Great Wildebeest Migration in Africa - Packages, Price, When, & Where

4 Days, Detailed Itinerary of The Great Migration Africa Safari

This itinerary takes you through a typical 4-day, African wildebeest migration safari. We can get to the Masai Mara by road or air, and this itinerary is based on a road package.

Day 1: Arrive in Kenya, Transfer to Masai Mara, & Evening Game Drive 

As is customary with our Masai Mara road trips, we will pick you up at the airport by 6:00 am. It may sound a little early, but it does take a good couple of hours to reach the Masai Mara, and we like to stay on top of the itinerary.

Today, you will be traveling in a 4×4 safari land cruiser. It handles the road better and provides fantastic game viewing ability with an open roof.  Upon pickup, the safari guide will head out of Nairobi city and take the Southern Bypass before joining the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

The air is cold and crisp this early, with promises of sunshine later. Your first stop is the Great Rift Valley viewpoint. The Great Rift Valley stretches 7000 km through Africa and the Middle East.

This expansive topographic valley will stretch as far as your eye can see at the viewpoint. This view is excellent for your first photos of the safari. There are plenty of curio shops at the site, a perfect chance for you to start stocking up on souvenirs.

After spending some time at the viewpoint, you head back on the road. The Kenya landscape views will keep you busy as the guide drive to your next stop, Narok town. This is also a great time to catch a nap for those not used to getting up too early.

On arrival at Narok town, you will stretch your leg, visit the bathroom, and this is also a great time to shop for any last-minute items. Remember, you will be in the bush for the next three days. The guide will then continue with the drive to Masai Mara.

In about two hours, you will be at the heart of the Masai Mara and in the vicinity of the 8th wonder of the world. The guide will pay your park fees and get your official ticket if you stay inside the park. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing animals right from the gate!

The lodge/camp staff will welcome you with a cold fruit drink and show you to your rooms. It has been a long day, and the guide will leave you to relax for a while. You will then head out for an evening game drive from 3 pm to around 6 am. 

Day 2: Full-Day Game Drive at Masai Mara National Reserve – Experience the Migration

On the second day at the Masai Mara, you wake up early. Today, you will go on a full-day game drive, complete with packed lunch. This means that you will only be back at the lodge in the evening. 

Don’t worry about the heat; we are armed with water and other drinks in the portable cooler. You will leave right after a hearty breakfast. Your first stop is by the Mara River, where all the action occurs. As the guide drive there, you will meet different herds going about their business.

Occasionally something interesting that warrants a stop happens. For instance, during the 2021 wildebeest migration, we met a giraffe giving birth. This was worth making a stop. You arrive at the Mara River, and a few safari vehicles have already arrived and situated themselves strategically.

The guide joins them and soon gets immersed in the happenings below. As is typical with the animal migration in Africa, thousands of wildebeests have assembled at the Mara River, trying to make their way across.

Large crocodiles await in the deep waters below, and the unlucky ones will not get to the other side. This is only the first hurdle; however, they encounter predators like lions, cheetahs, and hyenas as they dodge the hungry crocodiles.

Again, it becomes a game of survival for the fittest. Only the strongest, bravest, and most determined will enjoy the lush green grass on the other side. Without a doubt, you will take photos and videos that you will treasure for a lifetime. 

You watch the action all morning, and as the sun hits the top of the sky, you drive to a shaded picnic area for lunch. The great migration is always exciting, and it never gets monotonous. After a satisfying lunch, you head back to a different position by the river.

The banks are steeper in some places than others, and similarly, the water is deeper in some areas. This presents different dynamics for the wildebeest when they try to cross during the wildebeest migration from Serengeti.

The deeper the waters are, the more challenging it is to go across. It is also harder to see the predators hiding down below. You spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the spectacle, and as it nears 4 pm, you start driving back to the hotel slowly.

There is always much to see on the way back, so the game drive never stops at the Masai Mara. Our guide will leave you to relax in your room, by the bar, or in the pool before dinner.