Great Migration river crossings: visitor guide

The crossings happen on the Mara River inside the Masai Mara National Reserve and in the adjoining conservancies. The river also runs through the Serengeti side in Tanzania, so the same herds cross in both countries at different points in the year.

Nothing about a crossing is scheduled. Herds gather, wait, and turn back. A guide who has been watching a bank for two days is worth more than any calendar.

Most visitors fly. Scheduled light aircraft leave Nairobi Wilson Airport for Mara airstrips through the morning, and the flight is short enough that you can land, transfer to camp and still make an afternoon drive. Baggage is limited on these flights, usually 15 kg in a soft bag, so check with your operator before you pack.

Driving from Nairobi takes most of a day on tarmac and then rough reserve roads. It is cheaper and lets you see the Rift Valley, but it eats a day each way and the last stretch is slow in the wet.

Once in the reserve you move by game-drive vehicle with your guide. There is no walking to a crossing point on your own, and off-road positioning near the river is at the guide's discretion under reserve rules.

The Kenyan side of the migration runs roughly July to October, with the densest herds and the most crossing attempts in August and September. Early July can still be quiet; late October the herds are drifting back south.

Crossings are most likely in the first hours after dawn, when the light is low and the herds are moving. Many camps send vehicles out before sunrise to sit at a bank that has been active. Afternoon crossings happen but are less predictable.

Rain changes everything. Heavy rain makes the banks slippery and the current strong, and herds may hold for days. Dry spells concentrate animals at fewer crossing points, which can actually help you.

The Mara is a full reserve in its own right, so most people pair the river with the wider plains rather than treating it as a single stop. Big-cat sightings, the Mara Triangle and the conservancies north of the reserve all sit within an hour or two of the main crossing points.

If you are building a longer Kenya trip, the usual shape is a few nights in Nairobi, then the Mara, then the coast. Amboseli or Samburu are alternatives if you have more time rather than additions to a short trip.

Book at least three nights in the Mara. One night gives you two drives and a real chance of seeing nothing at the river. Three or four nights turns a gamble into a reasonable bet.

Ask your camp what the river has been doing in the last week before you commit to a specific camp. Guides talk to each other, and a camp near an active bank saves you an hour of driving each morning.

Bring binoculars, a dust-proof bag for your camera and warm layers for the dawn drive. Mornings on the river can be cold and the vehicles are open.

Be patient and quiet at the bank. Vehicles jockey for position, and the crossing itself may last minutes or hours. Stay in the vehicle and follow your guide's instructions.