Great Migration Safari Cost: What You Really Pay in 2026 and 2027

Great Migration safari cost depends on four choices you control: the month, the area, the camp tier and the number of flights. This page sets out typical prices per person per night, the 2026 park fees, and four of our own trips with live from-prices, so you can see what a real route costs before you ask for a quote. Prices for 2027 are confirmed when we quote.

Facts checked 12 October 2026. Fees, schedules and herd positions change, so we confirm them again when we quote.

What decides the Great Migration safari cost?

Five things decide the Great Migration safari price, and the month is usually the largest. Everything else follows from where the herds are on your dates and how you reach them. For the wider picture of how the herds move, see our Great Migration safari guide.

• The month. July to September and Christmas and New Year are peak. June and October are shoulder months, often lower than July to September, though each camp sets its own calendar. February is often priced as peak in the southern Serengeti.
• The area. Camps beside a crossing point or inside the calving zone sell out first, so they are the ones to reserve earliest.
• The camp tier. Comfort, premium and luxury camps sit in clearly different bands, shown in the next section.
• The flights. Light-aircraft legs are charged per person and add up on a trip that moves between areas.
• The vehicle and guide. Our quotes use a private vehicle and a specialist guide. Ask any operator whether the vehicle is private or shared, because it changes the price.

Our quotes normally include accommodation, meals on safari, a private vehicle and specialist guide, park and conservation fees, airport transfers and the internal flights listed on the itinerary. Optional extras are shown separately.

Great Migration safari per person per night, by style and season

Expect the Great Migration safari per person per night to run from roughly US$350 to US$2,500 or more, depending on the style of camp and the season. The table gives indicative bands for two people sharing a room. They are typical, not quoted prices, and the figure for your dates is confirmed in your quote.

June and October are shoulder months, so a camp may price them in either column. January and early December are priced case by case. Every figure is confirmed in your quote, including the rate for a single traveller.

The nightly figure sits inside a larger total, together with park fees, flights, vehicle and guide. The sections below take them in turn.

Great Migration park fees: Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Maasai Mara

Great Migration park fees are charged per adult per day or night (the crater fee is per vehicle) and can change at short notice. The table shows the 2026 tariffs for a non-resident adult, taken from published tariffs. All fees for 2027 are confirmed in your quote.

Park fees were taken from published 2026 tariffs on 12 October 2026. They can change at short notice, and 2027 fees are confirmed in your quote.

Two points matter when you read these Great Migration park fees. First, the Ndutu area sits in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, so the conservation area fee applies to calving-season stays there. Second, the Mara reserve ticket doubled from US$100 to US$200 per adult per day on 1 July 2026, so check the date on any Mara figure you read elsewhere.

Masai Mara migration safari cost and the cost of a Serengeti migration safari compared

Neither the Serengeti nor the Maasai Mara is always the more expensive, because camp tier and month matter too. The Masai Mara migration safari cost and the cost of a Serengeti migration safari differ mainly in how the fees are shaped. In the Mara reserve, the park fee is a single line of US$200 per adult per day from 1 July 2026. In the Serengeti, it splits into a conservation fee per 24 hours and a concession fee for each night spent inside the park.

Mara conservancy fees are usually included in the camp rate, so the fee often sits inside the camp price and not on a separate line. The Mara Triangle sells its own cashless ticket. Flights also differ: the Mara is a short hop from Nairobi Wilson of about 45 to 60 minutes, while Serengeti airstrips are one to two and a half hours by air from Arusha or Kilimanjaro.

Whichever side you choose, we confirm fees and flights in your quote. A Mara migration safari cost also moves with the month, as the table on months shows. Our guide to Serengeti or Masai Mara for the migration compares the two sides on everything except money. For whole-country figures, see Kenya safari cost and Tanzania safari cost, and for a view across the region, the East Africa safari cost guide.

What a Great Migration safari costs in practice: four worked trips

Four of our trips show how the pieces fit together. Each price below is a live from-price per person. We do not add up totals here, because your month, room sharing and group size change the final figure, and the quote confirms it.

Trip 1: seven days in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro

The Classic Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Safari runs seven days from US$4,650 per person. The route covers Tarangire, central Serengeti around Seronera, and the crater. It runs best from June to October and from late December to February. It is not built around the herds' position but around resident big cats, so it is a first-safari route and not a calving or crossing trip.

Included: accommodation, meals on safari, a private vehicle with specialist guide, park and conservation fees, airport transfers and any internal flights listed. Added on top: tips, Tanzania eVisa, travel insurance with medical evacuation, international flights and optional extras such as a balloon flight.

Trip 2: eight days on the Mara River, August to September

The Kenya Migration Explorer: Maasai Mara River Crossings runs eight days from US$6,100 per person, in a private 4x4. It runs from late July to early October and divides its nights between the Mara Triangle, the central Mara and Mara North Conservancy. Most of its dates fall in peak pricing.

Included: the same items as trip 1, and conservancy fees are usually part of the camp rate. Added on top: Kenya eTA (required before departure), tips, travel insurance with medical evacuation, international flights and any balloon flight. Nairobi to Mara flights count as listed internal flights only where the itinerary page lists them.

Trip 3: ten days in Tanzania, for calving or for crossings

The Tanzania Grand Migration Explorer runs ten days from US$7,200 per person. The route starts on the southern plains at Ndutu, crosses central Serengeti and ends in the north beside the Mara River, with light aircraft linking Ndutu, Seronera and Kogatende. It is timed for calving from late December to March or for crossings from late June to September, and the month shifts the price within that.

Included: the same items as trip 1, with the internal flights listed on the itinerary. Added on top: tips, Tanzania eVisa, insurance, international flights, any balloon flight and any extra internal leg you add yourself, at a typical US$250 to US$500 per person per leg.

Trip 4: twelve days across Kenya and Tanzania

The Kenya & Tanzania Great Migration Grand Safari runs 12 days from US$8,900 per person. It covers the Mara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, with four nights on each side of the border, in June to October or late December to March. Because the Mara and Serengeti airstrips are not linked by any direct flight, the route runs via Nairobi (Wilson) and Kilimanjaro or Arusha. The detour takes about half a day and adds cost.

What is not in the price of a migration safari

A package price leaves out several costs that you pay elsewhere, so list them early. These are the extras not in a package price unless the itinerary says otherwise.

• International flights to and from East Africa.
• Visas. The Tanzania eVisa is about US$50 for a single entry, and US citizens pay US$100 for multiple entry. Kenya requires an eTA before departure.
• Travel insurance with medical evacuation. Choose a policy that includes medical evacuation.
• Balloon flights, at roughly US$550 to US$750 per person in the Serengeti and the Mara. They are weather dependent, and peak months need early booking. The balloon flight price guide has the detail.
• Tips. A rule of thumb is about US$20 to US$30 per day per group for the guide, and US$10 to US$15 per guest per day for camp staff.
• Extra internal flights that you add beyond those listed, at a typical US$250 to US$500 per person per leg.

Light aircraft also limit luggage to about 15 kg per person in a soft bag, including hand luggage, so ask about limits before you pack.

How the month changes the Great Migration safari price

The month changes the price more than any other choice you make, because rates follow demand and demand follows the herds. The table shows how each period usually behaves in a typical year.

The herds can run two to four weeks early or late, and each camp sets its own pricing calendar, so ask for the rate in the weeks either side of your date. See the Great Migration by month for where the herds stand in each one.

How to read a migration safari quote

A good quote lets you compare two operators line by line. Check these seven items before you compare totals.

1. Which park and conservation fees are included, and for how many nights.
2. Which internal flights are included, and which are extra.
3. Whether the vehicle is private or shared, and how many guests share it.
4. Whether the guide is a specialist with the area you are visiting.
5. Where each camp stands on your dates, and how far it is from the action.
6. Whether the camp is mobile or permanent, and whether it moves during your stay.
7. Which extras are listed separately.

The terms are shown on each itinerary page, so read them before you compare prices. A lower total can come from a camp far from the river or a shared vehicle, so compare those lines too. Our guide to private or group safari explains the vehicle question.

Ways to lower the cost without losing the migration

You can lower the cost of a migration safari with four choices that keep you close to the herds.

• Travel in a shoulder or green-season month. June and October are shoulder months and November is green season, and the herds are still in the Serengeti in October and November, though more scattered. Crossings still occur in October, often southbound.
• Stay on one side. A Kenya-only or Tanzania-only trip avoids the Nairobi and Kilimanjaro routing and its extra flights.
• Choose the comfort tier in the right area. A comfort camp near the herds beats a luxury camp far from them for the purpose of the trip.
• Consider the road to the Mara. Nairobi to the Mara takes five to six hours by road against 45 to 60 minutes by air, so driving saves the fare but costs time.

What not to cut is the number of nights in the main area. We recommend at least four, and our Great Migration safari planning guide explains why. Booking early also helps: our notes on how far ahead to book show which months fill first, and early booking matters more than perfect dates.

Next steps: working out your Great Migration safari cost

1. Choose your month and the side you prefer, using the table in the section on months.
2. Pick the closest of the four worked trips and read its itinerary page, where the terms are shown.
3. List the extras you want, such as a balloon flight, the crater or a beach.
4. Tell us your dates, group size and nationality, and ask for a written quote.

Before you ask for prices, it helps to plan the route first. Our Great Migration safari packages list every departure we run.

Keep reading: related Great Migration guides

For the whole picture, see our Great Migration safari guide. If you are ready to price a trip, Classic Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Safari starts from US$4,650 per person.