Serengeti safari areas : We usually consider 5 main areas of the Serengeti: the central Serengeti, the southeast, the western corridor, Serengeti Mara and the northern Serengeti. The wildebeest migrate through these areas year-round. If you’re looking for super exclusive private safaris, Grumeti Game Reserve might also be a great pick for you but I won’t go into this area in this article as I don’t know enough about it.

Central Serengeti

The heart of the Serengeti with lots of accommodation options. You’ll see large herds of wildebeest here from March to May and you’ll have a great chance of seeing lions, leopards and cheetahs all year long. This area is where the famous ‘kopjes’ are located. These rocky natural structures are great for seeing lions and cheetahs. There’s also rhinos in this area but it’s definitely not easy to see them so don’t get your hopes up too much. And if you want to see a pool full of hippos, this is the place to be as well!

The central Serengeti is often called Seronera although it’s actually a bit larger than that and also includes the area south of it. Seronera is by far the busiest area of the Serengeti, as it’s easy to reach and except for the southeastern area, the only area that’s doable on a short safari. So you probably won’t be alone here, especially in high season and this is definitely something to think about if intimacy is a main requirement.

Southeastern Serengeti

The area between the west of Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the central Serengeti. Most wildlife is present here but this area is especially worth a visit from December to April when the wildebeest are here on their quest for water. The highlight definitely happens in January and February during the calving of the wildebeest. The huge amounts of wildebeest and their new calves also attract lots of predators, so it truly is worth a visit. Expect to see lots of other safari vehicles, especially from December to February before the heavy rain season.

Western Corridor

This is the stretch of land that follows the Grumeti river between the central Serengeti and Lake Victoria. The great migration passes through here from May to July and this is actually where the first river crossings take place. The ones at the Mara river into Kenya are definitely more famous but they only follow later in the migration season. Vegetation in this part of the park is more dense than elsewhere and you’ll see giraffes, elephants, zebras, cheetahs and also lions throughout the year.

There’s not a lot of accommodation options here and most of them are (super) expensive. During migration season there’s some mobile camps but these are also not cheap. For this reason, this area is far less visited than the others so it might be a good pick for you if you want privacy.

Serengeti Mara

This is the small stretch of land between the Mara river and the Kenyan border and it’s the best place to see the Mara river crossings from around July to September. You’ll also find large numbers of lions and cheetahs as well as elephants, zebra, topi and buffalo throughout the year. Only a few permanent camps are located here but during migration season there’s mobile camps to stay at. These are all pretty expensive and budget options are not really available here.

Serengeti north

Less flat than the rest of the Serengeti and with much denser vegetation, this part isn’t often visited. It’s the best place to see the migration on its way back from Kenya into Tanzania, usually in October or maybe September. The vegetation makes the animals more difficult to spot but the largest elephant population of the Serengeti can be found here and there’s good chances you’ll see lions, cheetahs and leopards.