Visiting Plitvice Lakes: our day in the national park

Our third morning in the country, and we’re even more excited than on the first days… Today we’re visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park, said to be one of the most beautiful places in Croatia, if not THE most beautiful…

Plitvice Lakes National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It’s a succession of 16 lakes and 92 waterfalls, with a 133-metre drop, spread over almost 30,000 hectares! The waterways are surrounded by lush nature and many species of plants and animals. You might even spot wolves or brown bears! Well, for us it was fish, ducks and a few birds, but that didn’t stop it from being a magnificent visit. It was probably one of the most beautiful places we saw on our road trip in Croatia.

Plitvice Lakes at a glance

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Our day at Plitvice Lakes National Park

We get up very early to be at the park entrance when it opens… Our host (more about him at the end of the article) assured us there would be hardly anyone around on a Tuesday in early May… But we’re rather sceptical, and we really hate being surrounded by crowds of tourists. We enter the park through Entrance 1, as recommended by our friends TrotteursAddict. At 8am, the car is parked alongside a good twenty other vehicles, and off we go to explore the park. At the entrance, several routes are on offer. We choose route C, the 8 km one, which is supposed to take between 4 and 6 hours (we end up walking for about 5 hours).

The very first view sets the tone. What we’re about to see is going to be stunning… The lakes are an incredible colour, a mesmerising blue! The trail follows wooden boardwalks that blend completely into the landscape. (Be careful, as there are steps here and there, and since you’re always looking up, you don’t necessarily see them! There are no safety railings either.)

Almost at the entrance is the “Big Waterfall”, the largest in the park. We naturally head there (it’s at the end of a dead end), and that’s when disaster strikes… In front of the waterfall, around forty seniors are jostling us from all sides, marching at full speed. They leave, we enjoy the spot… And then a second group of around forty tourists arrives! It’s barely 8.30am!! Help! They follow us for a good half hour, making the walk rather tricky, and so much for peace and quiet! Luckily, we eventually manage to lose them… But it was a close call!

We carry on walking, with hundreds of photo stops… The water is sometimes midnight blue, sometimes turquoise, sometimes crystal clear… All around, trees in fifty shades of green are reflected in the water. I love reflections in water, don’t you? Little waterfalls punctuate the walk, and we spot hundreds of fish. The water is so clear, so pure… We’d happily jump in… At this point, we console ourselves by thinking we’ll do it at Krka National Park (or not… Oops, spoiler!). Then we reach the jetty where the boat takes us across the park.

The crossing takes a good twenty minutes, and although the boat is full, the lake is calm, its midnight blue in perfect contrast with the green all around.

When we get off, we think we’re halfway through, but not at all. This is where the show really begins… The scenery as we step off the boat is breathtaking. It has everything: magnificent turquoise water, waterfalls, lush vegetation and, I forgot to mention it earlier, we’re lucky enough to have glorious sunshine that day… which makes the park even brighter and the colours even more beautiful…

Then come dozens of lakes, waterfalls, magnificent viewpoints and sublime colours… This is probably the part of the park we liked the most… We sit down on a little wooden bench and have our breakfast while admiring the view. Then we carry on along the route (which, by the way, is extremely well signposted). The last part is mostly made up of larger lakes and wider open spaces, just as beautiful as the previous ones… We keep stopping for photos, and after yet another lake, we climb higher, hear some noise, and reach a path that leads away from the water…

That’s the end of the route… The bus passes by to take us back to the start… Well, not quite, as we have to finish on foot. We find ourselves at the very top of the gorges, with a dizzying view over the lakes and waterfalls we saw earlier in the day… It’s stunning!

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Visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park: practical info

How to get to Plitvice Lakes

You can get there by car or by bus. Day trips are possible from several cities, such as Zadar, Split or the capital. You could easily plan to visit Zagreb over a long weekend and make a day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park.

By car, allow around 2 hours from Zagreb (135 km) or Zadar (130 km), and around 3 hours from Split. Buses between Zagreb and Zadar or Split stop at both entrances, but do check the time of the last bus back, as it’s often full in summer. The car parks at the entrances are paid (around €2 an hour in summer) and you pay when you leave.
➺ Without a car, the easiest option from Split is to book a day trip to Plitvice Lakes, with transport included.

Entrance 1 or Entrance 2: which one to choose?

The park has two main entrances, both on the D1 road. Entrance 1 (Rastovača), to the north, opens directly onto the Lower Lakes and the viewpoint over the Great Waterfall, Veliki slap. It’s the most spectacular place to start, but also the busiest, as most coach tours begin here: it’s the one we chose, arriving at opening time. Entrance 2 (Hladovina), near Lake Kozjak and the park hotels, lets you start with the Upper Lakes, which are often quieter early in the day. You choose your entrance when you buy your ticket online, and you leave through the same one.

Which route to choose?

At each entrance, several marked routes are on offer, each identified by a letter. They combine trails and wooden boardwalks, an electric boat across Lake Kozjak and a panoramic train, both included in the ticket. We followed route C from Entrance 1, which takes in both the Lower and Upper Lakes: it’s the one we recommend for a first visit.

How long does it take to visit Plitvice?

It all depends on the route you choose and your walking pace (and your photo stops, ha ha). Allow 2 to 3 hours for the Lower Lakes alone, and 4 to 6 hours for a full loop of the Lower and Upper Lakes. For us, route C took about 5 hours, including breakfast on a bench. And if you’d like to take your time or explore the forest trails, the 2-day ticket is a good option.

Tickets, prices and booking

Prices vary with the season. For an adult, expect to pay €10 from November to March, €23 in April, May and October, and €40 from June to September, or €25 if you enter after 4pm (after 3pm in September). Entry is free for children under 7, and reduced rates apply to 7 to 18-year-olds and students. The ticket includes the electric boat crossing and the panoramic train. There’s also a 2-day ticket, valid for two consecutive days (€60 per adult in summer). These are the 2026 prices and may change.

Since 2019, the number of visitors has been limited per time slot. We therefore strongly recommend buying your ticket in advance on the official website, choosing your date, time and entrance: in high season, morning slots sell out quickly, and without a ticket you risk being turned away.
➺ The official website is here.

When to visit Plitvice to avoid the crowds

The best times to go are May, June and September: the vegetation is lush, the waterfalls are full and there are fewer visitors than in July and August. Autumn brings superb colours and winter a magical snowy landscape, but some trails may close and Entrance 2 is usually shut. Whatever the season, our best advice is to arrive at opening time: even on a Tuesday in early May, the groups were already there at 8.30am, and when we left around 1.30pm, the car parks were packed… so we dread to think what the trails were like.

Where to stay near Plitvice Lakes

To be at the park when it opens, it’s best to stay nearby. Our friends TrotteursAddict (yes, them again 🙂 ) had recommended a lovely place in the area, which they absolutely loved: a warm welcome, a great dinner and a wonderful host… The place is indeed beautiful, but we didn’t get on with our host at all. He seemed completely distracted when talking to us and insisted heavily that we stay for breakfast, yet said he could only serve it at 9am… And we didn’t get the chance to try their dinner…

➺ Pension Mrzlin Grad, Vrelo 3, 53230 Korenica

To stay as close as possible, the villages along the D1 road are the most convenient: Mukinje, Rastovača, just a stone’s throw from Entrance 1, or Grabovac, with plenty of guesthouses and B&Bs. The park also has a few hotels near Lake Kozjak and Entrance 2, ideal for being on the trails as soon as they open. The Korenica area, where our guesthouse was, is a little further from the entrances, but still only a few minutes’ drive away.

Where to eat

You can have dinner at the guesthouse we chose but, unfortunately, places at the table are limited and it was fully booked during our stay. There are a few restaurants nearby, as well as a small supermarket a few kilometres away.

➺ We had dinner at Bistro Vila Velebita. It was good, not amazing, but good.

We also recommend bringing a packed lunch for your visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park. The restaurants in the park are reportedly not great, and during our visit, the café didn’t even serve hot drinks… And with such beautiful picnic spots, why deprive yourself?
And for the country’s culinary specialities, head to our article on Croatian food.

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We hope our article has made you want to discover Plitvice Lakes National Park. We have hundreds of photos of this beautiful place, and this was just a small sample of what you’ll be able to admire…

FAQ about visiting Plitvice Lakes

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