National Park Plitvice Lakes
By Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and largest national park in whole Croatia. The park is covered in forest vegetation and the lakes cover little less 1% of total park area. This outstanding natural phenomenon includes 16 terraced lakes with more than 90 waterfalls and several kilometers of the boardwalk. The lakes are dazzling, very clear and they change color from turquoise to blue and green thanks to the mineral content of the water and sunlight during the day. Lakes are divided into two parts- the upper lakes and the lower lakes. The highest waterfall stands at 78 meters.
What is useful to know if you want to visit the National Park Plitvice Lakes?
Table of Contents
Entrance fee
National Park Plitvice Lakes offer one-day tickets as well as two-day tickets that are valid for two consecutive days starting from the day of sale. The ticket includes transport with a boat an panorama train, visitor insurance and the value added tax.
Prices of tickets vary depending the time of the year so you can check them at the official web-site.
Entrance and Parking
The park has two entrances with large parking areas (fee 8 kuna/hour or 10 kn/h from June to September), at the entrances you find maps with predefined tour/routes which you can follow: (See entrance on map below)
Entrance 1 is starting point for program A, B, C and K (which is the largest tour).
- A (2-3h) is lower parts of national park, only walking
- B (3-4h) is lower part of national park including sailing on lake Kozjak
- C (4-6h) Walking, bus to upper parts of national park and sailing on lake Kozjak
- K (6-8h) Walking around Whole national park.
Entrance 2 is starting point for program E, H, F and K.
- E (2-3h) Upper parts of national park, only walking
- F (3-4h) Like B tour. Only different starting point
- H (4-6h) Like C tour. Only different starting point
- K (6-8h) Walking around Whole national park.
When is the best time to visit park
Visiting Plitvice Lakes should be on your bucket list, no matter the season. National Park Plitvice Lakes is a beautiful sight during the whole year. Like all of Croatia, summer months are peak tourist season also here. On the busiest days in July and August, the park is visited by up to 11,000 people per day so it is quite clear it gets crowded. Waiting in long lines for the ferry boats should be expected. Shoulder season, including April, May, September and October could be the best time to visit the park because the weather is pleasant and there are less people so you can enjoy amazing nature to the fullest. Visiting Plitvice Lakes is possible also in winter season and if you decide to do so, you will witness most spectacular sights when the park is covered in snow. Keep in mind that in winter time the park is at reduced capacity so the upper parts of the lakes are closed.
Here you can see our summer photos of the park: Plitvice Summer photos
Here you can see some autumn photos of the Park Plitvice Autumn and you can see photos from our Winter visit to Plitvice here
Getting to Plitvice Lakes
The easiest way of getting to Plitvice Lakes is by car, the alternative is taking a direct bus from Zagreb, the ride takes around 2.5 hours, also Zadar when the journey will last 2 hours, and Split when you will need 3.5 hours to get to the park. There is also a possibility of taking an organized daytrips from any coastal city. (see map below) You can choose between a trip with larger group or private and more flexible transfer.
Staying overnight at Plitvice
Hotels
The park runs a number of hotels which are situated by the entrances to the park, so by staying overnight here you have the National park at your “doorstep”. – But you also pay for that!
Campsite
There are two campsites in the area. Autocamp Korana is situated along the canyon of the Korana river. It covers an area of 35 hectars and it can recieve up to 2500 people. Camper can choose the perfect spot for their tent or sleep in one out of 47 bungalows the camp offers. Camp Borje is a small camp situated at the very end of the park and it blends perfectly with the landscape. It is able to receive 350 campers who are free to choose their camping plot.
Private accommodation and hostels
The cheapest option for an overnight stay is private accommodation or hostel andin the area around National Park Plitvice Lakes, there are plenty of private accommodations to choose between; personally I prefer to stay in the area of Korana river which is beautiful area 6 km from entrance no.1, where you have untouched nature, small waterfalls outside the window and you could also end up facing a bear!
Here is where we stayed during our last summer visit to National Park Plitvice Lakes:
You can contact owner at info(at)sankorana.com, his name is Ivica.
Other thinks which might be useful to know
- No need to say you need to bring some good walking shoes because you will be walking a lot. Wooden paths has a lot of short steps so good footwear is a must.
- Bring plenty of water and consider bringing your own lunch; you can buy food and drinks at the park, but prices are relatively high and in summer restaurants can get crowded.
- Notice the park is very clean sou you should keep it that way, there are plenty of garbage dumpsters.
- Stay at marked paths, keep in mind that you are inside the park with wild animals, like bears, wolves and 19 different kinds of snakes.
- Please stay safe while taking photos, don’t do dangerous things for a perfect photo.
- Swimming is forbidden in the park ever since 2006.
Map Plivice, entrances and bus stops:
View Plitvice in a larger map
Recommended articles:
Hey Morten,
I appreciate your blog now more than ever because I’m having friends visiting from the states next month and I’m planning a few trips for them since they are arriving in Zagreb and spending ten days in croatia.
any tips on renting a car: if they rent in zagreb can they return it in pula after 7 or 8 days?Since they are departing from Pula and catching a ferry to Venice?
they are also going to plitvice lakes.
and Dubrovnik. (I;m wondering if I should tag along with them so we can visit Korcula) maybe.
thanks Morten,
Hi Elisa,
I am sure you can rent a car in ZG and return it in Pula, ask by a few companies like, uni-rent, sixt, national etc.
Well if i had option to go Korcula i would for sure not say no 🙂 if you do so, and pass by Lumbarda i would appreciate if you could bring me 10 liters of the white wine from Winery Zure, directions you can find in my lumbarda story . They have a great creamy white wine which is 30kuna/liter (Not in bottles) but tapped directly from the barrel.
Brgds, Morten
Hi Morten, is there anywhere to swim in the Plitvice Lakes? Warren (Australia)
Hi Warren,
unfortunatly you are not allow to swim at NP Plitvice Lakes, but if you get to NP Krka Waterfalls, you can.
Best, Morten
Hi Morten,
can you please give me your email address I need to book FLIGHTS and
accommodation several places and need some info too. This is rather urgent.
Thnks
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne
i send you mail yesterdaz
Brgds, Morten
Hi,
What would be the best way to get to Split or Dubrovnik from Plitvice using bus/train?
@Kumar, i am not sure about where the train stops, but the is for sure option to go by bus, there is 3 or 4 daily departures to Split, travel time 6-7 hours, from Split count another 5 hours to get to Dubrovnik.
Hi,
I’m looking to go from Zadar Airport to Plitvice Lake. Is there a direct bus? I tried finding for bus companies online and do the booking online, but my attempts have not been successful.
Also, is there a direct bus from Plitvice Lake to Dubrovnik?
Thank you so much for your help.
Aizad, there is for sure no direct bus from the airport, first you will have to take Airport bus to the centre of Zadar, from here you have busses in all direction, i am not sure if there is direction bus to Plitvice, bus i would guess so.
Plitvice – Dubrovnik is a long trip in a bus, first you will have to go to Split, and then continue from there to Dubrovik.
Brgds, Morten
Hey, Morten,
Congratz for the blog, very interesting.
I plan to stay in Croatia for one week with my girlfriend in early-September. Our major goal is to visit the park: do you believe two days are enough for that (or just one day is fine)?
Also, do you recommend us to stay in a hotel closer to the park or to the major cities? We will probably rent a car, so besides the park and Zagreb, where else do you think it would be worthy to visit?
I appreciate your help,
Paulo
Hi Paulo,
you can see the park in one day – if you spent 6-8 hours there you more or less can visit all parts of the park. If you choose to stay overnight by the park, i would recommend to go to San Korana, the place i mention in the text.
Well if you have a rented car, you should for sure also visit the Adriatic coast, i am quite sure you would love both Istria and Dalmatia, so it is up to you to pick one of them, or event better, take a drive down the coastal road, stop over when you feel like, in september you can easily find apartments and hotel rooms.
Best, Morten
Hi, Morten
My friends and i will be travelling to Croatia in this early Sept. We’ll be in Zagreb for only one night, and we’re planning to go to Plitvice lakes once we reach Zagreb – our flight is scheduled to be arrived at 9.55 am. From there, we will go to Zagreb bus station and take a bus to Plitvice lakes. I’ve checked the timetable from AKZ Zagreb
But, is the bus service that goes to Plitvice Jazera stops at plitvice lakes as well?
Cheers!
Hi Fetty
Plitvice Jezera is the croatian name for Plitvice Lakes, so the bus should stop there.
Morten
I planning a trip to Croatia in late November, and wonder how Plitvice Lakes will be during that time of year. Will it still be worth visiting? Or will the weather just be too harsh to walk around?
@Walter, Plitvice lakes is amazing all year around to my opinion, dress according to weather condtions and you will love the place
Best, Morten
We will visit Zagreb on December. We are eager to visit Plitvice lakes, but we have only the 24th. As it is Christmas time, we are not sure wether the park will be open or not. In the website, it is writen that it is open all year round. Could you please confirm this information?
Could you please also suggests a way to get there? Can we go by our own, driving a rental car, even in the winter time? Would it be better to take a bus? We tried a daily tour, but as it is Christmas, it seems that there is no tour available.
We would like to go early and return to sleep in Zagred.
We will very much appreciate your help.
Regards,
Simone
Simone, park will be open also in December.
You can get to Plitvice with bus from Zagreb, travel time is about 2-2.5 hours i would guess, but considering it is winter i might be better to rent a car with winter tires, in that case you are much more flexible.
Best, Morten
Thank you very much. As it will be December 24th, I would like to know what would be the best place to rent a car. Is there a car rental near to the train station? We will be hosted on a hotel nearby.
@ Simone, sorry i can´t answer that question 🙂
Morten
Thank you anyway. Regards, Simone
Hi my name is Kieran
i am a pupil at cordeaux and i was just wondering why people like to visit plitivice lakes, i would also like to know how many people visit here
Thanks for your help in my Education
Kieran Jaines
Pupil in Cordeaux School
Lincolnshire
England
Hi Kieran
No doubt most of people visit plitvice lakes because it is very beatiful and a unique nature experince. Every year more then a million people visit the nationalpark
Regards, Morten
I will be travelling on July 4th 2012 from Split to Zagreb via Plitvice National Park (hoping to stay 2 nights in Plitvice). I am trying to find out if it is possible to get a bus from Plitvice to Zagreb on July 6th as we fly out of Zagreb that evening. I have heard that the buses can be unreliable. Is there anyway of guaranteeing 2 seats on a bus that day as we don’t want to miss our flight that evening?
Would it be better to do a day trip from Zagreb to Plitvice? If so how expensive are they and are there any you would recommend?
Look forward to hearing from you
Mary
I will be in Opatija with a group of 18 people in April 2012 with a tour which does not plan to visit Plitvice Lake. We would like to arrange for a bus tour to Plitvice Lake ourselves. I have emailed many tour operators and no one responded. Do you have any recommendations on how we can arrange this?
Hi Terry, that is often the problem, i dont think there is any easy solution for that, I my selves is corrently working on http://www.buscroatia.com to improve exaxtly that issue, but we are still not finished
Regards, Morten
Hi, I am planning to drive from Dubrovnik to Plitvice lake in one day and having hard time finding detailed driving direction. There were a couple of directions online but both different. Can you please suggest the detailed route to take? I also would like to know the tolls(how much and where?)through the route. Thank you for your help!
Hi Mochi,
for finding the route use google maps or similar service
Here you can find the prices for road toll in Croatia
Regards, Morten
Hi,
We are planning to visit Plitvice Lake in late March from Zagreb. We will be taking buses from the early morning to and returning in the afternoon. Hopefully, you can answer couple of questions for us.
1. Do buses stop at both Entrance 1 and 2 for drop off and pick up? The reason I asked because on the park website it said only entrance 1 is opened as of now.
2. Going back to Zagreb on a weekday afternoon would there be a risk of not able to catch a bus due to crowds?
Thank you in advance
Hi Ben,
if the park website says that only entrance one is open at this time of the year, then that must be the case. aks when you arrive there.
Here in March i can hardly imagine there should be any problems with crowds on the bus, so i think you should not worry about that.
Best,
Morten
Dear Croatia Expert,
We have read your blog with great interest.
May I ask for your kind advise for the following:
(i) My wife and I are visiting Plitvice lakes on SUNDAY, the 11th March (sorry, we are not giving you much time to respond). At this time of the year, which of the several tours would you recommend?
(ii) Is there a guided tour that I could take? We will reach the lakes by our own car, but are looking for a guided tour inside the Park.
Thanks, regards and a big God Bless,
RM
Hi RM,
Well i thin all of the tours are beatiful, it is more a question how much time you have availble.
Guided tour? do to that fact that we now have low season, i am not 100% sure if there is a guided tour, i would call the park admistration or see if the can arrange something upon arrival.
Enjoy Plitvice (I know you will)
Regards
Morten
Hello,
I will visit Plitvice Lakes on April 1st (sunday) and I would like to know if you can recommend me an specific tr ail (There are several programs in the website of the park and I don’t know which one to take). Any other recommendation will be highly appreciated.
Thanks!
Angela
Hi Angela
all tours our nice and beatiful, so it depens on how much time you like to walk?
If you are staying in the area, San Korana is very nice
Best,
Morten
I am looking to travel to croatia from may 1-6 with some friends. We are planning to go to dubrovnik, split and the lakes. Since we can only stay at the park a few days what are the best places that we need to go to and what is the best way to get from place to place and where would you recommend staying within a tight budget?
Hi Christine
depend on how many you are, you could consider renting a car (By 4 persons it is not that expensive), alternativ you can also get around by bus.
In the area of Plictice you have several small villages, normally you should be able to find apartments where you pay around 100 kn a person.
Best, Morten
Hi
We are traveling to Croatia next week want to take a bus from Dubrovnik to the lakes, spend the day at the lakes and then travel onto Zagreb by bus. I gather there is a direct bus from Dubrovnik to the national park that leaves at 18:00 and arrives at 03:35 but I was wondering if there were any others with a later arrival time? Also, do you know the times for evening buses from the lakes to Zagreb and where we get the bus from? Also, we will have a suitcase with us, is there any kind of luggage storage facility at the national park?
Many thanks
Hazel
Hi Hazel,
I assume you found schedule here https://www.buscroatia.com/dubrovnik-plitvice/, the page will soon have some more departures, but none arriving in the morning. same goes for departures from Park to Zagreb. Luggage storrage, i am not sure, i can´t recall i saw that anywhere, you might be able to arrange something in one of the hotels.
Best,
Morten
Aloha From Hawaii
I will visit Venice with large group and decided deviate & extend stay in Venice from night of October 21 to October 24. My flight leave Venice at 6:50 am. on 25th.
I would like to go to Plitvice lake and stay one or two night.
I do not mind to stay one night somewhere.
Is it safe to rent car from Venice to go there and back to Venice by myself alone?
Another way I am thinking of is taking ferry and bus to go there and come back by train or another way around.
Which city and route are you recommended to go and came back?
Anyplace I should not miss near Plitvice?
Do you have favorite hotel in Plitvice?
Please Advice.
Mahalo
K
Hi Keiko, in terms of safety, you should not have any problems.
Best way to travel from Venice to Plitvice, is with at rentet car, the alternaties are too much hassle, only option you could consider would be to take catamaran from Venice to Pula, and then go by bus from there / rent a car in Pula.
I never stayed in Hotel there, so i cant say which one is the best.
Regards,
Morten
Dear Mr. Morten,
I made a car reservation at Venice.
I am looking forward to be there.
Mahalo, Thank you and Hvala!!
@Keiko, glad i could help, have a nice trip
Best, Morten
Dear Mr Morton,
My boyfriend and me are planning to visit the plitvice lakes somewhere next week.
We were wondering what the best and cheapest way is to travel from malinska to plitvice lakes?
I thank you in advance.
Regards,
Alma
Hi Alma,
the cheapest option is most proberly going by bus, but i am affraid it will be a long jurney as there is no direct buses from Malinska to Plitvice. I think the best option would be to rent a car at the Rijeka / Krk airport, and then drive to plitvice. A small car will cost you about 40 Euro, on top of that you will have maybe 30-40 euro fuel costs.
Best, Morten
From what I am reading, it sounds like you can drive to the park. But within the park you take buses to go from the various sites? Or do you do some do some driving inside the park? I see a parking fee for vehicles.
Hi Paul, you can not drive with your own vehicle inside the park area, here you have to use the park buses.
Bestm, Morten
Hello,
We are planning our trip to Slovenia and Croatia in September and we are going to visit Plitvice Lakes on Sept 13.
We are coming by bus from Pula to Karlovac to Plitvice on Sept 12. We will arrive to Plitvice at 15:45. I booked a room at PLITVICE PENSION MIRIC. It is expensive, but I booked it becauce they offer breakfast and dinner and I was afraid that without a car it would be difficult to find a place to it (not fast food place!). By the time we leave our bags at the B&B it,probably, will be too late to visit the park. We will go to the park early in the morning, but will have to take a bus to Split, the latest one.
Do you suggest to visit the park in the evening also? Do we pay for two days in this case? At what time do they stop charging the entrance fee in the evening? How can we be sure that the last bus to split, leaving Plitvice at 15:45 if we believe the schedule, will pick us up?
Thank you very much
Mary
Hi Mary,
The park is open till 8pm, so i agree you will not have enough time to visit the park on your arrival day. would cost you entrance fee for an extra day, for only a coulple of hours in the park.
Regarding the bus, well the departure is scheduled, so unless something dramtical happens the bus will departure according to schedule, if for what ever reason, the bus should not departure, you have a later departure 17.20 or so to Zadar, and from there you have connection to Split. As your landlord or at the park information where you need to get on the bus.
Kindest regards,
Morten
Hello.
I am not fluent in English.
I am going to Plitvice on 28th(Sun)October.
I heard Enterance 2 is closed in October, is it right?
I am planning to book Hotel Plitvice(around Enterance 2)
, so I wonder how long does it take to Enterace 1 by walk?
Regards.
Hi Namhee,
i was no aware that the entrance 2 should be closed at that time of year, but if so, i am sure they have some kind of transport from the Hotel to the entrance, try to mail the Hotel and aks.
regards,
morten
Hi Morten,
I am traveling to the National Park very soon. Saw online that most of the camping is is closed as of the beginning of this month (October), do you know of any year round camping or if we can just pitch a tent any where in the area?
Thanks
Erika
Hi Erika,
i can’t help you on that one, i really have no idea if there is any campsite open whole year, my advise would be that you try to call the national park, maybe they know?
Best, Morten
Hi Morten,
I have a group of 8 travelling my car from Zagreb to Plitvice, then Plitvice to Split. Could you tell me how many tolls if any and the approximate costs?
Thank you
Hi Michelle, as you are not using the highway all the route, i would guess that your total toll would be around 120 Kuna.
Best,
Morten
I am planning a trip to the lakes and Dubrovnik from the 25th of March to the 1st of April and I was wondering what the weather will be like? We will rent a car for the week to get us from Split to the lakes, then down to Dubrovnik and then back to split for the flight home.
Also, can dogs go into the national park?
If you have any cities you can recommend on the way, please let me know.
Chris
Hi Chris,
end of March it is still going to be fairly cold around Plitvice Lakes, at the coast we normally start getting some nice sunny days with up to 15-20 degrees Celsius at that time a year. Renting a car seams a good idea, rental rates are fairly low at that time a year, you can check rates here.
DOG Plitvice: Dogs are allowed on leash throughout the park.
When you drive from Split to Plitvice, you could make take an overnight in Zadar and see the town, if you decide to do so, you should follow the coastal road from Split to Zadar, if possible also plan an hour or two to see Trogir.
The drive from Plitvice to Dubrovnik is pretty long, time wise, so you should not plan any stops on this part of the trip, but when you go from Dubrovnik to Split, you should drive along the coastal road to Split, if you like stop to see some of the smaller cities along the route.
Brgds,
Morten
Hello
We are a group of 4 and want to go from Zagreb to Split via Plitvice Lakes in a day. Is it safe to leave a rental car in the car park area at the lakes for a few hours with our luggage on board?
If you think this would be unsafe then do you know of a tour group which would do this trip?
Any advice appreciated!
Hi Dj,
if you leave the car on the paid parking by the park entrance, and you dont have any “interesting” items visible, it should not be a problem.
Brgds, Morten
Hi Morten,
I am bringing my age old parents to visit Croatia after Vienna on lst week of March. Plitvice park is one of the itineary. How is the weather during that time? Is the lower part of park worth seeing since the upper part is still close? What are places should we go apart from Plitvice park. Is it worth staying in the park?
Is it safe to drive in Croatia?
Thanks.
Amy
HI Amy,
first of all i have to appoligize for the late reply.
At the end of March the weather is still a bit unstable, which mean you expect anything between snow and 12-15 degrees and sunshine.
Whole plitvice is very beatiful, so you will for sure also enjoy the lower part.
If you plan to stay (Which i would do), i can recommend to sleep in San Korana or Rastoke, which both have smaller waterfalls, very relaxing and beatiful.
I think it is pretty safe to drive in Croatia, stick to the speed limits and you should be fine.
Have a nice trip,
Brgds, Morten
Dear Morten,
I will travel to Plitvice Lakes in Jun from Zagreb by bus. On the next day after the park visit, I would like to take bus to Sibenik. I have some question:
Can I still have the bus from Zagreb after 6pm or later?
Will there be any Bus from Plitvice Lakes to Sibenik? Which bus station should I wait? Will there be any schedule that can check on-line? Thanks in advance.
Best regards
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
I cannot answer that question now, the bus schedules for June should be available around April, contact me at that point of time and i will let you if there is a bus running after 6 pm.
Best, Morten
Hello Morten,
Do you know if its possible to rent a car near the Plitvice area?
I am travelling with friends by car from Split to Plitvice, but then would like to rent my own car to drive from Plitvice on to Rijeka.
I have looked at the car rental companies you have previously mentioned but none of them have locations in the Plitvice area.
The alternative is for me to rent my own car in Split and drive with my friends to Plitvice and then on to Rijeka, however this is obviously more expensive.
Would it also be easy to take a bus from Plitvice to Rijeka?
Thanks for all the great tips.
Cameron
Hi Cameron,
i don’t think it is possible to rent a car near to Plitvice, the closest option is most properly Zadar airport, which would save you 150 km driving costs. (compared to renting in Split)
Other options:
If you friends are continuing to Zagreb, you could go with them to Karlovac and then catch a bus from there to Rijeka, alternative you can take bus Plitvice to Karlovac and then Karlovac to Rijeka, there is limited number of buses from Plitvice to Karlovac, but plenty from Karlovac to Rijeka.
Brgds, Morten
My husband and I are considering a trip to Europe, including the Plitvice Lakes National Park. I have never travelled out of the country and only speak English. In your opinion, will this be a problem? Do you have any suggestions for travel guides, if needed?
Hi Nichelle,
You should have no problem communicating here in English.
You mean a tourguide for seeing Plitice?
Best, Morten
Hello Morten,
I’ve found your tips really helpful in planning my trip to Croatia.
I have another question please. Two of us are going to Plitvice in September. Is it necessary to book accommodation in advance? We will have a hire car and so would be mobile and don’t need to stay too close to the Park entrances.
My preference would be to stay in one of the smaller B and Bs rather than a hotel. But either way, would it be too crowded and difficult to find somewhere to stay without an advance booking?
Thanks.
Sally
Thanks Sally,
I am glad to hear that. If you travel in September and have a car available, you can easily find some accommodation so no need to pre book at that time a year.
Best, Morten
That’s great. Thank you.
Sally
Sally, you are welcome
Morten
Hallo Morten, I hope you can help me make a difficult decision. I will be arriving in Rijeka from Italy with a bus, end of March 2013. I will then hire a car there. Now my question is, if i only have 5days in Croatia, Plitvice lakes seems a bit out of the way when I definitely want to do island hopping near Split and Bvar. Is it 100% worth the trouble travelling to Plitvice lakes, sleeping over near the lakes and only then continueing to the islands?
Hope to here from you,
Ian
Hi Ian,
well my short answer would be yes!
Although Island hopping is very nice, i don’t think there will be much to it, this time a year, of course it is fantastic to see places like Hvar, but personally i would not exchange Plitvice for Island hopping at this time a year.
But is not easy decision.
Best, Morten
Thank you very much Morten. You just made my decision easy.
Glad to hear that! I was actually at Plitvice this weekend, although this was my 5th or 6th visit, the park still amazes me. I will post some nice winter photos from the park one of the next days.
Hello Morten 🙂
I’m a 22 years old student and i’m planning to go to croatia with one of my friend on 5th June 2013 to 9th June 2013. i have many questions that hope you to kindly clarify it ;
1. I plan to take the bus from Zadar to Plitvice Lake and i don’t Know that which bus station i can get off to the national park ? due to i heard that there are 2 bus stop near entrance 1 and 2.
2. I’ll leave to Trogir by bus at the same day so the bus timetables show that it’ll leave at 23.45 from Plitvice lake. I wonder that where is the bus stop that i can wait for the bus(bus stop near entrance 1 or 2). Are there bus stop providing any seat for waiting at night? because national park’ll closed at 20.00
3. Can i book the bus ticket online in advance or due i have to buy bus ticket and bus station in Zadar?
4. For the bus ticket. Are there any discount for 2 students
Please Kindly Let me know, Many thanks
Best Regards
Taan
Hi Tan
1. If you look at the buttom of this post which is from my last visit to Plivice, i have marked the bus stops on a map, so it should be pretty easy to figure out where to get off the bus.
2. I am not 100% sure weather the bus at 23:45 is running or not, some websites states is does, others do not, unfortunalty it is not possible to contact that specific bus company. Bus, I will investegate that and post a comment here later as soon as i know for sure.
3. You can normally call the bus station one day prior and reserver a ticket, but i am 99% sure you don´t have to.
4. I have no idea if you can get a discount or not, my guess would be no.
Kindest regards, Morten
Thanks for many helpful suggestion = )
Hi!
Do you know where I can find the bus timetable for July 2013 to go from plitvice lakes national park to zagreb?
Also, is there any way to go to Saragevo from plitvice lakes national park?
Thanks!
Hi Pixies, you will have more buses in July then now, bus schedules are normally update in the period we have now, not all are availble online before sometime in June.
I would doubt that it is possible to go directly to Sarajevo from Plivice by bus, my guess would be you have to go from either Zagreb or Karlovac. alternative could be Zadar.
Kindest regads,
Morten
Thank you for the very fast reply!
May you know how often the buses run usually in July? Is it like every 2 hours? For example how often was it last year? And what time is the last bus to Zagreb?
As far as i recall there was about 10 daily departures last summer. i dont remember when last bus was to Zagreb, but count on something like 8 pm.
Thanks a lot!
I’ll give you a backlink in my site to help you in return!
Your welcome Pixies,
no need for backline, Gplus or a FB share would be much appriciate.
Best, Morten
Hi Morten,
I hop you can help!
Looking to visit the lakes in two weeks time, travelling from Split, staying the night and then returning the next evening.
What is the best way of travelling to do this?
Thanks
Emma
Hi Emma, best way is to rent a car and leave split early in the morning, other options is to take the earliest bus from Split, and then spend the afternoon at the park. Next day you then also have time to go to park before returning to Split, downside by this options is two times entrance to the park.
Best, Morten
Thanks for your reply!
I think we will go for the bus option
Could you advise how much it will be please?
Also, what sort of time/how many times a day does the bus return from plitvice to split?
Thank you so much for your help
Emma
Hi Emma,
i think there is a bus leaving split abour 8:30 in the morning, travel time is about 4 hours, so you will have the afternoon to see the park. Next day you have maybe 5-7 buses back to Split, i think last one is about 3 pm.
Price i am not sure about, but my guess would be around 20 Euro a person.
Kindest regards,
Morten
Hello again!
what if I can only spend one day in a park, what should I choose?
National Park Krka Waterfalls or National Park Plitvice Lakes?
I will be travelling with 6 friends and most probably we will rent a car.
Thanks in advance for the help!
Hi Pixies
Well, both Plitvice and Krka are very beautiful sights, Plitvice is the biggest and most famous of the national parks, From my point of view you can not say which one is better or more beautiful. A plus at Krka is that you can actually go swimming at the lower part of the park.
So bottom line i cant give you any conclusive answer 🙂
Best, Morten
Hi Morten,
Nice to see that you give nice advices to all people who contact you. We will go with friends to the plitvice lakes beginning of June. We would like to book a room in a hotel or guest house, and we want to choose this according to the entrance we will go the morning. So the first question is which entrance is the best to select? I heard it was better to begin by the entrance 1 to not be in the shade the afternoon and take good pictures. Is that true? Also in case we select entrance 1 we will always have the lakes in front of us… Is that also true. This place is wonderful accordingto what I read and I want to select the best options for us… Last question, where to sleep not far away from the entrance ?
Thank ou very much!!!
Best wishes
Zohra
Hi Zohra,
I have never thought about the issue with the shade, so i cant give you any advice on that one, but what i can recommend you, is to get to the park early, say 8 o’clock, as the majority of day trip guest will arrive from about 10 am, (they would properly disturb your picture more than the shade). 🙂
Where to stay, well if you pick entrance one you have accommodation fairly close by, anyway have a look at the small winter guide here, Which I made after my last visited to the park, there you will find detailed information about buses and where to stay.
Kindest regards,
Morten
Dear Morten,
Is Sandy again! Thanks for your previous reply. Would like to know the earliest bus from Zagreb to plitvice lakes is scheduled at 7:30am, arrived 9:20am, according to akz.hr website. Will there be a bus that depart earlier? Also, from plitvice lakes to Split, is the 2:30pm is the last one? I want to do one day trip on 9 Jun. Thanks you in advance for your reply.
Cheers
Sandy
HI Sandy,
I dont think there will be an earlier departure from Zagreb. And yes i think the 2.30pm is the last one, in case they dont set up some extra buses which is doubt.
Best,
Morten
Dear Morten,
I am planing to visit National Park Plitvice Lakes area between 29th of June till 3rd of July with my wife and two little kids. I have reserved 4 nights in one of the houses of Rakovica.
I was told that public transportaion from/to Zagreb is not easy with tht family, and in same time there is no tranportation avaliable form the village to the park or any other place I might like to visit during this long vecation.
I will land in Zagreb 10:00am, so my plan is to rent a car and go to Rakovica directly, and off course, use the car for all other needs.
As I do not want to waste my time looking for tranport form zagreb to Rakovica, Rakovica to the park and going back to Zagreb, What do you think about the tranportaion?
Second, As this is the first time I will drive a car in Europ, do you have any recommendation?
I look forward to hearing form you.
Thanks in advance for your suport.
Best regards,
Baseem
Dear Baseem,
As Rakovica is about 20-25 km from the national park, I think renting a car is a good, idea, especially considering you are travelling with kids. In principle you would be able to travel Zagreb – Rakovica with bus, and also Rakovica – Plitvice is possible, but buses can be late, can be full etc, all things you don’t need when you travel with smaller kids, so I would go for renting the car.
Well, driving I pretty easy, except for Zagreb area traffic is not dense so you should not have any problems with that.
Having a car available you could also visit Bihac in Bosnia, which is pretty close, remember to check with car Rental Company if you are allowed to go there with the car. (Alternative you have bus from Plitvice to Bihac). In the area of Rakovica and Plitvice there are also several other smaller sights to visit
Best, Morten
Hi Morten. I am hoping to visit Plitvice in October. I will not have a car. I will be coming from Rovinj and then going to Zagreb. Do you have any suggestions on the best way to do this? I would like to stay a couple of nights and think it is best to stay in the park given i don’t have a car. I appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks.
Hi Nikki,
you will have to take bus to Karlovac where you change to a bus to Plitvice.
You dont necessary have to stay inside the park, you could stay in Rastovaca from there you have about 1-2 km to the entrance point.
Brgds, Morten
Dear Morten,
Could you please advice the best time to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park for autumn colours?
Thanks,
Irina
HI Irena
sometime in October should be find, as far as i recall i visit once in the middle of october, which was a spectacular view.
Best, Mroten
Hi Morten,
I am visiting Croatia in a few weeks and am hoping to visit Plitvice National Park. I am planning to arrive in Split on a ferry from Hvar on Saturday, 10 August around 08:30. Most daily tours to Plitvice I understand depart at 07:00. Are there any other options that depart later?
I also have the full day in Split on Sunday 11-August so could do a daily tour then, but I can’t find any tours that run on Sundays. Do you know of any companies that do or will we have to hire a car and drive?
Many thanks for your help.
LondonTraveller
Hi London Traveller,
There are several agencies in the centre of town, i can´t say for sure which one of them has tours on Saturdays and sundays, but I am sure one of them has.
If you can´t find anything online, best is proberly that you find a tour for the sunday once you are in Split.
Hiring a car is also an option to consider, in that case you might want to book the car a few days prior to arrving in Split
Best, Morten
Hi Morten,
My daughter and her friend are travelling from Zagreb to Plitvice as I’m writing this and then on to Split later tonight on the bus that leaves at 11:55pm. She’s just a little concerned that the bus may be full and they will miss getting on.
Can tickets be bought before or are they only available for purchase on the bus?
Thank you from concerned mum in Australia
Hi Nada,
Sorry i could not reply you before now, hop your daugher and her friends managed to get to Split.
Brgds, Morten
Hi Morten!
You sure do have a lot of helpful tips here! I will be going to the plitvice lake during mid october and I’m planning to stay at the hotel inside the park for 2 nights.
1) Is it safe for a girl to walk inside the park alone without joining any tour and without a guide?
2)Is the trail safe and easy to walk?
3) Would there be a high chance bumping into dangerous animals like bear and snakes?
Thanks!
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
1. I don’t think you should worry about safety at the park, till now i never heard about any insidents there. Also in October there will still be quite a few people visitng the park.
2. Trail is safe, fairly easy to walk, all park around you have a trail of 10 centimeter wide wooden planks to walk on.
3. very unlickly if you stick to the trails.
Brgds,
Morten
Hi Morten,
I will be going to plitvice park mid October. I heard that the entrance 2 might be closed.
1)Is Bellvue inside entrance 2 or outside entrance 2?
2)If I stay in Bellvue, does that mean I have to go in from Entrance 1 and walk to entrance 2 if entrance 2 is closed?
3)And for the next morning, from Bellvue, if entrnce 2 is closed, do i need to walk outside of the park to entrance 1 to get into the park?
Thanks!!!
Hi Jenny,
I visit once in October, at that time both entrances was open, i think it only closes if there is lots of snow?
Anyway, you can for sure can access the hotel, also if the entrance 2 is closed. between the entranced you have the “panoramic train” running, so it should not be a problem to get to entrance one.
Brgds, Morten
Hi, you seem to know Croatia very well. I’m planning a twelve day trip in late September and we’re hoping to see Zagreb, Plitvice, Split, Korcula and Dubrovnik. Do you think the drive from Dubrovnik to Plitvice is too much for one day? Thanks!
Hi Mary,
Dubrovnik to Plitvice takes about 6 hours following mainly the highway, but if it is your first time in Croatia, you might want to consider, going from Dubrovnik to Split on the coastal road, scenary is beatiful. From Split you then take the highway (later local road) to Plitvice, this trip should take you about 7-8 hours.
Kindest regards, Morten
Thanks for the great advice, Morten. We had a lovely time on the coastal road and had no problems getting from Dubrovnik to Plitvice (beautiful park, by the way!) in one day.
Hi Mary
You are welcome, glad to hear everything worked out fine
Best, Morten
Hi Morten
We are from South Africa and plan to visit Croatia during July 2014 for 14 days.
Need some expert advice for the holiday.
Can you please help.
George
Hi George,
I can, let me know what you need help with
brgds, Morten
Hi Morten,
I am planning to visit Plitvice lake national park this coming May. It would be on the weekend that I will be visiting. So if I spend a day in Plitvice national park on a Saturday and leaving on the Sunday, is there any bus running from Plitvice to Split on a Sunday? If yes, What is the possible earliest timing available?
Thank you so much for your help!
Zhen
Hi Zhen,
yes there is bus service from Plitvice to Split also on sunday, normally there are several departures, exact schedules for May should be online on buscroatia.com from April or so.
Kindest regards, Morten
Hi! We are going to travel to Plitvice on June. Which the routes is the best when we want to see all the most beautiful places and we have time all day but our 7-years-old won’t walk all the day?
Thanks for the blog.
HI Kirsi,
I have visited same place two years ago with 4 years old daughter. we have chosen the longest plan inside the park. we all walked for almost five hours.
As I know my daughter is able and would like to have such trips, we did it. But you know yours, if the kid is active person the walk will be affordable, if not you can take shorter plan and spend one to two hours there and go out.
Best regards,
Baseem
Hi Morten,
Thank you for hosting this great blog and providing invaluable advice about Croatia travel, esp to first time travelers. We plan to visit Croatia for 6 days over the New Year in December 28-Jan 3. Could you kindly advise:
1. Are the roads generally drive-able in December with winter tires or is it better to use bus/train? I have experience in snow driving in the USA but not in Europe.
2. Can Plitvice be visited from Split in a day-trip or is it better to stop over Plitvice while travelling from Zagreb to Split, which option is better in terms of time?
3. Between Hvar, Split & Dubrovnik, which would be most lively to celebrate New Year Eve? Based on my itinerary (2 days each in Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik), I goto either Hvar or Dubrovnik on new year eve and it seems the Hvar clubs (Carpe Diem & Hula) would be closed at that time, but that there may be a street party, fireworks etc as per previous years. Hence, I am confused where to be on NYE.
4. My itinerary is:
Day 1 – Arrive in Zagreb
Day 2 – Drive to Split via Plitvice
Day 3 – Split to Hvar by catamaran
Day 4 – Hvar to Dubrovnik via Korcula
Day 5 – Dubrovnik
Day 6 – Depart from Dubrovnik
Do you think this is a practical and sensible itinerary based on travel time and connectivity?
Thanks a lot.
Saurabh