Hello Traveler Friends ! Greetings of the Day to you all !

I have just joined this forum & would like to take guidance form all of you for our first family trip to Serengeti / Masai Mara National Reserve which has been on our bucket list for last almost a decade ! We are all wild life enthusiasts & have been to all game sanctuaries in our country, India.

We are family of 5 adults- two couples & one single. One couple ( self & wife are seniors- in our mid 60s ). We would like to do a 7-8 Day trip of either Serengeti or Masai Mara in July/August/ Sept 2024. We would like to see big five & Cheetah & would surely want to witness migration of wild beasts across River Mara. My queries are :

a) Whether we should visit Serengeti or Masai Mara ? which of these two top national parks offers maximum opportunity of viewing wild life in short span of 7 days ?
b) which of these two parks offers a better sight of Great Migration in August / September ?

I would be extremely grateful for your help as it will greatly assist us in planning our trip. Once we have decided where to go, I will then seek your advice in choosing a good & reliable tour operator.

With Thanks to all

Serengeti is huge, much larger than Masai Mara. This moving map may help you decide:

https://www.expertafrica.com/tanzani...eest-migration

I saw the migration in February, and that was in Serengeti. We also had the opportunity to visit the Ngorongoro Crater, near the southern part of Serengeti.

Hello,
The choice of the parks is great more so in July/August, however I would recommend combining both. The wildebeest migration will be happening more in Masai Mara from July to mid-September. For sure you will see the big five, the cheetahs among many more.

Being an 8 days safari and combining both Serengeti and Masai mara I would recommend this itinerary:
Day 1: Masai mara
Day 2: Masai Mara
Day 3: Masai Mara
Day 4: Serengeti
Day 5: Serengeti
Day 6: Ngorongoro
Day 7: Amboseli
Day 8: Drop off at the airport.

You can reduce 1 night at Masai Mara and have 2 night amboseli on the last days giving you more time to relax before taking your flight home.

Thanks Heimdall & Denhumholidays... for your insightful inputs

Won't it become too hectic covering both in a span of 7 days considering that the first night will be spent at Nairobi ? We will end up spending lot of time travelling on roads. We would rather visit one park where we have a good chance to see abundant wild life & Great Migration across Mara River.

After reading some of the reports on this forum, we are considering ( though yet not decided ) a visit to Masai Mara National Reserve as it is a much smaller park in comparison to Serengeti. We can cover Masai Mara, Ol Pejete & ?????? ( whatever the experienced travelers advice ). While at Masai Mara, we can see the great migration.

I was reading some reports giving good feedback of stay in Nobisho Conservancy & Kicheche conservancy. How can that be planned ? Is it done through the Tour Operator ? If so, who are some of the good & reliable tour operators ( budget tours - not luxury ) who can arrange all of this from the time we land in Nairobi till we take our return flight ? We would like to have a 4 WD Land Rover / Land Cruiser for our safaris from the camps where we are staying.
Pardon me for asking very basic questions as I have no clue as to how the whole system of staying in Conservancies & Safaris works out. Logically, I feel there has to be a single agency coordinating the entire trip. Need help on this forum to get clarity on these basis issues.

Grateful.....Thanks

We were very happy with the safari arranged for us by The Wild Source and visited two conservancies as well as the Masai Mara. They handled everything from arrival to departure and were very easy to work with. They made suggestions but it was up to us to decide our priorities. I wouldn't call our trip inexpensive, as it was a splurge for us, but we felt it was money well spent. The company's office is in the US so communication and payments were easy. I like TWS's mission of conservation and empowering local people.

If you read a few trip reports on this site you find names of other companies posters here have been happy with. I know Gamewatchers is one I've seen often and there several others. It is a good idea to contact a few and compare prices and offerings and then work with one that seems a good fit to narrow down the details of your trip.

Thank you KT travel for your suggestions & sharing info

We have gone on 2 Kenyan safaris. The first was split between Laikikipia and the Mara (private conservancies.) Ol Lentille for a cultural immersion then Kicheche Laikipia (we actually had a private visit with Sudan before he passed) and onto Kicheche Mara.

The second was all 3 Kicheche camps for 12 days and we based soley in the Mara but stayed at all 3 Kicheche Mara camp in the private conservanciess-4 nights Mara, 4 nights Valley and 3 nights Bush camp. I can't image a higher standard of guiding. Also, Kicheche guarantees you a private vehicle if you are a party of 4 or more, which we were.. You can only visit the conservancies if you are staying in them so much less crowded that the main reserve.