Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is one of the most beautiful parks I have visited. Way back in 2012 I travelled to Croatia for almost two weeks. During this time we basically drove the entire country, stopping in smaller towns and larger ones. It was my first trip abroad without adults (gasp) so the trip was memorable in itself, but one of the most memorable moments of this trip was trekking through Plitvice Lakes. It’s a large area but if you bring your walking shoes you can cover a lot of ground in one day.
We travelled in November and so the weather was a little colder and many of the leaves were starting to fall. However, the colours that we experienced with the changing of the leaves was unbelievable. While Plitvice Lakes I’m sure is gorgeous in the summer I would highly recommend visiting in the early Fall. The only other people we spotted on our tour around the lakes was a tour group. One tour group, that was it! It was so relaxing and therapeutic walking around in the quietness, with little sounds but the water rushing by or us talking about life.
The one thing that struck me the most about wandering through Plitvice Lakes were the pathways. They were so pristine and well-kept. At some points it felt almost as if you were walking on water. The paths are not that far about the water level, and at certain spots on the trail the water rushes very fast underneath your feet. The whole area really is like a fairytale. I could have spent days wandering along the paths and never get bored.
How to Get There
Because we had a car the entire time, it was easy enough for us to get to the lakes. However, if you do not plan on renting a car there are some tour groups that will take you there. Most of the tour groups are day trips that leave from Split. If you’re not familiar with the area Plitvice Lakes is located in between Zagreb and Zadar both of which I would VERY HIGHLY recommend you visit.
Driving in Croatia I found quite easy. They drive on the same side as North America and their roads are fairly large compared to the rest of Europe. Gas was a bit more expensive than I would have predicted but it didn’t break the bank. We also found car rentals to be fairly cheap so if you can squeeze it into your budget, renting a car was the best thing we could have done.
What to Know
There is parking on site and you will have to pay but it isn’t that much. Of course, as with anything when you travel make sure to hide your valuables in the trunk and lock the door.
You do have to pay an entry fee at the park upon arrival. It’s usually around $16USD so not too much and the money goes towards maintaining the beautiful UNESCO heritage site. As soon as you start walking around you’ll understand why they charge an entrance fee. Made up of sixteen lakes, the area is large and I can only imagine hard to keep up.
Places to eat are few and far between so if you do plan on spending a day here I would highly suggest you bring some snacks or some lunch. There are of course so many great spots that you’ll be happy you packed a lunch. Occasionally you’ll find a picnic bench but those were rare.
Hiking Trails
There are so many different paths that you can take around Plitvice Lakes, it could actually keep you busy for days. Make sure you do your research before going to see what it is you really want to experience at Plitvice and base your hiking trails off of that.
The longest trail will take you about 8 hours which is plenty of time. We did Hike K and couldn’t have been happier. It did take longer than expected (about 7 hours) and we were exhausted afterwards but it was so worth it. We got to see the Great Fall, the Lower Lakes Canyon and many other beautiful sites.
Where to Stay at Plitvice Lakes
If you can manage it though I would strongly recommend you staying at least a night here. It’s so peaceful and quiet. The place we stayed at was a small hotel located about a 5 minute drive from Plitvice Lakes. It was sweet but very quiet. They had a restaurant on site which was very convenient after a long day of walking around but other than that there aren’t too many options for food nearby.
Click HERE for hotels in the Plitvice Lakes area.
I would recommend Plitvice Lakes to anyone who was looking to book a trip to Croatia. It really is a not miss, there are so many beautiful sights it’ll be hard to believe what you’re seeing half of the time. Have you visited Plitvice Lakes? What season did you visit in?
This have long been on my bucket list. Love to hear it is a great place for a road trip!
This looks like an absolute stunning place to visit!
It definitely is Sara!
Great post! We live in Napa Valley and are headed to croatia in October to visit some sister wineries. I’ve been trying to figure out what else to do there and your blog is a perfect itinerary. Thanks for sharing! Check out our wine country blog at http://www.topochinesvino.com and follow us if you like what you see.
So jealous you live in Napa Valley! I’ve only been to Sonoma but I would love to go back. Have a great time in Croaita, you’re sure to love it!
Most people who come and visit Croatia think that the Adriatic sea and Plitvice are all we’ve got. Not many people know about continental part of Croatia that offers so many activities. For example, not far from Plitvice is the birth place of Nikola Tesla, Smiljan. https://www.mcnikolatesla.hr/ And not far from there, there’s a ranch that offers active holiday, Linden Tree Retreat&Ranch, where you can continue exploring beautiful nature in area, whether you’re comming as couple, single or with family. They even make their own beer for men and women 🙂 https://www.lindenretreat.com/contact/ We love our sea and Plitvice, all our nature, but unfortunatelly, not many people (even locals) know what is out there to offer.