Plitvice National Park Guide
Plitvice Lakes National Park is undeniably one of the most beautiful places in Croatia and we created a travel guide for all you need to know about this spot. Home to a series of 16 interconnected lakes with unbelievably clear turquoise waters and over 90 mesmerising waterfalls, Plitvice is a place of true natural beauty.
We highly recommend a tour of the park: Plitvice Lakes Tour
Brief Overview
Plitvice, wow! It’s no surprise that it’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Trails will lead you to fantastic panoramic viewpoints as well as across the lakes and up close to powering waterfalls. The lakes themselves are split into 2 sections – the upper and lower lakes. Both sections are full of enchanting scenery and appealing waters that will do their best to tempt you in, but unfortunately you’ll have to refrain as swimming isn’t allowed anywhere in the national park. Plitvice should still be a priority though, with so much to see that you could easily spend a few days exploring if you so wished.
Best time to visit
As the park can be extremely busy in July and August, we recommend visiting in May / June and September / October. Visiting at this time means the park will be less crowded, which will make it a much more enjoyable experience.
Although the summer months are the most popular, visiting the Plitvice Lakes in winter can be extremely rewarding. If you’re lucky, you’ll find the park covered in snow with some of the lakes and waterfalls frozen. This looks spectacular sight although you’ll need some luck to time your trip perfectly.
If you do plan to visit in winter, you should know that depending on weather conditions you may not be able to access all of the park. It’s common for the upper lakes to be closed, with no boats running there from the lower lakes – but if the weather conditions are good they may be running.
As the upper lakes are often inaccessible, only entrance 1 is open during winter. Due to higher water levels, some trails may also be temporarily closed due to flooding. Finally, the shorter days mean the park has shorter opening hours outside of peak season – so make sure to check their website in advance for up to date information.
Getting around Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park has a number of trails, allowing you to explore the lakes and waterfalls on foot. Wooden walkways meander across the lakes, allowing you to get up close to Plitvice’s waterfalls. Other paths offer panoramic views from above, giving you the chance to appreciate the park’s beauty from afar.
No matter which path we took, we were always surrounded by incredibly beautiful nature, so it’s really not necessary to stick to a rigid schedule if you don’t want to. Just make sure you know what parts you definitely want to see and ensure you pass them at some point in the day!
You also have the option to make use of buses and electric boats to help you get around the park, as well as renting row boats for 100 Kuna per hour. The bus and electric boat rides are included in the price of your ticket and prove particularly useful if you don’t plan on spending a full day at Plitvice.
Buses – Although these are sometimes referred to as sightseeing trains, this is slightly misleading. In effect, these are shuttle buses to help you get around the park efficiently if you don’t have time to spend all day walking.
There are 3 bus stations within the park. Stations 1 and 2 are effectively stations at their namesake entrances. Station 3 is located near the top of the Upper Lakes section, close to Lake Proscansko. These buses run around every 30 minutes, and an up to date timetable can be found here.
Boats – To avoid having to walk longer distances you can make use of free boat rides within the park. There are 3 piers that the boats run to/from, but be wary that in peak season lines can be extremely long!
The rides are pleasant and a nice way to pass between the upper and lower lakes. The boat timetable is found on the Plitvice Lakes National Park’s official website, and the 3 stations are located as follows:
P1 – Close to entrance 2.
P2 – Across from P1, giving access to the upper lakes.
P3 – Close to Milanovački Slap, giving access to the lower lakes.
What to see in Plitvice Lakes National Park
litvice Lakes National Park is 296 square kilometres, making it impossible to see everything in a day. The park’s lakes actually only cover a distance of around 8 kilometres, which is the main area visited in the park. This area of the park is split into 2 sections – the upper lakes and the lower lakes.
Upper Lakes of Plitvice
Consisting of 12 lakes with amazingly clear turquoise waters, the upper lakes make up a larger section of the park. The Matica river is the main source of Lake Proscansko – the first and highest of the upper lakes. Through a series of waterfalls, water flows onwards through the lakes and into Lake Kozjak – the final upper lake.
In this section of the park, you’ll find stunning waterfalls amongst the lakes and wild forest. While you’ll find a number of pleasant smaller waterfalls to enjoy as you wander the upper lakes, it’s worth making sure your route takes in the following:
Veliki Prstavac – Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the park. A number of streams of water crash over a 28 metre drop, sending spray flying over the walkway – so be prepared to get a little wet!
Galovački Buk – One of the most picturesque spots in Plitvice. If you arrive at the right time, rays of sunlight break through the trees surrounding Galovački Buk waterfall. With a drop of 16 metres, it’s not one of the tallest falls in the park but it’s certainly a contender for the prettiest!
Lower Lakes of Plitvice
This part of our guide to Plitvice Lakes focuses on the lower lakes, which have a different feel to them, and although they account for a smaller section of the park, they are by no means less beautiful!
Formed in a canyon of permeable limestone, there are 4 lakes in this section. Lake Milanovac is the first of the lower lakes, and is fed by Lake Kozjak of the upper lakes. The final lake is Novakoviča Brod, from which water flows off into the Korana River.
In similar fashion to the upper lakes, the lower lakes have delightfully clear waters and cascading waterfalls feeding them. Make sure not to miss the following waterfalls of the lower lakes:
Milanovački Slap – Flowing between Lake Kozjak and Lake Milanovac, this waterfall could technically be considered part of the upper lakes as well. This is the point where water flows from the upper lakes to the lower lakes over a 10-metre drop. Milanovački Slap is shown in the image on the left hand side displayed below.
Veliki Slap – The name roughly translates as ‘Great Waterfall’ which is a fitting title for the tallest waterfall in Croatia. Veliki Slap stands at 78 metres tall and can be admired from viewpoints on the path nearby to entrance 1.
This path then leads down to the base of the waterfall, allowing you to get close enough to feel its true force.
Sastavci Slap – At the end of the final lake, Novakoviča Brod, the cascading Sastavci Slap waterfall plunges into the Korana River. Located very close to Veliki Slap, it’s possible to get a wonderful view of both falls together on the path leading down from entrance 1.
Map of the lakes:
Tips for visiting Plitvice Lakes
Arrive early – This is particularly important during July and August as crowds flock to Plitvice during peak season. Aim to be at the UNESCO World Heritage Site for opening time as tour buses normally don’t arrive until about 9am. It’s still worth doing this just outside of peak season as it remains a relatively popular time to visit.
Swim in the Korana River – Although swimming in the waters within the boundary of the Plitvice Lakes National park isn’t allowed, our top tip if you want to swim in our Plitvice Lakes guide is to swim in the Korana River just outside the park.
Bring lunch and plenty of water – As you might expect, food and drink is more expensive in the park. To save some money, bring lunch with you as well as enough water to last you the day. Check the weather in advance and pack extra water if it’s scheduled to be a warm day as you’ll be doing lots of walking!
Wear suitable footwear – Wear footwear that is both comfy and appropriate for walking on the sometimes slippery walkways.
Pack a jumper and a raincoat – The mornings can be a bit chilly at Plitvice, especially out of peak season, so you may want to bring a jumper. It’s also worth having a raincoat to save your clothes getting drenched from the spray of Plitvice’s waterfalls.
Bring suncream in summer – This is self explanatory, but pack suncream to avoid burning during summer days!
How to get to Plitvice Lakes National Park
Tour – If you’d prefer not to drive, the easiest option is to take a tour to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Fortunately, these can be arranged easily online, although due to the popularity they may sell out – so we recommend booking as far in advance as possible!
Many tours depart from Split and Trogir as well as Zadar to reach the Plitvice Lakes, which means the journey there is over 3 hours – but it is well worth it! The tours are great value and some include your entrance fee, a guide and return transport for a one day trip to the park from either Split, Zagreb, or Trogir.
We highly recommend any of the tours below:
Drive – To avoid having to rely on a tour or public transport, we fully recommend renting a car and driving to Plitvice yourself. Doing so means you can arrive at opening time when the park is less busy.
It’s impossible to avoid the crowds during peak season, but at least arriving early means you’ll have some time in the park before it becomes overcrowded.
We recommend using Google maps or maps.me for directions to the park. If you have mobile data then Google maps is the more reliable choice. Alternatively check out the park’s website for their directions on getting there.
The length of your journey to Plitvice Lakes will depend on your starting point, but in general expect it to take around 2 and a half hours from Split and 2 hours from Sibenik and Zagreb.
Click here to get a car rental quote for your trip!
Bus – Buses run from a number of Croatian cities to the Plitvice Lakes. For up to date schedule information and to book tickets, we recommend using Bus Croatia’s website.
If you are planning on travelling to the park by bus, make sure you know which entrance you want to get off at and inform the driver.
In our guide to Plitvice Lakes we do personally recommend a car or a tour as it makes your time here for flexible.
We highly recommend a tour of the park: Plitvice Lakes Tour
More Photos
Final thoughts
This Essential Plitvice Travel Guide has taken you through all you need to start planning a trip to Plitvice! You’ve got all the practical info sorted, and have started building a list of things to see and do.
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