In 2024, me and my family once again visited Plitvice Lakes, the largest and the most popular national park in Croatia. This time, we decided to stay in the official park Hotel Jezero, and take the longest walking trail to see as much as possible. Join us on this trip, and follow along as we give you tips on what to look out for when visiting Plitvice.
I have listed the details of the tips I gave in the video below.
Entrances and ticket prices
Entrances:
There are three entrances to Plitvice Lakes National Park. The two main ones, Entrance 1 and Entrance 2 are located near state road Nr. 429, which drives through the national park.
At each entrance, there is a limitation of a maximum of 300 people who can enter per hour. So if you wish to enter at a specific time, you must buy the tickets before your visit.
NOTE: The most popular entrance is Nr. 1. During the main summer season, the early morning hours timeslots are often sold days or even weeks ahead. This is partly due to travel agencies buying up the tickets and selling them as part of tour packages.
Ticket Prices:
The ticket price for entering Plitvice Lakes National Park depends on the season of your visit.
- High season (June to September): An adult full-day ticket costs 40 Euros.
- Shoulder season (April, May, and October): An adult full-day ticket costs 23 Euros.
- Low season (November to March): An adult full-day ticket costs 10 Euros.
Discounted tickets are available year-round for students, children aged 7–18, and disabled persons. Children under 7 can enter for free when accompanied by an adult. Group discounts are also available for groups of 15 or more.
Tickets can be purchased online here or at the entrance.
Walking trails
There are 7 pre-defined walking trails, which are marked with signs throughout the park that you can follow.
The length of the walking trails ranges from 3.5 Km (2 – 3 hours) to 18 km and (6 – 8 hours)
If you only feel like taking the shortest program you should enter Entrance 1 and take the tour program A. It focuses on the lower part of the Lakes, where you have the biggest waterfalls. The A tour is 3.5 km long.
However I would recommend you take the B route which is JUST 500 metres longer, as this one includes a boat trip and a ride with the park bus/train.
NOTE: In the video above from our 15th visit to National Park Plitvice we followed the K route. It is the longest route, but we cut a bit short and ended up walking about 12 km.
Staying – Accommodation Plitvice
As I mentioned in the video, we stayed at Hotel Jezero, located within the Plitvice Lakes National Park, during our 15th visit to the park. The stay was very convenient but also quite pricey—we paid around 550 Euros for one night in two double rooms (4 Person).
The price included entry tickets to the national park as well as parking.
During all our other visits to Plitvice Lakes National Park, when we stayed overnight, we booked an apartment in the area between Plitvice Lakes and Rastoke.
The most memorable place we stayed was Sankorana, located about 6 km from the national park. Here, you sleep next to a waterfall, and the village where the house is located is incredibly idyllic.
Note: If you don’t have a car, reaching some accommodations around Plitvice Lakes can be expensive by taxi. Keep this in mind when choosing a place to stay.
Things to do near Plitvice Lakes
For a day trip, I would recommend you combine the visit to Plitvice Lakes with a visit to Rastoke in Slunj, which is 30 km north of Plitvice towards Zagreb
If you choose to stay overnight near Plitvice Lakes, you should of course also visit Rastoke. In addition, you have several other interesting activities and sights near the national park. This includes Plitvice Adrenaline Park, where you can try a 300-meter zipline, going with a speed of 70km per hour over the river Korona.
You can visit the Ranch Dolina Jelena – a mini zoo, with deers, usually very popular place for kids.
The Quad & Buggy, a 20-kilometer-long route on gravel and forest roads (other tours also available).
If you need to cool off on a hot summer day, you can visit the nearby Barać’s caves, where the temperature is around 9 degrees.
For nature lovers, there are several options for hiking and biking in the area.
For more activities in the area check out this website
Getting to Plitvice Lakes
As a family traveling, we always go to Plitvice Lakes by car, which makes it easier to get to and from the accommodation.
If you don’t have a car at your disposal, the best alternative for getting to Plitvice Lakes National Park is by bus. There are direct buses year-round from Split, Zagreb, and Zadar, with significantly more departures during the summer season.
The two main bus companies for the buses to Plitvice Lakes are Arriva and Prijevoz Knezevic.
