Visit Plitvice Lakes National Park

Are you planning your trip to Croatia? Planning to include a visit to the Plitvice Lakes in your route? This blog post will give you the best tips to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park and make the most of your visit.

About the park

Plitvice Lakes (Plitvička jezera in Croatian) is the oldest National Park in Croatia. It is situated in the region of Lika and in 1979 was declared UNESCO World Heritage.

The park is famous for its many beautiful lakes and waterfalls with super blue water. It has a total of 16 named lakes and many smaller unnamed ones.

The lake system is divided into the Upper lakes (12 out of the 16 named lakes) and the Lower lakes (the remaining 4 named lakes). The Upper lakes are larger and more serene whereas the Lower lakes are smaller and have cut into a canyon with steep cliffs.

The park offers a total of 7 different routes to visit the park connected by boats or shuttles and 4 hiking trails.

If you are a nature and outdoor activities lover, this park is a must on your trip to Croatia!

How to get to Plitvice Lakes National Park

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is located approximately 2 hours driving from Zagreb and 1,5 hours from Zadar. Its location makes it perfect for a one-day trip and it is reachable both by car and by bus.

Car is probably the easiest and most comfortable way to reach the park. It will also give you a lot more flexibility with your visiting hours.
Bus is a more budget-friendly option to visit the park. There are plenty of buses that take you there from the main bus station in Zagreb. Alternatively, you can also get a bus from the Zadar bus station.

Where to stay

It is possible to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park on a one-day trip from Zadar or Zagreb. However, if you have a bit more time, it might be convenient to stay at a hotel nearby. This will allow you to enjoy the park at a slower pace and enjoy it more.

There are a lot of hotels and B&Bs in Plitvice Selo, a small town inside the park.

Ethno Houses Plitvice Lake Hotel – I went to their restaurant for dinner and their food was delicious
B&B Vila Sumrak Plitvica – I stayed here

Practical Information

Opening Hours: Park is open daily from 7:00 to 19:00
Tickets: You need to buy tickets to enter the park. The price of the ticket contributes to maintaining the park. You can either buy the tickets online. Tickets at the entrance are only available if they are not sold out.
Entrances: Entrance 1, near the Lower lakes and Entrance 2 near the Upper lakes.
Routes: The park offers 8 different routes to visit the park of different walking distances.

Tips for visiting the park

Arrive early. The park can get very busy, especially in the summer.
Get there by car and stay at a hotel nearby. This will help you with the first tip.
If possible begin your visit with the Lower lakes. These tend to get more crowded as part of them are within a canyon. To avoid this, I recommend getting there as early as possible. I did not know this and I began my visit with the Upper Lakes. By the time we were visiting Lower Lakes, they were too crowded.
The entry ticket gives you access to use the boats and buses to move around the park. However, if you don’t mind a bit of walking, I recommend not using them for two reasons. The first one is that this park is better enjoyed by walking. The second reason is that you will lose a lot of time waiting in line.
Bring snacks and things to eat. There are a few places that sell sandwiches but when I was there, they were closed due to Covid regulations. Please always remember to not leave any garbage behind.
Bring appropriate shoes for walking.
Do not forget to bring sunscreen if you are visiting in the summer.
It is not allowed to swim in the lakes.

Visiting the Upper Lakes

I started my visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park with the Upper Lakes. After reading about the different routes to visit the park we decided to go for route K with some modifications.

We started our day, by taking the boat that connects between P2 (see map for our complete route today) with P3. From there, you start walking up towards Grandisko Lake. You will walk along a wood platform surrounded by beautiful small waterfalls and lakes with the clearest blue water you could imagine.

After Grandisko Lake, the path is just a regular trail which confuses some visitors who think the visit is over. Follow the path and go all the way to Proscansko Lake. Next to it, there is a food truck and picnic area where you can get something to eat and rest.

From here, the trail will bring you back to P3 but on the other side of the lakes. You will be stopping every few hundred meters to take photos of the lakes.

Visiting the Lower Lakes

At P3, instead of taking the boat back to P2, we took a second boat to P1 and walked back towards the Lower Lakes. This was the best decision of the day. The walk back to the lower lakes takes around 1 hour and the trail is almost empty. We stopped a few times to rest by the lake and enjoy the beauty of the place with peace and calm.

The visit to the Lower Lakes is a bit more challenging but still very manageable. There are a few steep uphills but the view from the viewpoints at the top is completely worth it.

After admiring the viewpoints, we descended through the Supljara Cave to the canyon and finished our visit with the Great Waterfall.