When to visit the Maasai Mara: a month-by-month guide
Month-by-month guidance on wildlife, weather, and crowds in Kenya’s flagship reserve.
Ask ten guides when to visit the Mara and you may get ten answers — because there is no bad month, only different ones.
July to October is Migration season. The wildebeest arrive from the Serengeti in their hundreds of thousands, and with them come the river crossings that define safari television. It is spectacular, and it is busy: this is peak season, and the best camps sell out six to nine months ahead.
November brings the short rains — brief afternoon storms that rinse the dust and drop the crowds. Resident game does not go anywhere, and rates soften noticeably.
January to March is our quiet favourite. Calving season fills the short-grass plains with wobbly newborns, which in turn concentrates the big cats. The light is golden, the camps are calm, and photographers in particular should look hard at these months.
April and May are the long rains. Some camps close, tracks get heavy, and we generally steer first-timers elsewhere — but for returning guests who want the reserve nearly to themselves, there is real magic in the green season.
The honest answer: tell us what matters most — spectacle, solitude, light, or value — and we will tell you your month.
