. Coastal Aviation flies from Kogatende, Seronera and Grumeti to Tarime, landing at 10:25, for a road transfer across the border to Migori and a Safarilink flight on to the Mara; Safarilink charges $317 one way for its Mara and Migori leg. The other way, Airkenya's 2026 timetable leaves the Mara at 08:05 and reaches the Serengeti strips at 12:30, daily except from 1 April to 20 May. The fallback is via the hubs: Coastal flies Seronera to Nairobi Wilson, landing 15:20, for $459 plus taxes.

Time it to the herds. From June to July, start in the Serengeti's Western Corridor or centre and finish in the Mara as the herds arrive; from August to October, Kogatende and the Mara are the same river seen from two sides, so pick one.

Serengeti strips to Tarime by Coastal, landing 10:25; road transfer to Migori; Safarilink to the Mara.
Masai Mara to the Serengeti by Airkenya and partners: depart 08:05, arrive 12:30; not 1 April to 20 May.
By road: Narok to Isebania 251 km, then Sirari to the north-western gates; change vehicle at the border.
Via Nairobi: Coastal Seronera to Wilson, depart 10:45, arrive 15:20, $459 plus $138 to $143 taxes.