The Ultimate Plitvice Lakes Travel Guide
Are you planning to visit Plitvice Lakes in Croatia this year and don’t know what to expect? Don’t worry I got you. In this Plitvice Lakes travel guide, I will be sharing all my tips and resources for you to have the best time ever. Also, I will be sharing my own experience from the trip I took there and I hope that you will use it to avoid my mistakes.
This piece of content will offer answers to questions like why do you need to visit Plitvice Lakes, where to find the best accommodation, how to get to the park and all the details you need to know about the park itself and the overall structure of a visit.
When I started to plan our trip to Croatia, besides Dubrovnik (Valar Morghulis to all Game of Thrones fans out there), Plitvice Lakes was our number two must-see place. I’m sure you come across the famous photos with the gorgeous scenery and waterfalls views that Plitvice has to offer. When I first saw the images I couldn’t believe that a place like this existed and was so close to Romania.
I must say that I didn’t read a lot about visiting the park before our trip, I only knew that we needed to book our tickets a few days ahead. But not doing proper research was a mistake.
I thought that it was a park with an easy trail to follow from start to finish and that’s it. Surprise, surprise, things were a little more complicated.
Plitvice Lakes is a huge park with several paths and depending on your itinerary and the time you plan to spend exploring it, you can choose a shorter or a longer version of the trail. This is why doing your research before the trip will improve the experience there.
My Plitvice Lakes travel guide will help you out with all the important details about the logistics of your visit, but offer personal feedback.
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Table of Contents
Why you need this Plitvice Lakes travel guide?
If you’re here, chances are you already know that Plitvice Lakes is a must-see gem in Croatia. But with countless articles out there offering useful insights, it can be overwhelming to sift through them all.
Now, I won’t claim that my article is the ultimate guide or the only one you’ll ever need. However, in my Plitvice Lakes travel guide, I’ve compiled everything you’ll require to plan your trip and craft your itinerary. From where to stay and when to visit, to how to explore and which tours to consider, I’ve got you covered. Plus, I’ll fill you in on what to wear and what to expect during your adventure.
My aim with this Plitvice Lakes travel guide is to provide a comprehensive resource, sparing you the hassle of scouring through countless articles. Let’s face it, researching and planning a vacation can be the least enjoyable part of the travel experience for many.
To ensure you can easily navigate through this article, take advantage of the table of contents and select the sections that pique your interest or suit your needs. Let’s make your Plitvice Lakes journey a breeze!
How to get to Plitvice Lakes?
The closest cities are Zadar (136 km) and Zagreb (140 km). From each city, you can take a local bus, or you can rent a car if you prefer to travel with better comfort. In our case, we came in our car from Romania, because we wanted to visit several places in Slovenia and Croatia.
Depending on your location or whether you have a car or not, you should consider booking a guided tour. This option can alleviate the stress of planning and organizing your visit.
- From Zagreb: Plitvice Lakes and Rastoke Guided Day Trip;
- From Zagreb: Plitvice Lakes Full-Day Private Tour;
- Split: Self-Guided Plitvice Lakes Day Tour with Boat Ride;
- Zadar: Plitvice Lakes with Boat Ride and Zadar Old Town Tour
What’s great about these tours is that you can book now and pay later, with the added flexibility of being able to cancel anytime up to 24 hours before your trip. Booking one of these tours can significantly reduce the stress and time spent planning your visit.
Where to book accommodation close to Plitvice Lakes?
I feel like this Plitvice Lakes travel guide can be complete without speaking about accommodations.
If you visit Croatia by car, or if you rent a car, I highly recommend searching for a place to stay near Plitvice Lakes, so you will have a whole day or days to visit.
We found this great place to stay, at Apartments Green Park Plitvice in Rakovica (it’s only 8 km from Plitvice Lakes). We booked a small villa that had two bedrooms (we were two couples). Apartments Green Park Plitvice also had free parking and free breakfast included in our booking.
The host was so kind and welcoming to us, he cooked us delicious eggs and served great coffee for breakfast. He also recommended a great place to eat dinner and gave us a card that we used to get a discount on our meal.
When is the best time to visit Plitvice Lakes?
This is a tricky question because during summer the number of tourists is the highest, thus the park can get crowded (you can stay in line to see every waterfall). This can become a downside because you will get frustrated every time you want to take a great photo or simply enjoy the view.
The ideal period to visit is at the end of the tourist season, which is during fall. The problem here is that the weather can be very unpredictable and your trip can be ruined by rain. This is what happened to us. We booked a certain day for our visit because our itinerary was complex and we couldn’t be very flexible (we were on a road trip to visit Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro).
That being said, no matter the period you choose, or the weather for that matter, you will have a great time. Plitvice Lakes is one of the most amazing natural parks in Europe. The landscape and unique waterfall views will make your experience unforgettable. Even if it’s a foggy one.
Things you need to know about visiting Plitvice Lakes?
Book and buy your tickets online
You will skip huge lines and there are times when the number of tickets is limited, due to the increased visitors. If you buy the tickets online, you drive directly to the entrance related to the program you choose (more of that in the points below). Each entrance has a parking area and after you find it, park your car and follow the path to the bus pick up point. There the staff will check your tickets and the adventure begins.
You can check out Plitvice Lakes tickets here.
Check the weather and plan your trip accordingly
We didn’t do that, and the day we visited was rainy and foggy. This didn’t stop us of course, but some unique scenic overlooks were kinda affected by the fog. For us, changing our visiting day wasn’t an option, because our itinerary included many more places in Croatia and our accommodations were already booked. In our case, we needed to stick with our plan. Also, we visited in September because we wanted to avoid crowds.
This is why I included the weather aspect in this Plitvice Lakes travel guide. Keep in mind that checking the weather is important if you want to plan a perfect trip.
There are two entrances to the park
Depending on the entrance where you start the tour, put the name of the entrance on Google Maps and drive directly to it. The distance between the two entrances is pretty far away.
Check out the map on Plitvice Lakes official website to see the exact location of each entrance.
Plitvice Lakes has 2 big sections
You can imagine Plitvice Park is divided into two sections: Lower Lakes and Upper Lakes. The landscape and the overall views are different, some are more spectacular than others.
If you are opting for a guided tour, most of them include the Upper and Lower Lakes, like this one. Keep in mind that by booking a private tour you are going to forget about all the stress that comes with planning your visit to Plitvice Lakes.
We didn’t do a lot of research before our trip (as I already mentioned) and we didn’t know the overall structure of the park. We started the trail excited and ready to be impressed, based on all those amazing photos we saw online. The problem was that those well-known shots were with the Lower Lakes and we started our trail with the Upper Lakes. We didn’t know that then.
After walking for a few hours, we still didn’t find those remarkable views and we got confused and thought that maybe we turned the wrong way at some point. We feared that we had missed all those gorgeous waterfalls. Even if the trail was beautiful and relaxing, we were stressed and didn’t enjoy it as I wished we did. Long story short, after hours of walking and wondering if we were on the right path, we finally got to the Lower Lakes section (by mistake). Of course, the park and trails are marked and at some point, there is a big map showing your position inside the park, but we didn’t understand it very well.
This stress could have been avoided if we had done a little research before our trip. On the park’s official page they provide a map that can be very useful for you to use to understand the trail that you are exploring.
I hope you take this advice from this Plitvice Lakes travel guide and do your research before your visit to make the most of the whole experience.
The duration of your visit depends on the program you choose
The duration of the visit can vary from 3 to 8 hours. You also can plan to see the park in one single day or two days. Depending on how much you want to explore, or how your vacation is planned, read about every program on their website (they have approx. 7 programs to choose from) and pick the one that suits your needs and itinerary. For example, we took program C and it was perfect for us because we assigned one day for Plitvice on our itinerary.
You have the option to choose an organized tour
If you choose this option, you are going to skip the headache of understanding what path you should follow inside the park or the planning overall. More details on their official website.
Wear proper shoes and clothes
If you plan to explore the park a whole day, pack items like water bottles, snacks and a raincoat. No matter how great the weather is, it’s better to be prepared for any situation. In our case, during our visit, it rained for a couple of hours, so our raincoats were lifesavers.
Likewise, keep in mind that you’re going to walk for a couple of hours or a whole day, thus it’s vital to wear proper shoes to avoid foot injuries.
Chances are the photos you saw online of the park are highly edited
Plitvice Lakes is a gorgeous natural park with wonderful and spectacular waterfalls and bright and beautifully colored lakes. Each water body is surrounded by luxurious vegetation and every corner of this place is just beautiful to watch and enjoy. You are going to see memorable landscapes that are one of a kind.
That being said, if you search online for Plitvice Lakes images, keep in mind that most of them are highly edited. Don’t get me wrong, this natural park is gorgeous, but don’t be tricked by the internet. Even more so, depending on how the weather is during your visit, the landscape will appear different in your photos. Just look at the picture below that was taken under very foggy conditions. I’m sure that if the day was a sunny one, the colors would have looked brighter and more vibrant.
Don’t rush your visit
Often, when we are traveling we see places through our camera lens. I know that this is a basic thing to say, but don’t forget to use your eyes alone more and enjoy every wonderful corner.
Plitvice Park is a unique place where nature is at its best. Even in places where there aren’t waterfalls, the path is a delight. The blue-green shades of the lakes make this place a paradise, it feels like you are walking in another world. Don’t rush from waterfall to waterfall to take tons of photos. Instead, breathe, take breaks, enjoy the scenery and capture every image with your eyes also, not only with the camera. Chances are you are going to visit Plitvice only once, so make the best of it. My advice for you is to choose a program that covers a whole day inside the park.
Swimming is forbidden
What program should you choose for Plitvice Lakes?
The answer to this question depends on a series of aspects, such as:
- The reason for visiting the park: are you a big fan of waterfalls, or do you want to check another landmark on your bucket list?
- Do you enjoy long or shorter walks? (the visit can vary from 4 to 8 hours)
- How many days are you planning to stay in the region? (you can visit the park in one or two days)
Depending on your answer, you can read the description for each program and choose the right one for you.
As I mentioned previously, we took program C. It took us approx. 5-6 hours to finish the visit and we started our walk at Entrance 1. The program covered the Lower and the Upper Lakes area and had a combination of walks and electric boat rides. Sightseeing was circular and we got to see all the important waterfalls like: “Great Waterfall”, “Veliki Prstavac” and many more.
Program C was perfect for us because we had only one day on our Croatia itinerary to visit Plitvice National Park and we wanted to make the most of it.
I hope you find this Plitvice travel guide useful and you start to plan your amazing adventure.
Do you need more reasons for visiting Croatia this year? Please check out this article and find out why you will fall in love with this country.